The semi-weekly messenger., 1900-06-01
TAMPA TO RICHMOND.
The Seaboard's First Through Train
south.

The Seaboard Air Line through inc
to Tampa, Fla. will run its first train
on Wednesday. May 3oth. and the oc-
casion viii be one OF the grandest af-
fairs ever given in this section of the
country. The following account OF the
trip Will be OF interest TO our readers:
"Wednesday morning two trains.
composed OF FIVE Pullmans each. and
one bearing the private car OF Presi-
dent Williams. will leave Richmond
for Tampa. The party will go direct to
the southern terminus OF the great
system. arriving at Tampa at O'Clock
on the morning of the Slst instant.
There will be about 200 gentlemen in
the party, and they will be given
breakfast at the Tampa Bay Hotel.
AT p. m they will start on the return
trip. arriving at Jacksonville at s p.
m. A dinner will be served in Jackson
Vile, and at midnight the journey will
be continued. Savannah will be reach
ed at a. m on the 1st day OF June.
and the party viii stop there until p.
m, during which time they will par
take OF a breakfast, TO which distin-
guished citizens OF Savannah will be
invited.
Leaving Savannah at / p. m. the
| trains will reach Columbia at 6 p. m.
! and dinner will be served in that
city. At ii p. m. the start will be made
| from Columbia, and Raleigh will be
reached q o'clock on the morning of
| Saturday, June End. Breakfast Will be
| served in this city, and at 10:3e the
| trip will be resumed. AT o'clock Pc
| tersburg will be reached, and there an
! elegant luncheon will be served in
| Library Hall. Petersburg will be left
| at o'clock, and in half an hour there
after the first train will pull into Rich
| mond.
THE GOLDEN SPIKE.
| A large platform Will be erected
| around the trestle Immediately east of
the Broad street viaduct, in Richmond,
and this will be reached by a flight of
| steps ascending from the east side
| walk on Broad street. There, shortly
| before the arrival of the train, Master
| John Shelton Williams. son Of the Sea-
boards president, will drive a golden
| spike. The spike will be the counter
part of all other railroad spikes and
will be the last one driven in the COM
pleted system between this city and
| Tampa. The spike will he driven with
a silver mallet, which will be suitably
engraved and presented to Master
| Williams.
Shortly after the spike shall have
been driven, says The Richmond Dis
| patch, the trains from Tampa will
make their appearance on the viaduct.
| The Seaboard Air Line band and other
| musical organizations will be at the
| station, and the Blues and HowitZers
| will be massed on Broad street. The
Howitzers will fire salute as the train
| pulls on to the viaduct. Governor Ty-
| Ter and Mayor Taylor will be at the
] station to meet the train, and they
will take carriages and escort the large
| party which will arrive on the train
| to the Capital Square, where addresses
| will be made by the governor, the
mayor and President Williams.
| AS soon as the speeches, all of which
are expected to be short, are concluded
| the distinguished visitors will be taken
| for a carriage drive over the city. Re-
| turning, they will be driven to the JEFF
| ferson, where, in the evening, will be
| served the most elegant banquet ever
spread in this country. The menu card
| will be a work of art. 1t will be on eight
| pages of parchment. covered with Rus
sian leather. On the back cover will be
| etched with an electric needle a suit
able scroll, and each guest will have
his name etched on his particular card.
On the f1y-leaf will be etched a mag
| nif1cent allegorical picture of Victory
| crOwning Success. The punch-boXeS
| will be works of art, and will bear in
| repousse work a representation of the
famous engine 999 Of the Empire State
! Express. To each of the 100 directors
who will be present will be presented
as a souvenir a beautiful silver loving
cup. On it will be hammered the repre-
sentative of the gold spike, around
which will be chased a wreath con-
| tanning tobacco leaves and cotton
blossoms and a sprig of palm. On the
reverse side will be the name of the
director and a suitable inscription.
The banquet will be held in the din
| ing rooms of the Jefferson, and the
| Jefferson street wall will be obscured
1 by an immense bank of flowers, rep
| resenting a map of the entire Sea-
| board Air Line system. The map will
| be vari-colored, of course, with green
| predominating. The railroads will be
| traced with dark blossoms and the va
rious cities will be represented by
| flowers of still darker hues."