The Washington times., 1921-09-14
new RAIL Filler
BEATS RECORD
ON JERSEY RUN
'Rattigan's Comet Makes Cam.
den-AtIantio City Trip In
~ Minutes.
BY PAUL Fl. EGOLF.
international News Service.

six and one-half miles In fifty minutes.
with train Of twelve steel Pullmans.
Is the latest regularly scheduled speed
record established by the worlds speed
laboratory-the Observation-Disclosures
City line of the Philadelphia and Read
Ing Railway System. The average
speed of the latest "fier" is sixty
seven miles an hour. a worlds record
far above it's nearest competitor.
The speed laboratory" IL a stretch
OF track rarely found in the railroad
world. In places there are long,
straight stretches. all curves being un-
der 1 per cent. and the grades are
negligible. In the run from Blue
Anchor to Cologne. N: J.: there is a
stretch Of eighteen miles in a mathe-
matically straight line. Another
straight run Is seven miles in length.
For several years the Atlantic City
express has been credited the fastest
train In the world" by the encyclopae-
dias. with a scheduled speed of sixty
ono miles an hour. But that figure
was printed before the creation OF
high-speed locomotives was given
special attention.
One OF the first attempts in the
speed line was Engine 34s. a product
OF the Reading shops. Combined with
Mike" Rattigan, q veteran engineer.
and Dan Devinney, star fireman. she
succeeded in looping a few minutes
off the running schedule.
With her performance as a basis.
five new engines were recently built,
and are now running over the line.
pulling the crack expresses to the
shore and return.
Tale Of Rattigan's Comet.
SO far Engine 100 has captured the
title Of Speed Queen" and she works
the $40 express. in conjunction with
old "348." Rattigan personally gave
his attention to "120" when she ar
rived fresh from the shops and spent
some time running her I'm" at slow
speeds until her bearings were pol
ished to mirror brightness for high
speed work. Then. one day recently.
he tried her out" on q special train.
Tales Of that run are still going the
round Of the roupd-house and offices
Of the company. They tell of blanched
faces peerins from car windows, while
telegraph poles formed . blur at the
side Of the track-of Mike" grimly
leaning out the cab window, with set
teeth, eyes squinted. urging the big
girl" TO still moro speed, and the huge
locomotive shrieking In response as
she crashed past grade crossings In a
fraction Of . second. The appearance
approaching Atlantic City earned Il
the name Of "Rattisan's Comet"
According to tho roundhousemen.
when Mike climbed down from the cab
and looked 1T his watch Il was Just
forty-one minutes after he had left
the Camden terminal. desptte the fact
that he had to run slowly through
Camden and reduce speed to six miles
an hour for the Atlantic City draw
bridge. ..Er.
The average speed for the trip was
eishty-three miles an hour, while on
certain sections "12e" had exhibited
q liking for .. pace well above the
hundred-miles-an-ho mark.
Four More Coming Up.
Having shown what she could do,
"12o" settled down TO her lifework
Of hauling tho shore expresses at .
slower rate of speed. The regular
scheduled time Of the train. fifty
minutes, IL only approached by q
Great Western Railway train, In
England, with . schedule speed Of
$50 miles an hour. and . Great
country. with an average speed Of
fifty-two miles an hour.
Despite the high velocity Of the
trains which Rattigan operates he
has never had an accident, or q
wreck. His record for being on time
is perfect. Also he has never
walked out" on q strike. He and
his fireman. Devinney. hold not only
the speed record. hHt the economy
record for the Reading system, having
made the round trip to Atlantic City
on 7.700 pounds Of coal.