The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-02-26

GREAT SPEED or A TRAIN FOR A
LONG DISTANCE.

Father to Reach Dying son-Up Grade |
Mile In 800 at 81 Miles an Hour.
News came from Denver the other !
day of remarkable railroad run made !
by special train which arrived at Den
yer on Monday morning from Chicago |
and made record which appears never |
to have been equaled for such "A distance. |
The train had been hired by II. j.
Mahan, broker, who was trying to |
reach the bedside of his q year old son,
who lay dying at Denver.
Death won the race, for Mr.. Mahan's !
son expired just about the time his train
entered the borders Of Colorado, and
four hours before he arrived at Denver.
The train travelled over the Chicago,
Burlington and Quincy road to Pacific
| Junction, and from there over the Bur
| lington and Missouri road to Denver
| Everything along the road was cleared
for its passage. The total run is figured
| to be ,020 miles, according TO the rail
| roads own tables, and the distance was
run from station to station in Is hours
and so minutes This is little more
|
| the whole trip.
This is not only the fastest run ON
record for such distance, but it also
appears to have been one of the very
few such trips ever made with private
train, if not the only one.
To realize what such flying trip
means it might be well to compare the
run with some of the long railroad runs
that are looked upon as record makers
The New York Central and Hudson
River railroad claimed to hold the rec
ord until recently with the trial trip
made from New York to Buffalo Oh
Sept. ID, 1891. The train consisted of
an engine and two Wagner palace cars
and Central private car, and weighed
altogether about 400, 600 pounds.
The run from New York to Albany,
143 miles, was made without stop III
40 minutes that Of 14S miles from
Albany to Syracuse in lac minutes, and
that from Syracuse to East Buffalo, LAG
miles, in 147 minutes "a seconds.
Including the stops, the whole time
of the trip was 4391a minutes, and the
: distance was 1861 miles, or a trifie less
than 60 miles an hour. Since then this
, road made new record, on Sept. l.,
1895, when, with train weighing
361 200 pounds, the same run was made
in 6 hours 81 minutes and 90 seconds
at an avesage speed of g. "a miles an
hour.
The Lake Shore and Michigan South
ern railroad claims to have beaten this
Oh Oct "a, 1895, with special run
from Chicago to Buffalo, distance of
$40. miles, with train weighing 304,
] 500 pounds.
The trip was divided into five stages,
and the first, of S7.4 miles, was made
L at the rate of 1888 miles all hour; the
b second, of 1884 miles, at the rate OF
Ga. "a miles an hour; the third, of l07. s
(: miles, at CO. 90 miles an hour; the
i fourth, of 50. B miles, at 66. 80 miles an
hour, and the fifth, of Sc miles, at al
average rate Of 1891 miles an hour.
{ The total distance was covered in
d hours. minute and seconds actual
!, time from station to station, which gave
an average speed, including stops, Of
Il 90. 81 miles an hour.
: Remarkable as these results were, j
. would not be fair to compare them witt
|, run of twice the distance of the longes
of them, for as distances increase The
difficulties of making high speed alsC
increase. Grades, adverse winds, baC
q pieces of track and all the other ele
y ments which work against high contin
y ued speeds multiply usually i'll a sort Of
t geometrical progression 10 make diff
G culties.
# To give some idea of this, the greatest
!, runs which the New York Central ano
g Hudson River railroad has recorded fol
g trips across the continent will offer 6
s fair basis of comparison.
@ The fastest of these was one with the
i China and Japan mails from Vancouver
n to New York by way of the Canadian
d Pacific, the Rome, Watertown and Og
J. densburg and the New York Central
i and Hudson river roads.
k The distance travelled was 1871:
J, miles, and the time was days IL hours
II and 40 minutes or an average speed o.
n $40 miles an hour.
h The reason that private trains are sci
e dom sent out at high speeds will be OBJ
!, vious if one considers the condition.
|. that would be required to run them IL
d the first place, every train on the roat
It that would be likely to be in their wa.
n must be side tracked, and in addition t.
J. these the dozens or perhaps hundreds o
It freight and yard trains, which usual.
IS work along the lines by simply keeping
!, clear of the times of scheduled trains
a would all have to be run by special or
W ders to keep them out of the way of
fast special
The loss of time thus occasioned t.
train crews would amount to larg
Is sum, and this would have to be adde'
he to the railroad mans usual estimate o
/. about 75 cents mile for the actua
cost of running such train. 1t |
70 doubtful if railroads would care to rul
u such trains even at double that price
IF which would make such run as Mr.
A. Mahan's cost 81, 500 or more.
at The most remarkable part of his ru
ic was in the last 300 miles, durin