The San Francisco call., 1907-01-06

PARIS. Dec. 2z. 1906.
-HE body Of q derd American has
made the fastest railway run OF
the whole world.
Cooks agents hanging around
the Paris Care St. Lazare tell the
story. Some say it was the mortal re-
mains OF Mrs. Strong. the daughter os
John .. Rockefeller. Others say il was
the body OF a msn--"an American. a
millionaire; never heard his name be-
fore" The French railway company
SAYS nothing; because 70 admit the
facts would he confession that the
French laws seventy eve mile per
hour limit has been broken fiaErantly.
over long distances. by a special train.
or the most important roa6bed OF all
France.
Therefore let the dead rest. after its
records breaking dash 20 catch an
English boat; bat is IL not an awful
picture-the impassive corpse alone IA
tie Ger. going faster. faster?
Ia was g special OF two cars behind
the Northern Company's latest Amer
lean compound system locomotive
type Atlantic" as they call IL. Its
route to Calais Maritime from Paris
had just been swept by the fastest
train in Europe for It's lS5 miles dis
tance-the train de luxe facultattf'
Of the Aecfterranean-Calais Express
which does the Sl.l5 miles from Paris
20 Amiens IN seventy-seven minutes
and the whole lS5 miles in three
hours.
The corpse did II in exactly two
hours and q half. That makes a sus-
tanned run OF 1S5 miles at the average
speed of seventv-three miles per hour:
and when the first wonder o. e passes.
the question arises. how have French
railroads SO suddenly attained such
tpee1e
II is a creditable American story.
Because IN the last few years not one.
but most all. OF the great French lines
have beaten eli the proud English
records for long-distance flyers. How?
By the adoption Of Americaa-type To-
tomotives; and this over inferior road
beds
The tale dates back to July ]. 1889.
when only one French company, the
Northern. gave a platform TO plat
form" run AT fifty miles per hour. -Four
years previously railway congress
happened TO be sitting in Paris when
The East snd West Coast English lines
were racing 10 Aberdeen. The (then)
bhenomenal speed attained by the
scotch flyers was eagerly discussed
BY the French railway officials. and
was deplored that nothing approach
mg il could ever be attempted on
heir lines Less than four years later.
however. the Impossible came 70 pass.
and the English experts could scarcely
pelieve their eyes when they saw the
Innings that began 70 appear in the
tally newspapers,
Tho nearest that France has 70 the
Atiantic City flyers seventy miles per
hour break is the Paris-Amiens run OF
ille train de luxe facultatif already
hentioned-S1.l5 miles done daily dur
ing the Riviera season IN ~ minutes,
fhis is 63.2 miles per hour but after
Eard. between Amiens ard Calais Mori-
nnr the same train dl ops TO 5s.5 piles
ser hour The average weight OF this
ogns Scent train IS 10 tons.
AnotheE extraordinary break is Paris
6rras l2e miles IN length. performed
twice a day bE the Lille Express in
III minutes-Which is AZ the speed OF
il.5 miles per hour. 1t is said to be
the fastest long distance run IN the
world and several considerations rem
Ser ii yet more remarkable TO Ameri-
ran eyes.
The first Is that these French lines