The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-08-30
AMERICA is IN THE LEAD
RAILWAY SPEED AND POWER IN
THIS COUNTRY AND ABROAD.
Comparison Between Work of Home
and Foreign Characterization
Copying Our Locomotives.
Pail Mall Gazette.

and controversy, but, While 1t is candldly
admitted that there would appear TO
be very little difference in the speed of the
fastest trains of both countries-that is,
the regular trains the summer time ia
bles-when the same comes to be compared
with that which is not infrequent for Short
distances the minimum number of seconds.
for instance, in which mile or so has been
covered, then cool argument vanishes and
is replaced by heated personalities breath
ing forth malice and all uncharita olenessS
And for this unhappy state Of affairs we
think that American engineers are chiefly
to blame, though there is jealousy enough
and to spare, on both sides. The report of
some wonderful performance by an Ameri-
can locomotive reaches us over here So
marvellous, perhaps, is the story that it is
| entirely opposed to all our expert snces in
| this country Our, railway men will study
| the meager figures accompanying it with
| great interest, but when they come to ask
how it is done, or politely to request further
details. then the storm breaks out. The
| Americans will, as often as not, entirely
neglect the real crux of the argument to
| sheer at British jealousy and before long
the only point clear to the intelligent out
| slider trying to follow the same will be that
there can be no more misshapen thing On
this earth than the American locomotive
unless it be the English one, as depicted by
| the transatlantic engineers.
DOUBTING AN AMERICAN STORY.
Thus an American locomotive is said to
| have drawn a train weighing 439 tons for
| some distance at speed of eighty-six miles
an hour. The original story, as Industrious
| ly circulated in the London technical press
was to the effect that a certain locomotive
mad taken gross load of 424 tons dis
lance of 1915 miles in eleven minutes from
| stop to stop-a very different matter, ard
| one alleged on the highest authority to be
| quite an impossbility The statement
| therefore, of the $50 tons dashing along at
eighty-six miles an hour has yet to be
proved, and English railway men are hard
| ly to be blamed if they are beginning to
| be a trifie skeptical concerning these won
derful achievements said to take mace on
the other side of the Atlantic-Stories which
on investigation can hardly be subStanti-
ated. NOW, no one denies that the stand
ard American locomotive is of great power
It's size is immense, and an English railway
man VIII De particularly struck with the
great height of the center line of the boiler
ny the huge diameter of the boiler itself
and the high pressure carried usually 1S0
| pounds to the square inch.
In what may be termed the period Of ado
iescence of the railroads of both countries
there was a very decided prediction on
the part of locomotive engineers for large
driving wheels. But whereas the Americans
the total weight of their clumsy-lookfng To-
comotives on a number of smaller wheels
rather than to providing them with single
pair OF the diameter usual on our English
express engines, their present tendency GU
rfously enough, is just the other way about
and they would appear to be becoming con-
VertS to our own system. But if American
| locomotives are more powerful than Brit
ish ones, they are at the same time more
| heavily loaded. The majority of the long
distance express trains in the United States
are of enormous weight, owing to the num-
| Der of sleeping and refreshment cars, and
such trains with nine to twelve cars will
weigh from 1901 900 pounds to $4,000 pounds
while with us the heavy trains, composed of
from ten to hfteen coaches, weigh only
being the weight OF the west-coast and
east-coast Scotch dining car expresses.
VAST WEIGHT OF TRAINS.
Again, American freight trains are always
heavy, sometimes of almost incredible
weight. One of the heaviest of these trains
ever hauled august. 1892 consisted of forty
cars conveying 2,64O, 900 pounds of grain 1t
was 1,6O2 feet long and weighed 4O3O. 900
pounds, including the engine, tender and
caboose One American engineer, in fact
quotes in his latest account Of the achieve
ments of the American locomotive a freight
train of 700 tons being hauled up an incline
at an average speed of forty-eight miles an
hour. Neither would he appear to think
this anything exceptional. However, to re-
turn to the subject of the highest records
OF express train speed. These may be held
by the United States, but their average
speed ranks far below that of British ex-
press trains, which have only to consider
the signals and regular stops while Ameri-
can trains have frequently to slow up for
grade crossings. In the month of May 1893
the famous engine No S99 of the New York
Central is said to have made the highest
speed yet recorded, viz, 102 and later in
exceptionally favorable circumstances 10
miles an hour. This celebrated locomotive
has a cylindrical shell boiler, four coupled
driving wheels of feet inches in diam
eter, and total heating surface OF 193037
square feet.
1t is at least rather curious. though. that
Clement Stretton who was not only in
America at that time but took the oppor-
tqnity of personally inspecting this partic-
ular engine, should make no mention of the
above marvellous performances Neither
are any details, beyond the mere statement
| railway subjects. Mr.. Stretton himself
says, in his preface to the latest edition of
his handbook, that in 1893 he travelled on
engines in America at SIS miles an hour
and in trains in England at 50 miles an
| hour; in 1894 speeds of 50 and "a miles an
| hour were recorded; and the fast running of
England, and Sc in America. On Sept. IL
1890, a special train was run between New
York and East Buffalo with the avowed
aim of lowering the Britsher's record as
performed during the race to Aberdeen
casion the distance of 1862 miles was
complished in 407 minutes and Al seconds
exclusive of stops, which pans out to 6z.4
miles an hour.
COMPARING FAST RECORDS.
At the present day the fastest normal
burst of speed in America is performed by
the western-bOund Empire State express
on the New York Central between SYRIA
cuse and Rochester, eighty miles in eighty
three minutes, equaling 57.7S miles an
hour. But our Caledonian easily beats that
since it hauls two of the through Scotch
| expresses over the thirty-two and one-haIf
miles between Perth and Forfar in thirty
two minutes, a speed of eOs4 miles an hour
the only booked speed of sixty miles an
FERROUS railway performance in America,
however is that of the Philadelphia bust
ness mans own special express train,
which runs between Philadelphia and the
faVorite seaside resort Atlantic City, dis
up and one down express, solely for this
gentleman's accommodation, accomplish
the journey in exactly an hour. And, as
Mr. StrettOn points out: ITO start and
stop run fifty-five miles and one-half in
one hour and convey loads OF either seven,
eight or nine heavy American cars is a
kind OF locomotive work not TO be found
in England"
Some mention must be made of the really
magnificent and fully accredited perform
ance of American locomotives only the
other day on Sunday. Feb. IA last a spe-
cial train, conveying a railroad king 10 the
bedside Of his dying son. was run on the
Chicago Burlington IL Quincy Railroad.
a distance of OPS miles. The journey was
1 10, mir fs4g I win