New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-09-09
FAST RAILWAY TRAINS
THE BEST REGULAR SERVICE IN THE
WORLD.
AMERICA LEADS ON SHORT RUNS AND FRANCE
FOR LONG DISTANCES.


A careful compa rison of the speeds made by
the best railway trains of the world shows that
at the present time the highest honors are heio
by the United States and France. England
comes third From a carefully compiled table
recently published in THE London Times IL
appears that the best long distance runs IN the
United Kingdom are froEI London to GlaSso"
nm the west COAST end Edinburgh (near the
east COAST. The foIi route is 4OI4a miles
long and is covered in exactly eight hours
which makes an average of 501S miles hour.
The Edinburgh route is eight miles shorter, and
: hours and - minutes is the schedule time for
the fastest train, or an average Of SOFT. The
Empire State Express, in the United States,
traverses 40 miles in s hours and 10 minutes,
making an average of 1888 miles an hour. This
train is compelled to slacken speed no less than
twenty-eight times, owing to the number OF
crowded streets through which it passes. The
Empire State is beaten by two French trains. The
Sud" express, on the Orleans and Midi roads.
between Paris and Bayonne, runs 1864 miles in
s hours and 20 minutes. The average speed is
"a IS miles an hour The Orleans road also has
train between Paris and Bordeaux C363A
niles whose time is hours and II minutes. or
54.2 miles an hour. correspondent of THE
Times declares, however, that the Sud" ex
press is a light train, and that the locomotive
has only about one-third of the work to do
which is performed by the big English express
engines.
France has four trains that make even better
speed than this for distances very much less
than those just mentioned, and yet exceeding
one hundred miles. Three of them cover 123
miles, and 1852. The average speeds here
developed are "a 55.S 81 and 57.7.
But when it comes to distances of less than
hundred miles, France retires to the second
place She has more than a score of trains that
develop a speed of from 50 to COS miles hour
in runs of from % to 96 miles. Her best record
for short distances is the line between Nor
ceux and Bordeaux. There 67% miles trav-
ersed al an average of GIG miles an hour Eng
land has only about eight trains comparable
with these A of 73% miles the Great
Northern, between Peterborough and Finsbury
Park, is made at average speed of 55.;} miles,
and the rate on the London and Southwestern is
COL.
In the United States the New-York Central
covers the % miles between Albany and Utica
at the rate of 55S miles an hour, and 80 miles
between Syracuse and Rochester at ST. miles
But the best American speed has been made
over the Reading and Pennsylvania roads be-
tween Philadelphia and Atlantic City. The
former line is 5515 miles long and the other 50
Several trains day have been running for the
last two or three years at an average speed of
300 miles an hour. But there two trains
each way on each road that went faster than
mile minute. The schedule time of the
Reading road was 5515 miles in 30 minutes or
at the rate of 666 miles an hour
For two months, though. in 1898 the Reading
flyer was ahead of schedule time on all but two
secular days. The actual running time ranged
from Az to 1872 minutes. The speed was more
frequently above than below an average of 20
miles. Twice it was ZAP, once 1876 and once
744 Occasionally at the point where the two
roads crossed each other at grade the Reading
would be held up by a signal, and a little time
would be lost. But the latter was always made
up though the final third of the run sometimes
developed a speed of IS or 90 miles!