The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-12-21
RUNS OF OFFICIAL TRAINS.
RAILWAY MANAGERS TELL STO-
RIES ABOUT SPECIALS.

How n Fireman showed His Nerve
and Was Promoted.
From the st. Louis Globe-Democrat.
Some three weeks since a group of about
fifteen railroad officials, comprising presi-
dents. general managers, superintendents
and passenger agents, assembled in Wash
ington to arrange the winter schedules,
which went into effect Nov. a. They rep
resented the railroads of the east. and are
undoubtedly the brightest men in the bus
mess.
After a particularly hard days work in
the matter of arranging a schedule to suit
all parties concerned, about a dozen of
these gentlemen gathered around a wins
dow at one of the big uptown hotels and,
of course, talked shop" After going over
the days work and several minor subjects,
the group fell to discussing fast runs on
the different roads, and then took up the
subject of special trains. This subjec,
is a favorite one with the heads of the
different roads, as they generally figure
as the most important personages con-
nected with the runs. The special train
that carried the Vanderbilt party from
breaking time came under discussion. and
considerable of the glory connected there
with melted away as the circumstances
were dissected in the nature of an ideai
country and an almost perfect roadbed.
| If the same locomotive and cars were
! placed on the roads that cross the Blue
| Ridge or Alleghanies it is a safe asser-
| ton to make that the time per mile would
| be increased by at least dozen or more
seconds.
"Of course, l don't mean to detract from
the merits of that rum" said a prominent
official from Philadelphia, nodding to the
| representative of the Globe-Democrat,
but we frequently make time equally as
| fast as that when we strike good sections
! of the road and the engineer can let his
| locomotive spread ITSELF. l have been out
| on special trains that have made time that
would make your eyes open wide with as
constituent, but it has frequently happen
ed that our advertising agent was not
! along, and the world at large heard moth.
| ing of the performance.
about the most dismal failure that 1
| can recall in the way of a special train"
| continued the official from the quiet city,
was started from Jersey City some years
| back. At that time there was consider1-
| BILE speculation as to how far train could
| be run without stopping for coal or wa
! ter. The government was DESTROYS of
| making contracts for the transportation of
mail, and we inaugurated the limited eX
| press trains for it's benefit To develop
| still better service the idea of continuous
runs was discussed at great length in rail-
road circles.
1.-The tanks holding water in the middle
of the tracks had proved a great success
| and the matter of stopping for water had
| been done away with. This permitted a
run of hundred miles continuously, but
| then came the change of engines and
/
! of our road, and we had a few, put their
heads together at that time and determin-
! ed to try and make continuous run from
! Jersey City to Pittsburg. An extra large
! tender was provided, and the car next to
| it was loaded with coal Rubber tubing
was run from the floor of the cars TO the
| axle boxes, carrying OIL and other little
! contriVances provided to lessen the chance
| of a stop as much as possible.
| Everything looked lovely for the run
on the morning that the train started out
of Jersey City, and as L saw the engineer
! oiling up the finest engine our company
| owned l knew he would do his part to
make the experiment a success. The plan
| was to have the engineer go to the end of
| the division he was familiar with, drop off
! and an engineer that knew the division
! they were entering thoroughly take
| charge. Everything passed off smoothly
| on the New York division, and the time
/
! passed through Philadelphia the weather
! beaten engineer left us and the new man
! grasped the throttle for his race against
| time to Harrisburg the other terminus of
! the division.
"Out near Bryn Mawr, a pretty suburb
! of Philadelphia, our special was simply
| shatterng space, and everybody was Of
! fering congratulations and predicting that
! records would be made that would stand
| for years. A little defect then developed
! in the oil tube running to the axle box on
| one of the cars, and Charley Douglass
one of the brightest young men in the en-
| ploy of our company, graSped the handle
alongside the steps and, leaning far over,
! endeavored to repair the break. AT the
| moment Douglass was deeply engrossed in
/ his work the special dashed around a short
| curve, and the next instant poor Charleys
| head came in contact with a milk stand
| alongside the track. He never knew what
| struck him, as his death was instanta-
neous. AS the body was dashed from the
steps 1 pulled the bell cord, and after rum
| ming a quarter of a mile the train stopped
and backed up to where the remains lay.
Everybody knew Douglass well, and it
| took the heart out of every one on that
! train. The object of the special was lost,
! as a stop had been made, but for the rest
of the run to Pittsburg the different en-
| gineers made records that stood for several
! years. That was the most dismal failure
| of a special train that has ever come to
my notice. and to this day the experiment
| of making a continuous run from Jersey
! City to Pittsburg has not been repeated
| Yet you fellows here would laugh at me if
l limited that officials as well as employees
| of railrods are superstitious"
Il can recall a run made by a special
| train about three years ago." said a mem
! Der of the group, whose road winds in and
out of the Lehigh coal region that comes
| into my mind without the least trouble to
my thinking apparatus. The special was
made up of an engine and two cars, and
! the distance covered was only ten miles,
| but, although no record was kept of the
time made. 1 am positive il was a record
! breaker for the distance.
1--WE had been UP in the mining region
| inspecting the road, and were returning
! down the hill at an easy rate. AS we
| neared a little telegraph office stuck in
/ the side of the mountain our engineer no.
ticed the young operator running toward
| the special like a wild man. The engl-
! neer lost no time in pulling up to meet
| him, and was more than frightened when
| he called out:
Three loaded coal cars have broken
/ he nd