The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1895-09-18
The Triumphant Yankee Genius.

The triumphant Yankee Genius.
The WATCHMAN recently reported
the fast time made by one of the racing
trains on the London & Northwestern
railway, between London and Aber-
deem, making the distance of $40 miles
in 512 minutes, an average speed of
sixty-three and one-fourth miles an
hour, or a mile in fifty.six and eight
tenths seconds. The London papers
complacently claimed the perpetual
championship of the world in railway
speed on the score of this exploit, and
the Times, in reviewing the incidents
of the achievement, remarked: "Our
American cousins are hardly likely to
try conclusions again with us for some
time" This record was made Thurs
day night, August %. Previous to that
time the Empire State Express, of the
New York Central, had carried the
worlds banner for railway speed. Last
week, on Wednesday, another Empire
State train, made up exactly like the
regular passenger train, with regular
appointments in machinery, coaches
and service, started from the Grand
Central station in the city of New York
to demonstrate to the "Thunderer )"
across the waters that, in drawing its
conclusions, it had again reckoned
without giving due weight to the trans
cendent genius and aggressive spirit of
it's American cousins" The Yankee
train made the run to Buffalo, distance
of 1864 miles, in 407 minutes, achiev-
ing an average speed of sixty-four and
third miles an hour, or mile in
fifty-fve and nine-tenths seconds. This
beats the Englishman by about one
mile an hour, or one second of time for
every mile of distance. The highest
speed made by the English train was
seventy-five miles an hour; by the
American, eighty miles.
But the triumph was not simply one
of speed. The English railway man
ayers declared, after the trial, that
their racing trains were not such as
could be run regularly for business pur-
poses. The American train, on the
contrary, can be run regularly for bus
mess and for profit. 1t can carry 21S
passengers, each way, and make money
on the traffic, which from this train
alone will yield revenue Of million
dollars year, running six days in a
week.
The running of this train had not it's
inspiration in the feat of the British
company, though, after that event, H.
Walter Webb, third vice-president,
and other officials of the road, had re-
ceived letters and dispatches from
Americans in England and at home,
and had been exhorted in newspaper
articles, to make an effort to recover
the championship. For several months
the experts of the company had been
studying the problem of acquiring
greater speed with comfort, safety and
profit. New and powerful engines
had been built for this purpose, and
last week the officials put them to the
test. The result was brilliant sue
cess in point of speed, safety and COM
fort. The ride is reported to have
been in all ways comfortable. "The
most timid soul in the world would
have soon recovered courage, because
he would have had no sense of the
speed at which he was moving" A
good road-bed, rock-ballasted every
mile, and heavy rails, weighing eighty
pounds to one hundred pounds to the
yard, as well as the splendid mechan
ical equipment, contributed TO the graft
flying result. The new engines stood
fifteen feet high, measuring to the top
of their short smoke.stacks, and weigh,
when loaded, one hundred tons. This
experiment means a material shorten
ing of time between the great centers
of traffic and travel.
In all the arts of peace and war, of
sport and industry, this seems to be a
great year for Americans. They have
shown that they have the fastest of
modern war vessels, the feetest grey
hound of the rails, the swiftest yacht,
end the champion chess player. Glory
enough for one yearl