Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1893-05-18
Vice President webb on Railway Develop
mpnt.

1t is not easy to make any positive pre-
dictiOuS about the increase in railway speed,
or ut least 60 put limit upon the possible
ity of swift travel in the next century, yet
it is safe to make some approximate sUE-
gcstious based upon judgments that come
from the experience of today.
y few years ago an express speed Of thir-
ty-iive miles an hour was regarded as fast
travel. To-day there are Il number of trains
which make regular runs Of between forty
and fifty miles an hour, and there is one
train running from New Norl, to Buffalo
on the New York Central, Il distance of A
miles, at an average speed of about fifty
three miles an hour. This same train has
made the run once at an average Of less
than ii mile Il minute, and it frequently at
tans speed of as much as seventy or sew
enty-live miles an hour
This experience. which i. comparatively
recent, has convinced me that we are still
much under the limit of what may be en-
pected by travellers in the Twentieth cen
fury expect to see even before the Tween
teth century trains running regularly at
an average Of sixty miles an hour and |
haSc no doubt mt all that early in the next
century there will be number If trains on
some of the greater roads whose schedule
time will call for as much as 100 miles an
hour. | have no doubt that Il traveller early
in the next century will be able to get his
breakfast in New York and his evening din
u"r in Chicago.
We have already learned how to con-
struct locomotives which are capable of
making ninety miles and more an hour, and
we have learned how best TO utilize their
enormous powers. Given the perfect loco
motivc-and we have very nearly secured
the perfect machine of this sort--Wc need
only two or three other conditions There
must Ec perfectly constructed track and
ro@dbed. 1t must have inapprcciablc grades
and very slight curves. 1t must be 30 made
rs to be elastic and yet withstand easily the
strain caused by high speed. Then we must
have Il perfect signal system That | am
sure viii he 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 be no grade
crossiugS-thr>e cat up time drtadiullv
somctimcs-and passenger cars must bc
light, but very strong, and the number Of
thcu limited to II high speed train. We
need the nest coal and Of course highly
trained employees. With these conditions
and they are sure TO be obtained carly in
the next century, feet safe in saying that
regularly scheduled daily trains running
100 miles uu hour viii be advertised by
many Of the railway companies
The question Of safety and of popularity
viii be no more considered than are the
same questions when n person enters an or
binary express train Of the present time.
With the condition, that have described
above, "A train running 100 miles an hour is
just as safe as one running forty. neither
case If an accident happens it is likely to
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 on
the roads in response to public demand.
II. WALTER WEBB.