The Yellowstone journal. [volume] (Miles City, Mont.) 1893-1901, 1893-03-07
Vice President Webb ON Railway Develop.
nnent.

1t Is not easy to make any positive Pre-
dictions about the increase in railway speed.
or at least to put ii limit upon the possib.i
ity of swift travel in the next century, yet
it is safe to make some approximate stIg
gestions based upon judgments that come
from the experience of today.
a few years Z AN express speed OF thir
ty-five miles an hour was regarded as fast
travel. Today there are ii number of trains
which make regular runs Of between forty
and fifty miles an hour, and there is one
train running from New York to Buffalo
on the New York Central, IA distance of ~
miles, at an average speed of about fifty
three miles an hour. This Siiiie train has
made the run once at III average of less
than IA mile II minute. and it frequently at
tains il speed OF us much rs seventy or sev
...; live miles an hou
This experience. which is comparatively
recent, has convinced me thai we are still
much under the limit Of what may be ex.
ppcted by travellers in the Twentieth cen
tury expect to see even before the Tween
tieth century trains running regularly at
an average of sixty miles an hour, and |
nave 10 doubt at all that early in the next
century there will be IA number of trains on
some of the greater roads whose schedule
time will call for as much as 100 miles an
hour. | have no dou that a traveller early
in the next century will he able to get his
breakfast in New York and his evening din
ner in Chicago
We nave already learned how to con
struct locomotives which are capable of
making ninety miles and more al hour, and
we have learned how best to utilize their
enormous powers. Given the perfect loco
motive-and we have very nearly secured
the perfect machine of this sort-we need
only two or three other conditions. There
must be a perfectly constructed track and
roadbed. 1t must have inappreciable grades
and very slight curves. 1t must be SO made
as to he elastic and yet withstand easily the
strain caused by high speed. Then we must
have a perfect signal system. That ] am
sure will be developed.
The block system of today is sufficiently
thorough to make the high rates of speed
attained by trains on my own road, for in
stance. possible. There should he no grade
crossings-these eat up time dreadfully
sometiulea-and passenger cars must be
light, but very strong. and the number Of
them limited to "A high speed train. We
NEED the best Goa and of course highly
rlained employees. With these conditions
and they are sure to De obtained early In
the next century, feel safe in saying that
regularly scheduled daily trains running
100 miles an hour will be advertised 10y
many of the railway companies.
The question OF safety and of popularity
will be no more considered than are the
same questions when a person enters an or
binary express train of the present time.
With the conditions that ] have described
above. IA train running 100 miles an hou i,
just as safe rs one running forty. Ineither
Il l. IT'LL. A.
prove disastrous. The tendency of the
time is toward rapid travel, and it has al
ready been discovered that these fastest
trains are not an experiment, but are put OF
the roads in response to a public demand.
II. WALTER WEBB.