The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-01-06

This card gives Mr.. Phillips, the right
of-way everywhere he goes in this coun-
try.
The trip was the subject Of many news
| paper and magazine articles for weeks
after it took place. The contest was made
| August q, 1887, between the c., B. & Q.
and the Northwestern and the run was
from Chicago to Omaha 1t was also a
test against the Q's own time, which was
6s miles per hour, while the Northwes-
terms was 6S miles. The start was made
from Chicago at 6:45 a. m, the engine
| pulling two coaches. The run was made
with 52-ton Schenectady engine. a mon
ster in size and strength. The drive
wheels of this engine were feet in diam
| eter.
Mr.. Phillips was furnished with two
| firemen on the great run who were kept
| busy feeding the furnace 1t is estimated
! that the engine consumed 30 tons of coal
on the trip. Mr.. Phillips told a reporter
for the Eagle last night a few incidents
| of the run
1T was a tiresome and exciting trip"
| said the engineer in common tone of
voice. AT never want to make another
one like it. For over seven hours l sat
almost glued to the seat with one hand
constantly upon the throttle and my
eyes riveted on tn track, which seemed
/ to run like an endless cord under the
engine"
Did you make any faster time than p
miles per hour?"
'Oh, yes, in squirt runs On a good
straight track the engine registered 80
miles an hour many times and once or
twice was told it made as high as SO
miles an hour
Didn't you shut your eyes on these
swift spurts?" asked an amazed by
stander.
mo, Stree" said Phillips, "but L felt
a cool chill run up my back sometimes
and lodge in the roots of my hair. But
the fact is generally the men on the en-
CINE never think of what might happen;
they don't have time to think. The only
time made mistake which ratified me
at all was at the big Ottumwa curve. The
curve is rather sharp and the grade
steep Well, 1 had not been over the
track for some time and 1 had forgotten
this grade and curve, when all at once
it doomed up before me. and tell you it
looked as big as a mountain. We were
simply flying over the steel, and my en-
CINE on a two-thirds throttle. Quick as
a flash 1 threw on the air and turned the
throttle wide open. The train struck the
curve with chug, but luckily stayed on
the track, and in a minute the scare was
all over"
Mr. Phillips then explained his method
of rounding a curve, which is his own
method, studied out and brought down to
a safe system through his long expert
ence He said 1t saved his train on this
run at the Ottumwa curve. The pressure
of the air, he says. holds the engine
down to the rails with great power and
enables it TO ride the inside rail with
great safety. Then with the air pressure
on he opens the throttle wide open, max
ing it pull against the pressure of the
air, which, he says, will enable an en-
CINE to ride a curve every time and at
great speed.
Gould you eat anything on the trip?'
"Only one or two pancakes" replied the
engineer. lone reason is, I didn't have
time to eat and the other is had no
appetite. Ny hand on the throttle, my
eyes on the track and my mind on beat
ing the other fellow, tell you, eating was
out of the question.
"On one part of pretty. straight and
level track, when we were making close
to century time you couldn't have told
what a man was at the edge of the
rigbt-of-way, without quick eye The
ground seemed TO run back like clouds OF
a swift storm, and telegraph poles ap
peared as an immense stockade at the
side Of the track. When the engine cut
through a wind it was almost like riding
in a balloon in the high atmosphere.
Only seven times did we stop between
Chicago to Omaha, and then coal and
water was hurriedly dumped in and of
we were again Ike lightning. We were
mighty glad when the old horse pulled
into Omaha. I had TO lay of for three