The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1905-08-25
N.Y.,N.H.&H.R.R.'S
COMING FLYER
-Four and a Half Hour Train
One Of the. Speediest in World
DRAWBRIDGES VS.. SPEED
Hall Hour Lost Between Boston and New
York Because Of Them Construction
Work Must Be Finished First.
DRAWBRIDGES VS.. SPEED

between New York and Chicago ma turally
there is much talk OF fast time and record
breaking runs. But few OF the takers
have any real conception of what II
means to chip minutes from the hours
required 10 send a train from one city
| 10 another.
II one thoroughly built and we'll
| equipped railroad can run a train for a
| long distance at an average speed of over
| 50 miles an hour why can't every other
| equally well built and equipped road do
i the same The makers Of the greyhounds
Of the iron race track. the towering To-
| comotives which haul the flyers. can do
| as good work for one railroad company
as for another
| Skilled engine drivers OF one railway
| system can drive a modern engine as
successfully as the man in the employ Of
another road. II one road can be bal
| lasted with rock and laid with the heav-
| lest Of steel rails. so can another These
are the things which occur to the man
who knows little OF railroading. To the
man on the inside many other considera-
tions present themselves.
! For one thing. while man built rail-
| roads he did not arrange the map. When
| II comes 10 running fast trains the fact
| that six or seven rivers must be CROSSED
! has an important bearing especially IL
these rivers are navigable streams. so that
| the bridges contain draws which are fire.
quently open TO permit the passage Of
vessels.
That consdera ton while IL appeals 70
the railroad man, may not have occurred
| 10 the avera ge citizen when he looks up
| from his newspaper and asks his seat
mate why trains can't be run as fast in
| his section Of the country as somewhere
else. He is less likely TO ignore the mat
ter OF grades because IL is obvious that
a train cannot make record breaking time
while climbing a hill.
CITIES CAUSE SLOW DOWNS.
| The railroad man when he considers
| the question OF schedules takes into ac-
| count the number Of cities in which the
| speed OF the train must he greatly re-
| duced even II no stop Is made at the
railway stations He knows that the speed
% train is largely dependent upon the
ns ture OF the country through which IL
| Is running and that there are places
| where the skill Of the engineer and the
| expenditure of vast sums OF mony will
not provide an avenue over which n train
may dash at a rate OF less than a mile
! n minute.
Sometimes the railroad man finds in ar
rarging his schedule that he has attempt
ed more than the conditions will warrant
For example the Pennsylvania railroad re
Gently heightened the running time Of its
fastest train on one section Of the route.
making up the loss by corresponding
reduction in time IN n region where
things were more favorable TO record
making
To what An extent speed is dependent
upon locality Is shown by an examination
Of the running schedules Of the fast trains
on the Pennsylvania system. The road
which Is able 20 send n train from New
York 10 Chicago AT an average speed ex-
ceeding 70 miles an hour does not attain
that rate with its fastest trains between
New York and Washington; yet IL is
| popular impression that the Congressional
Limited Is about as fast as any train in
the world
As a matter OF fact this train runs 2sS
miles from Jersey city 10 Washington. NJ
an average rate OF about As miles per
hour. making only three stops and these
only when notice has been given that
passengers intend 10 leave or take the
train at the three stations
NEW Az HOUR TRAIN.
Side by side with the fast trains OF he
Pernsy varia railroad between New
York END Washington run the expresses
OF the Royal Blue line. or. In other words,
! the Baltimore e. Ohio Yet none Of these
trains attain a speed OF 80 miles an hour
for the entire distance They run at about
the same average rate as the tastes. OF
the Pennsylvania trains.
Here then is n comparatively short dis
tance over which two rival railways are
! running express trains. The travel is
! heavy engines and cars are the best
which can be procured. and the roads are
thoroughly built, yet the speed is not MS
| great as on the long distance trains lie
tween New York and Chicago II Is, In
NN.AN 90 % GH
trains running I'm southern New England,
a territory somewhat similar 10 that be
tween New York and Washington.
For many years the flyers OF the New
| York New Haven and Hartford railroad
have covered the 233 miles between New
York and Boston in an even five hours, or
! at an average speed about the same ne
that OF the Congressional Limited.
\ recent illustration OF what Is involved
/ iu the reduction OF the running time OF q
| East train Is afforded by the announce
| mont that tho New Haven system pro-
poses 10 run express trains between Ros-
ton and New York in four and n half
/ hours
when this announcement was made 10
| was COUPLED with tho statement that the
/ rev schedule would not be possible for
/ sonc months 10 come. The New Haven is
| one OF those systems where the rivers
play a part In the making OF train schcd-
| ulss. Between Boston and New York
! there are n drawbridges.
LOSS OF HALF HOUR.
As she United states government has
/ exclusive Jurisdiction over drawbridgcs
crossing navlgahle streams. &, may be nee
| ,sfary ~ open any one ~ the bridges On
| the Snort line at Just tho time when an
/ express train Is due The passing cr'ft,
( whether ~ be n large steamer or a not
| boat laeen with lumber or brick has tho
| right VI way
This fact necessitates tho slowing down
" every train as IL approaches draw
| bridge. in order that the engine and cars
| may he brought 60 n full stop N the draw
| is open. Each time the train slackens
speed there r. n loss of probably three
| minutes I'm tho running time. or. IN 9th
en- words more than half an hour Is lost
! between New York and Boston because or
l 81 I'll. Arar nrN NEaa n