The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1904-09-14
a RIDE ON TIE FAST MAIL.
In the Cab Between Chicago, st. Paul
and Minneapolis.

To ride on it is a privilege acquir-
ed by few Yet a journey on this
train. which carries none but govern
ment mail clerks and its crew. is Az
experience, especially if the journey
be made on the "hremans side OF
che huge locomotive j pulls It.
1t is a revelation Of what fast pas
senger service means and 3 liberal
education IN appreciation Of he cool
nerve and absolute competency Of the
mer VINO run fast trains.
The fast mail over the Chicago.
milwaukee, and St Paul railway lea1 es
Chicago every night Of he year with
from twenty to fifty tons Of rnail
aboard and reaches Sc. Paul every
morling with its burden Of letters and
packages in ime tor transfer to 9th
er trains to The Pacific coast to con-
meet with tie nail boats, north into
the Iiolninion. east and west INTO ad-
joining states and radiating over a
dozen lines Of silway into every nook
and Granny OF the northwest.
II ono asks why the fast mail car
ries no passengers he is answered
that here ale other trains which do
that work. Another reason is appar
eItt after a journey on the head end"
with the two cinder marked and
grease smudgod gods Of the machine
that pulls H.
Ten hour service means speed. on
glorious night not long ago the
fast mali pulled OFT Of Milwaukee on
time, swinging along at an easy gait
through the maze # green, white and
red switchights until the last tall SEM
aphoro arm signaled "aT clear" then
Engineer Sullivan's long right arm
shot forward through the dark sud
denly, tho hoarse syncopation of he
exhaust changed suddenly TO a long
wailing roar, and the tremendous To-
comolive seemed to timber up in every
joint . size swung forward into the
nigh.
lie " VA tltA III NhAiA AHNhAAAf NsiN -
man. woodland, explained. His faith
er in his early life had apprentioed
him to jeweler He had a back
like an cx and an arm like an oak
tree.
Mile posts hogan to fade in regular
succession and telegraph poles flew by
so fast i vas hardly possible to count
The track ahead took on an uncanny
grayish haze, but the speed constant
~ increased. The big locomotive
slowed down for nothing she tool
sharp curves like race horse an'
lunged in the long tangents like ;
singed cat Engineer sullivan didp'
talk mucl He was pretty busy watch
ing the track When he did talk 4
vas TO the point
"Forty-Gve miles out Of Niilwau
kee, including the trip through th'
yards ana suburbs, where we had 4
/, slow lcwr. in forty-six minutes" h
q said
u Re dropped to he ground and ollie
Y mp almost on IA run. Two minute
. elapsed, the big machine was ready {
go again bnt the conductor ap1ea7e
ont Of he gloom and remarked tina
( a Journal on mail car had run bot.
. Hot journals are not serious
. themselves. but six minutes clippe
from the schedule of train whic
a must run while in mo ion at rat
: OF slightly moro than IS miles an hou
q for 40S miles. is a very important ma
: ter. Engineer Sullivan swore softl
y and irowned his wrath in copious al
plications of more oil the big EN-
ines stuffing boxes. Then he noun
ed the towering cab again and II
race was on for the second time.
Woodland grinned.
Wen run like a pup with a tin ca
tied to his tail now he eonfded.
We did. Mile posts and telegTaI
poles became one long processio
with scarcely perceptihle distance
between them. The air rushed throug
The omen cab windows like a cyclon
and the mail cars, trailing alcng b
- hind, rocked and swung on the
springs like so many drunken me
The pace was tremendous.
z Ones sensations were much Ill
those when the horses enter the la
y eighth on a fas track and 10000 pc
pie in the grand stand begin TO che'
TIE speed gradually increased fro
81 to So. then to 81. Go, n, "A and
miles an hour; then, on the crest
- hill" the summit Of an up a
down grade, It suddenly jumped 70
W and then to 80 miles an hour--a nj
W and a halt a minute ard one felt
~ ,nsane desire tc yank the thrOt