The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-12-25
RIDING LIEN LIGHTNING
Experiences Of Locomotive Ell
gineers II Breaking Records.
MAKEyG 1ls MILEs AN HOUR.


Holds the Throttle While the Engine
Borcs Holes Into tho Night.
This is the story of how it fcols to drive
an engine ut its utmost speed, gathered
from tho lips of tho drivers. Various per.
sons have from time to time related their
sensations while on board railway train
travelling at the rate Of u milo u minute
but much moro interesting are tho facts
as to tho sensations of the mon in the cab
OIL tho engine, who face death and danger
to whom peril Is an everyday companion,
and who turn their backs on fear.
Think of travelling ut tho ratio of 1l2
miles IN hour, Only onco in tho cntirc
history of railroads has the feat over been
accomplished. Tho bearers of this record
are engine 900, that most famous of Ameri-
can locomotives and its driver John
Hogan. 1t all happened on tho tracks o:
the Now York Central, between Syracuse
and Buffalo. This is what Engineer Ho-
gan says:
TO travel along tho rails at tho ratio of
liz miles an hour is as near like flying rs
anything I can think of. When we got
outside OF Syrcuso and began to crowd
on steam, we shook Just rs il we had been
Mt sea. ! tell you fel5 excited US wo grad
ualiy pat on steam and l knew we wero
getting closer and closer TO II point Of
speed that had never been passed by any
engine. Faster and faster wo went my
heart beating like Il trip hammer pho
country and the towns on each side of the
track didn't seem like anything but
strcaks. 1t seemed to me MS If everything
had gone OFT of my head but just tho pow
CT to watch that steam gauge and to keen
track of that speed.
when we reached tho hundred milo an
hour pace, [ knew all records had been
broken. Old 900 and John Hogan had
gone faster than any engine and engineer
had ever travelled. ! felt son5o of cxhil-
aration and pride such as l never expert
enced before or since. Then came tie de
slro 10 SEQ what we really could do 1t
seemed 10 mo rs if l would almost burst
L saw that every condition was favorable
to u wonderful run, and | had Il good ox-
cusc for it, for we were little bohind
time
"A littlo moro pressure and tho engine
jumped forward rs il it were alive Tho
rush of wind outside the cab was so like II
gale that | fclt we must be in n storm
One hundred and five, six, scvcn, eight
then nine and ten miles began to won.
der what on earth we were going to do
whether we ever would find limit ana I
was so Intoxicated with tho success that
we had achieved that | made up my mind
to do all that was possible
AT last there came moment when
know we were doing all that We could
and l can't toll you how sorry it made mo
feel to find that limit. We wcrc running
at tho rate of liz miles an hour, and nv
heart sank when after five miles we had to
slow down to tho hundred rate. But, odd
us 1t may seem, L really did not realize
what had been done until we cnmo to n
dead stop in Buffalo, and then it all came
over mo- Say, was ms weak as n cat
That is how it feels to ride ut the rate OF
1l2 miles an hour
Tho run Of the Empire State express
from New York to Albany is ono of the
best known and most trying runs out of
NOW YORK CITY. This is tho star train of
tho New York Central Nothing must be
permitted to interfere with its progrcss.
1t must be on time All these things the
engineer has to face when no pulls the
throttle mt Forty second street, and tho run
toward tho Harlem river begins. He knows
no must mako from i3 to 30 miles an
hour, and that accident is 10 be avoided
Under any and all circumstances. William
Marley makos this run three times ono
week and four another
'Ncrvc?' said he, when he talked Of the
task that he accomplished so often "Why.
haven't got any Mt all, if you mean the
force that makes you trcmblo l guess
have got some other kind or wouldn't be
running this engine. don't mind telling
you that y man in this business wants to
forget all about tho fact that he's got
nerves. They would only interfere with
his work. On the run like tho one have
all man can do is to watch his engine
ana 20 ahead on time When II man is in
tho cab of his engine, Ito has eyes for only
one thing and that is possible danger
Know that | am always on the lookout for
1t, ana always would bo whether was
running the Empire State express or il
local only three E.ileS out
There 10 Il s.Nso of responsibility felt
by locomotive cnuincera unlike that which
tests upon man in any other business.
The iEct chat one man is responsible for
the liCeS OF hundreds Is enough To make
hm .aroiul. on fast train like run
tie engineer always has that sense Of get
ting somewhere quickly, and | can't tel
yod how satisfactory IL is. Then healways
has the fonling Of power. ;5omohow il just
cumes 10 Linn from the big powerful en-
CINE that doesn't stop for anything
When ! ann running an engine, I sci
dom th!nS what may be Oh tho track ahead
Of nc. Way il ! should see my own moth
or on tho rails in front of my engine. with
In trains length of me, would know
that 10 power but that Of God Almighty
co"ld save her Once anything That lives
gets within IL certain distance before the
engine it simply means instant death for
whatever it may be. 1 am sure that ~
train going at the rate of so miles an hour
could never bc stopped within it's length
unless 1t was Il much longer train than
the Empire state express. l never think
of flp bififv nf bn, I
on run. You see, they a-o not pleasant
things to have in your mind anyway, these
possible disasters, ana | always figure
4 hnrn Is tinn nununh 20 Mimi. nhnIlt Hmm,