The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1924-08-05
RAILWAYS NOT
SPEEDING Up
CRACK TRAINS
Twentieth Century Limited
Two Hours Slower Than
fn1910.
By KENNETH WATSON
Times Washington Bureau,
1929 Ven YorE- A "a

WASHINGTON. Aug. Sin these
days Of twenty -one-hour. cross-coun-
try airplane flights, eighty miles an
hour notorboats and much faster
autos. il would seem to follow that
railways would have TO speed up
their crack trains.
Just the opposite, however, is
true, and few roads have attempted
to increase the speed of their sched-
ules in the past fifteen years.
In fact, the famous Twentieth
Century Limited of the New York
Central Lines is now running from
New York to Chicago two hours
slower than in 1910. Her time is
now twenty hours instead Of eigh-
teen.
Fifteen years ago the Broadway
FLinited" Of the Pennsylvania Rail
road was making the same trip in
eighteen hours. Today her sched-
ule calls for nineteen hours.
B. & o. Increases Speed
Practically the only one of the big
eastern railroads, where the really
fast trains of the country operate.
TO increase the speed of its crack
trains is the Baltimore & Ohio.
Up to June %. 1928. before the
Capital Limited" was put on, the
running time between Washington
and Chicago was twenty-one hours.
The new train does it in nineteen
hours.
It isn't because locomotives can
not be built to make faster time
that the speed is not increased. but 1t
is TO save lives and money.
And what's more. F. H. Hardin.
chief engineer Of motive power for
the New York Central Railroad. sees
no prospect Of the speed of trains
ever being-increased above the pres
ent schedules.
AT present I see no prospects of
increased speed in railway travel.
There is no demand for it on the
part OF the public for one thing, for
close study shows the travelling pub
lie attaches more Importance to
reaching their destination on time
than for a particularly fast run,
Hardin stated recently.
Save Money and Lives
The element Of cost also figures
to great extent in keeping SEIZED
ules about as at present. F. A. De-
Iano, chief engineer of the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy Railroad, who
has made an extensive study Of oper-
ating costs. says that It requires
s2k per cent more fuel to operate
z train at sixty miles an hour than
at thirty miles an hour.
Increasing speed also means in
creasing the impact stresses on the
rails and bridges, and as the speed
Increases the i'll effect OF imperfec.
tons in the track and equipment
increases.
So from present indications the
record which Charles Hogan. engi-
neer on the Empire State Express.
hung up in May, 1893, is likely to
stand for some time. Hogan made
a mile in 80 seconds. which is at the
rate Of 1929 miles an hour The
wheels of engine 999, which estab-
lished the record. were eighty-six
inches In diameter. Standard sizes
today are seventy-nine inches.
Hardin says if the wheels were
Increased on present day engines
that there would be little difficulty
In breaking Hogan's record. As 1t
is the fastest trains Of the continent,
the rival Pennsylvania and Reading
iladelphia-Atlantic City expresses.
average 55.4 miles an hour. These
speeds include stops. The average
speed of some 500 of the country's
Abest trains is 1915 miles an hour.