The Washington times., 1904-01-15
TRAINS IN RACE
DOWN SEABOARD
Three Rival Flyers Go for
Records.
JACKSONVILLE THEIR GOAL
Air Line Wins by Few Minutes, But
Its Trackage Is Twenty -four
Miles Shorter.
JACKSONVILLE THEIR GOAL

One of the longest railroad races On
record has Just been run. and the last
or the men who were in charge returned
TO the city with details of the contest
TINS morning. The race was from
washington To jacksonville and ST.
augustine. and IL was between the finest
trains ever run I'm the South. Although
fourteen hundreds miles were run. so
sustained was the speed that only n
lew minutes interviewed between the
arrival of the flyers.
Inc contestants were the Palm Linn
tied, of the Southern: the Florida Linn
tied. Of the Seaboard. and the Florida
express. of the Atlantic Coast Line. On
the Southern train was L. II. Burgess:
on the Seaboard. J. w. Cole and on the
Atlantic Coast Line. Col. Al Reed. Dis
trict passenger agents of their respec-
tive lines.
Left Here Monday.
The trains left Washington on Mon
gay within a few minutes of one an
other There were impromptu recep-
tons at the station, and all were given
good send-off. BY o'clock I'm the
evening. Alexandria had been passed
and the trains were speeding South. No
record breaking time was made until
the rivals were south of Richmond. and
each on its own line or until the Palm
Limited had made the main track south
OF charlottesville. Then the great en-
s,res begun their work in earnest
Towns We're passed in a twinkIing
AT places the tracks Of the different
railroads parallel one another for sew
eral miles. and when these were reached
IL was found that the heavy trains were
Notwithstanding the hundreds OF miles
travelled, still a few rods apart At
Raleigh. the Seaboard flyer had beaten
schedule time by half an hour. The
Palm Limited was also ahead both at
Greensboro and at Charlotte. At Will
son, n. c., which is on a direct line
east from Raleigh. the Atlantic Coast
Line train was running neck and neck
with the Southern at Greensboro
though the Southern men did not know
at the time. hundreds of miles inter
vening between the lines.
Passengers Watch Struggle.
At Columbia and Augusta the lines
begin to converge, and the rivals could
be watched. the passengers taking adj
vantage of the early dawn to see the
struggle. At Savannah excitement was
at a high pitch. The Southern train,
with its new Pacific type engine.
~ iiaa tLdNticu AaIIneT. beat the
Seaboard into the old Georgia city
At this place the northern ice and
snow had been replaced by the kind of
weather that prevails i'm the North IN
the latter part of April Consequently
the passengers crowded the open win
dows and In the city. having heard by
telegraph of the coming trains. the
station platforms were filled with peo-
pie The Southern train pulled out
slowly as the Seaboard entered.
Cole Places Bet.
I'll tell them at Jacksonville you are
coming" shouted Burgess from the rear
platform to Cole.
Bet you a dollar we beat YOU in -
shouted back the Seaboard agent
Done" was the reply.
Out of Savannah for many miles
south. the lines run only few hun
dred yards apart On this came the
most thrilling part of the long race.
Passengers. trainmen. and railroad Of
f1cers alike were excited and all kinds
of waEers were made
First one train led. and then the
other Cole won. At Jacksonville IL
was learned that the Sea board train hid
reached the Florida city a few minutes
ahead OF the other but the trackage
covered was twenty-four miles shorter.
The trains left Washington at a few
minutes after o'clock. and all reached
JJacksonville before 2:30, the day follow