Omaha daily bee., 1906-01-28

associated banks Of Chicago Through the
aid Of the mimeographic system the news
bulletins are received by telegraph along
the route are printed and distributed twice
daily, unless the item be % great impor-
lance when Il is printed and circulated at
once.
CiviIity of Railroad Men.
What prompts il do not know, but any
traveller through the west win tell you
that the courtesy OF the railway employees
is generally in inverse ratio to the incivility
Of the trainmen Of the east ANY question
prompted by the scenery along the route
always meets with a gracious response. /
approach the subject in somewhat ag-
grieved manner, for l remember distinctly
that on leaving Chicago for my return TO
Pittsburg the Pullman conductor insisted
on my signing mileage on the platform
When | asked why / could not sign II on
the train l was given the curt reply that
II could not be signed there because It had
to be signed on the platform; and when
entered the smoking compartment of the
sleeper the only two available chairs were
occupied, the cushioned seat along side the
partition being curtained of and made up
as a berth for the porter. although the hour
was yet early. Some roads make it prac-
1ASC VI Ndhlhb CdIt VI tht pVANciS
than of their passengers.
In the dining arrangements. too, nothing
is left undone which would prove conducive
to the comfort of the traveller the west
ern lines. Not only do the menus comprise
all the substantials and delicacies, we'll
cooked and served, but the dining cars are
richly furnished well as decorated with
flowers and growing plants. Sea foods and
game are always available; and beyond
Salt Lake City strawberries and raspberries.
not to speak of the other Incompatible
fruits and vegetables of California, are al
ways to be had. That the fare may lead
itself to the length OF one purse the meals
are all served la carte, which means that
one may order what he pleases and nay
just for what he orders One is struck too
with the unfailing politeness of the walters
and the dining car conductor; the latter
functionary making it a point to extend
his solicitude to every patron, regardless
OF the size Of the check.
Train Equipment and Cost.
When a new train, entitled the Los An
geles Limited. was put on by the Chicago
Northwestern, the Union Pacific and the
San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake a
little over two weeks ago, the members OF
the specially invited party Of press repre-
sentatves aboard were treated to some
features of modern railroadlng calculated
to open their blase eyes. Twenty thou
/ dollars would erect a respectable mansion,
yet the most Of the time OF the railroads
guests was spent in a combination buffet
smoking and observation parlor car which
cost as much as this before it was pulled
out OF the Pullman shops. Two of those
trains are operated every day in the year.
one OF them leaving Chicago at 1905 p. n1
the other leaving Los Angeles at 2:45 p m.
These trains are standard palace and tour
ist sleeping Pullman cars. The Inaugural
ton OF this service meant the special con-
struction of nine such trains involving an
initial outlay OF nearly 100000 in train
equipment alone.
That the cost of operation OF one Of these
trains is an enormous item may be con-
jectured from the fact that in the 1900
mile run from Lake Michigan to the coast
these heavy trains must surmount an alti-
! tude OF nearly 100 feet, from height OF
$50 feet above sea level at Chicago, the
initial point. This climb may he realized
when 1t is learned that the Pennsylvania
railroad In crossing the Alleghenies has to
ascend not more thap 1000 feet from an al
titude OF 700 feet at Pittsburg and almost
every one knows what the grade is on the
| transcontinental train reaches Los Angeles
| It has descended to a bare 266 feet above the
| level OF the Pacific Small wonder it is then
! that the eve OF the connosseur in me-
| chanics gazes in admiration upon the mon
| ster locomotives of the latest Pacific type
/ turned out by the Baldwin shops for the
| draught OF these heavy trains across the
Rockies and the Sierras: and even the anna
/ teur in railroading can see from the obser-
/ va ton car as the train speeds along that
| the roadbed Is perfect the grades and
curves as easy as they could possibly be
made the balasting all that could be de-
sired and the locomotion as even as though
| the train were propelled along a CLASSY sur
| face as smooth as that OF a tranquil pond.
Yet the 2,3O9 miles from Chicago to Los
Angeles are covered with an average OF
about thirty-ive miles to tho hour. OF
course this comparison suffers with the fifty
miles per hour maintained by the eighteen
hour trains Of the Pennsylvania and Lake
Shore railroads between New York and
Chicago but Il must be remembered that
these roads have reached the utmost perfec-
ton in railroad development; that much Of
the right-of- way is occupied by four tracks
and none OF II by less than two; that the
distance on which the speed is maintained is
approximately but 800 miles, against the
200 miles OF transcontinentaI roadway
under discussion, and of these 900 miles by
this route only 4ss OF 1t is double track.
But they are learning fast how to railroad
in the west.
|