Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1892-11-25
THE FIRST MILE A MINUTE TRAIN.
It Was ON the Boston and Maine Railroad
Nearly Half q Century Ago.


( It Was on the Boston and Maine Railroad
Nearly Half Century Ago.
II say, boys, how many of you can tell
train was rum"
They were trainmen. They had assem-
bled at a popular down town resort in
honor OF the birthday of one of their par
tlcular "chums.." and so, as they enjoyed
the fragrant 'domestics," they had, in
their free, jolly way, begun to spin yarns
and tell "reminiscences of the rail and the
iron horses which have aided SO materially
in the upbuilding of Chicago. The 'sboys,"
all old men, by the way, were not going to
spoil story if they could help it, SO each
professed ignorance when thus questioned,
and insisted upon hearing all aboutit. The
story as told was as follows:
'You would scarcely believe that trains
had performed the feat of going mile a
minute long before the telegraph was dis
covered. but it is fact The first event of
the kind recorded took place on the Boston
and Maine railroad away back in 1S48
Mr.. Minot, the superintendent at that
time, was a progressive man, always on
the alert for improvements that should
make his line stand among the first in the
country. One day in 1848 he conceived the
idea OF running a mile minute, and
when once the thought entered his head
he bent every energy toward realizing it.
HE had q lotion engine built to order at
the Boston works of Hinkley & Drury,
and named it the Antelope. It FAD single
drivers, six feet in diameter. Mr.. Minot
declared the engine should run mile a
minute or go back to the shops. :.
Lawrence, a station twenty-six miles
from Boston, was chosen as the terminus
of the trial trip. Choosing a day for the
trip, men were sent over the road to spike
down all the switches and see that every
thing was IN perfect order. It was before
the introduction of the Morse telegraph,
and to run mile a minute, a speed until
then unheard Of, required the utmost fore
thought. All trains. were either side
tracked or taken off the road for the trip.
Representatives of the Boston papers were
invited to accompany the superintendent,
and when the day arrived they, with few
other guests, were given possession of the
only car that was to make the RIM.
"a large crowd gathered at the station,
and amid cheers and waving of hats the
engineer pulled open the throttle, while
Mr.. Minot stood by his side. Boston was
soon left behind, and the Antelope
plunged into the open country with the
feetness of the wind. Everything worked
to charm. On they sped, dashing by sta
tions filled with a wondering crowd, whose
cheers could be heard but second by the
passengers. Half way to Lawrence Mr..
Minot looked at his watch
Fourteen minutes he said THAT
won't do, Pemberton; we are minute be-
hind The engineer threw the throttle
wide open and the Antelope increased the
speed.
"As the train neared Lawrence Mr..
Minot stood with his watch in his hand,
and just as the engineer brought the train
to a standstill the timepiece marked
twenty-six minutes.
"a great crowd awaited the Antelope's
arrival, eager to know whether the much
talked of deed had been accomplished
Did you make itp cried an excited on
locker.
eyes shouted Mr. Minot in return, and
then cheer after cheer arose for the men
who had first driven an engine mile
minute. Everybody congratulated the
superintendent and engineer, and for a long
time crowds focked from far and near to
look at the engine that had accomplished
the run. O-ChicapO Tribune.