The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-04-25

Two men have recently paid the
enormous sum Of a dollar a mile for
the entire distance which they Travelled
on special trains to reach the bed
sides of dying relatives The first of
these was Robert Treat Paine, who
Travelled from Washington to Boston
in eleven hours and thirty-three
minutes, a distance of 444 miles. The
second was H. J. Mayham, who jour
neyed from New York to Denver, that
part Of the trip from Chicago to Den
Yer being made by a special train,
distance Of 1,025 miles, in eighteen
hours and fifty-three minutes. The
run made by the trains which carried
Mr.. Paine will not at first, on the
basis Of fast time, seem as eXtraordin-
airy as it really is To thoroughly ap-
preclate 1t it must be understood that
this journey involved crossing the
Hudson river at Jersey City and driv-
ing from COrtlandt street, New York,
the landing point Of the Pennsylvania
ferry, to Fourth avenue and Forty
second street, the Grand Central depot,
trip that would occupy, at the short
est calculation, one hour. To make it
IN even this time it would be neces-
Sary to board a ferrybOat almost at
the moment of departure and to step
from the ferry house into a waiting
carriage. In addition, there must be
figured in the necessary delay Of a few
minutes at the depot before the de-
parture Of the train.
On the night Of March 8 Mr.. Paine
received news in Washington that his
wife was dying in Boston. The fastest
train from Washington to New York
is the Congressional limited, over the
Pennsylvania, which makes the run
under ordinary circumstances in five
hours. This train had left Washing
ton when the news of his wife's con-
ditiOn reached Mr.. Paine He there
! fore secured a special train from the
: Pennsylvania, and at 8.27 p. m. started
for New York. The run over the
Pennsylvania road-227 miles-was
made in four hours and forty-five
minutes, twenty-five minutes less than
the schedule time Of the Congressional
limited, which brought the train to
New York at lip.
The journey across the Hudson and
from the foot Of COrtlandt street to the
. Grand Central depot consumed on hour
and fourteen minutes, making thee time
of arrival at the depot 2:26 a. m. The
special train which had been tele-
graphed for was standing on the track
Of the New York, New Haven and
Hartford, and two minutes from the
time of Mr.. Paine's arrival at the de-
pot the special pulled Out-2:28 a. m.
AT O'Clock that same morning Mr..
Paine stepped out of the special into
the Boston and Providence depot, the
run from New York to Boston having
minutes, twenty minutes less than the
schedule time Of the Air Line express,
the fastest train over the New York,
New Haven and Hartford. The best
time in this part Of the run was made
between New York and New Haven
"a miles-this distance being covered In
one hour and twenty-six minutes. The
trip cost Mr.. Paine close to $500, and the
saddest part Of it is that his wife died
before he reached her bed side.
The train which carried H. J. Mayham
I from Chicago to Denver broke the re-
cord for fast long distance running.
/ This means the record for the world
and not q particular portion thereof
. The news came to Mr.. Mayham one
Sunday morning in New York. that his
son, who had gone to Colorado for his
health, was dying in Denver At 10
O'Clock that morning, Mr.. Mayham
boarded the Pennsylvania limited for
Chicago. The train makes the trip be-
tween New York and Chicago m
tWenty-three hours and ten minutes
and therefore it was $40 a, m, Nom,
day when it rolled into the Union
station at Chicago.
While en- route Mr. Mayham had
wired the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
officials, asking for what amount a
special would be run through from
Chicago to Denver. Owing to lack Of
particulars, however, the Burlington
officials took no action in the matter
but sent representative to meet Mr.
Mayham at the depot. At 800, ten
minutes after the Iimited's arrival,
the general passenger agent Of the Bur-
iingtOn, Mr.. Eustis, gave orders to have
an engine and the private car of the
general superintendent of the road run
into the Union station as soon as pos
sible. Twenty-Five minutes later tAe
special train was standing in the sta
q ~ nl OR hn or4 40
At first there was no intention Of
breaking any record. Mr.. Mayham
had agreed to pay the road a dollar a
mile for the full run, being a total Of
$l.O25. This carried no guarantee re
Sarding time, the understanding being
that the schedule would amount to the
same as that Of the fast mail trains
All the way into Iowa the special made
much better time than was anticipated
and after this was discovered to be a
regular thing, the officials Of the Bur
ungton issued orders for the engineers
TO run at as great a speed as safety
would permit. BY reason of the train
making so much better time than was
expected, at the majority of the divi-
sion points where stops were made to
change engines, there was hardly more
time to get the new engines ready
than there had been at Chicago. Those
who have travelled between Chicago
and Denver will appreciate the rapidity
WIFI WHICH CnlS tram was BOWED
along by the fact that tWenty-one
stops were made between the two
cities, and that these stops occupied
four minutes more than an hour This
does not include practical stops made
at railway crossings, at each Of which
from three to four minutes were lost.
The actual time, therefore, between
Chicago and Denver, a distance of l. 025
miles. was eighteen hours and fifty
three minutes, an average speed of
642 miles an hour. Deducting 81
minutes for station stops, but not de-
Quoting the time lost at the fourteen
crossings referred to, the speed at
tanned by the train while in motion
was an average Of 57.53 miles an hour,
or a total of seventeen hours and
fCrty-nine minutes.
It is interesting to note the speed
attained between certain stations
along the route. From Chicago TO
, Aurora, which is a straight run with