Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-11-16
Discussing the Recent Speed Trials
in England and America.
UNCLE SAM AHEAD As USUAL
Moderate Speed Schedules More
Valuable to Railway Stockholders.
AT THE RAIL AND TIE CLUB

cess both in attendance and interest mani
tested. OF course, the recent speed trials
en- tie railroads in England and in this
country was of the first subjects dis
cussed.
When the word speed" was spoken by
an old engineer, everybody dropped private
conversations, and about ten men started
to speak at once. If there is anything that
will start engineer talking, just ask him
what he knows about speed, and his usual
ly glued-up tongue and lips will move with
the ease and precision of the engine he
loves.
After the hubbub of ten men talking a
once had continued for a few minutes the
chairman called halt, and through gen
eral respect for age and intelligence, the
floor was accorded the Sage" This old
fellow has pulled a throttle on almost every
road in the country, and besides has con-
siderable book larnn'," hence mis- sob
riquet.
Speed as we know it. boys" said the
Sage with a kindly smile on his wealth
er-beaten face, "and the speed we read
about in the papers are two different things.
One is reality and the other fancy. Don.
think l doubt the accuracy of the snecd
trials recently made in England, or in this
country on the New York Central Lake
Shore and Jersey Central roads, but l
want to class them as being made for
dividends.
When the reading public fully under
stands the meaning of inside and outside
time 1t will appreciate this. l am
talking to about a dozen engineers and
twice as many experienced railroad men,
ard you will all back up my statement
when | say there are dozen roads. east
and west. that have equaled the New York
Centrafs record outside time. These
roads cannot compete with that road be
cause of the nature of the country and Tie
many cities and towns along their lines.
But the time will come when grade cross
ings and curves will be wiped out. and then
look out for astonishing records.
Good Equipment Required.
THE performance last month of a special
train from Chicago to Buffalo is the most
striking and remarkable exhibition of rail
road speed that has ever been given. 1t IS
so, in the first place, because the train
covered a longer distance than had been
covered before by a train directed at the
record Of course. the difficulties of max
ing fast time multiply with the Increase Of
the distance. Otherwise the mile record
of thirty-two seconds, now nearly eleven
wears old. would represent the rate prac-
ticaly attainabia
To my mind the special feature that
makes this latest performance noteworthy
is that it was made west. not east. of i;uf-
falo. Nobody needs to be told hat these
extreme bursts of speed imply and involve
stock, and all mental and mechanical ap-
pliances for the operation OF railroad
They canro OF be done regularly. for the peo-
Pile concerned in them and responsible for
them would be liable to lose their reason Or
collapse through nervous prcstva tion.
''They can be done only occa s.onally, but
they cannot he done without showing how
complete is tie efficiency of the officials
and employees of the ralit old. This is the
consideration that makes 1t worth while to
give them. 1t is all very well to say
engineer would sooner run a fast train
than a slow one nut when these runs be
come unusually fast and regular the nov
city wears off and thu strain begins to tell
4 believe it is we'll worth while to prove
that for five hundred miles west of Buffalo
perfection of railroad operation has
been attained equal to that of the district
between that city and New York. In other
words, a western railroad may he almost
complete in all appointments and almost
as well adapted for the attainment Of ex-
cessive speed as any eastern road or any
road in the old country.
What the Public Wants.
Il say almost complete, although the &C
tual time per mile of the run from Chicago
20 Buffalo, including stops, which is the
only fair method of comparison, was al
most equal to that Of the record run from
New York to Buffalo. and the time. includ-
ing stops. was even faster. The one great
runs was that extraordinary preparations
had to be made, amounting almost to a
total suspension of traffic in the one case
while en- the New York Central road the
fast run was made without disturbing the
regular traffic in the least.
Nevertheless, the showing that some
thing more than mile minute can be
made from Chicago to Buffalo is a great
step forward and speaks volumes for the
railroads between those cities. Whether
the travelling public cares rap is another
quest ion. A man with lots of money and
willing to spend it can be carried from
New York to Chicago in less than sixteen
hours, yet it has been found by experience
that not a train load of passengers a day
will pay the addition to the regular fare
required to cover the additional cost of car
rying them in less than twenty -four hours,
and there are only two trains a day be-
tween these big cities at that rate. While
it is proved that passengers can be car
ried very much faster it is not likely that
they will be- at least for some years to
come.
(which goes to prove my former saying,
that the fast runs are made for show and
the slower ones for dividends.
This consideration of the convenience
of the travelling public is big thing and
carries weight. If the records could be
lowered fully one-half it would be different.
but a saving of two or three hours in
long journey amounts TO but little and
costs much. Most travelling on business
over great distances and much for pleasure
is done at night and the traveller has nos
desire and no occasion to reach his Ges-
tination before the beginning of business
In the morning.
No Need to Hurry.
"Tha usual time between Washington and
New York or ST. Louis and Chicago could be
considerably shor1 ened if there was any oc-
casion for it. In fact some of the day
trains between these cities are ruin at con-
siderably higher speed than those al night.
OF course, it is both cheaper and safer to
run trains at a moderate than an extreme
speed and the moderate rate is favored by
passengers who have no use for the time
that would be saved by breaking their
nights rest.
II am looking for the railroad officials to
turn from speed on their roads to the COM
fort of the travelling public Much remains
to be done in this direction, and in this the
west is far ahead of the east. Any one who
has seen the trains that run out of Chicago
or st. Louis appreciates the fact that the
traveller gets a great deal more for his
money in the west than in the east.
Now, let me give you couple of records
for short runs that were eye-openers. Right
outside of Washington is a piece of road
that holds the five-mile record. 1t was done
in three minutes, or at the rate of 1o2 miles