Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-11-19
THE FIRST MILE A MINUTE TRAIN.
It Was on the Boston and Maine Eailroad
Nearly Half q Century Ago.

1t Was on the Boston and Maine Eailroad
Nearly Half q Century Ago.
II say, boys, how many of you can tell
where and when the first mile a minute
train was rum"
They were trainmen. They had assem-
bled at popular down town resort in
honor of the birthday of one of their par
ticular "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 ma terially
in the upbuilding of Chicago. The boys"
all old men, by the way, were not going to
spoil story il they could help it, so each
professed ignorance when thus questioned,
and insisted upon hearing all about it. The
story as told was as follows:
You would scarcely believe that trains
had performed the feat Of going {. mile
minute long before the telegraph was dis
covered, but it is a fact. The first event of
the kind recorded took place on the Boston
and Maine railroad away back in 1s4S.
Mr.. Minot, the superintendent at that
time, was progressive man, always on
the alert for improvements that should
make his line stand among the first in the
country. One day in 1S4S he conceived the
idea of running mile a minute, and
when once the thought entered his head
he bent every energy toward realizing it.
He had lotion engine built to order at
the Boston works of Hinkley g. Drury,
and named it the Antelope. 1t had single
drivers, six feet in diameter. Mr. Minot
declared the engine should run a 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. 1t 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 superinte ndent,
and when the day arrived they, with a 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
fleetness of the wind. Everything worked
to charm. On they sped, dashing 10y sta
lions 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.
LAS the train neared Lawrence Mr..
Minot stood with his watch in his hand,
and just as the engineer brought the train
to standstill the timepiece marked
twenty-six minutes.
"a great crowd awaited the Autelope's
arrival, eager to know whether the much
talked of deed had been accomplished.
Ibid you make itp cried an excited on
locker.
Yes shouted Mr. Minot in return, and
then cheer after cheer arose for the men
who had first driven an engine mile a
minute Everybody congratulated the
superintendent and engineer, and for long
time crowds fiocked from far and near to
look at the engine that had accomplished
the run."-Chicago Tribune