The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-01-23
THE GREAT FLORIDA SPECIAL.
Fourteen of the Seventy Odd Pas
stopped Over-Delayed ON
the Pennsylvania Road 1T Arrived
Charleston an Hour Late-A splen-
did Train Perfecly Equipped.

1000 miles a day, arrived here yester-
day morning on it's first trip from
New York to Florida. There were
seventy seven passengers for the first
trip, fourteen OF whom stopped off at
Charleston.
In making up a new schedule for this
season the actual running time from
Jersey City to Charleston was cut
down to Is hours n 80 minutes. the
quickest service ever provided. and
over a good part of the journey the
special was running at the high speed
of sixty miles an hour. There is such
] a splendid equipment, however, that
few passengers iamgined how rapidly
the train was moving. |
By taking over the Plant system the
Atlantic Coast Line is able this year
to get the Florida Special into formei
territory over it's own tracks, and the
great Improvement in the roadbed be-
tween Charleston and Savannah has
made it possible for a faster schedule
to be put into effect south of this point.
At all OF the stations yesterday crowds
of people gathered 10 watch the veStl- |
bule. and it rushed by without check
ing it's speed further than necessary
for the public safety.
Six Pullman cars. ordered out es-
pecially for the tourist travel, made
up the first Florida Special to pass
Il JUl1Sl1olt " llC u IN
equipment included a baggage car. the
dining car st. Denis, compartment car
Patagonia, sleepers Amphion and
Humber n the observation car Che
Waller.
From year to year the passenger de-
partment OF the Atlantic Coast Line
has been Planning to make the Florida
Special the most elegant train of its
kind ever sent out from New York. 1t
is furnished luxuriously, is provided
with every modern convenience like
the finest hotels in the country. With
a dining service that is uneXcelled
wealthy tourists. who have heretofore
remained in New York rather than un-
: dertake a tedious journey to the south
. have found that the special combines
all the comforts and convenienceS of
a palace, and this fact alone, together
/ with the fast mode of travel. has in
f creased the business until it has reach
ed figures OF a record-breaktng char
acter.
When the swift-moving palace
: awheel came to a halt in the Pennsyl-
vania station in Baltimore Monday
l night the lights in the dining car flash
= ed merrily and the passengers sat
. down to a feast. the menu of which
D WAS like this:
Flu Points.
! Bisuue of Lobster. COnsomme.
, Celery.
: Boiled Fresh Cod. Shrimp Sauce.
Potatoes a L'Anglaise.
, Toast Prime Beef.
Roast Turkey. Cranberry Sauce.
Boiled Potatoes. Drowned Sweet Pota-
Boiled Onions.
= Stewed Corn. Stringless Beans
Q Braised Sweetbreads. aux Champig-
hons.
. Orange Fritters, Brandy sause.
O Lettuce and Tomato Salad.
Apple Tapioca Pudding, Hard and
Brandy Sauce.
Ice Cream. Cake.
Preserved Fruit. Marmalade.
q Dry Canton Ginger.
= English and Graham Waits.
- Fresh Fruit.
Roquefort. Canadian and Edam Cheese
:, Bent's Water Crackers.
Haley's Beaten Biscuit.
There are four trains of the tourist
v class operated by the Atlantic Coast
Line. and they provide a daily service
to and from New York. Following the
usual custom of the railroad company,
IS the Sunday service is excepted, that is
to say, the special does not leave New
York on Sunday, n north-bound
i there is no Sunday train out of Flor
n Ida.
4 OF the equipment the baggage car is
perhaps the most uninteresting az
. junct. but his is one of the most i'm
portant parts of the train. 1t has other
e functions than the mere carrying OF
It trunks, golf sticks and grips. At the
"a forward end is established a small
~ low-pressure turbine engine. driven
by steam from the locomotive. and
~ this, in turn, drives an electric dyna.
mo. Not only are the incandescent
fed from this machine, but it also Is
constantly engaged in filling the stor-
age batteries beneath each car. This
lnsures a supply of light even in the
= event Of a temporary disarrangmen1
: OF the morton. An electrician is in
. charge of the plant.
, The dining car st. Denis is a mode
ia Of it's kind. handsomely furnished an
'e Is stocked with every delicacy of the
II season. The meals are delightfully."-
= prepared; there is a prompt and efic'
. lent service, and the silver and liner
n are just as elaborate as their counter
is part in the Waldorf-Astoria.
,r Railroad men have fOun that
al tourist train annot be successful!
D operated without a compartment car
1t fn" thot is exactly the kind of accom-
4 mediation that the average travelle
j. DESIRES. The Patagonia, which came
- through on the first trip yesterday
l.. has but lately been received from tn
Pullman shops, and there are non
finer on any railroad today. TIL,
sleeping cars Amphion and Humber
like the Patagonia. are the best tina
- could be purchased, and they were or
dered out for the tourist season. tn,
observation car Chevailer is one of tn
attractive features Of the special am
it was put on strictly for the conven
g ience of passengers, The rear plat
n form is larger than that Of the ordi
nary car and, being covered. is popula
when the weather is particularly fine
ly Windows are set thickly and the occu
pants are able to view the countr.
without effort or WEAKNESS. There ar
L movable wicker arm chairs, tables
I desks and h1n6Cnn0o hn0kPq 500 Ultl
1e Interesting volumes, take the place O
ad the abominable vendors always foun'
lis on the local trains. The special is
marvel for speed and comfort. and 70
the next few months 1t will carry thou
sands of passengers so rapidly tina
winter clnthinp dnnnnd one afternoon