Evening star., 1939-07-30
Sets Goal OF 6 Miles q Minute
For RoiIton in Trials Next
Month Over Utah Course
Three Men Who Have Beaten 300 M.P.H.
Have Variety of Sensations

cess to the machinery, the body was
mounted so it could be detached
and lifted bodily from the chassis.
The streamline shape was not
spoiled by a radiator nor was a fin,
such as was mounted on the tail of
Eyston's car, used.
"A fin is useless unless the car
skids badly, and then its value is
problematic," said the designer.
Later, Eyston agreed, removed the
I'M from his car and went on to
greater speed.
Tires Run Into Big Coin.
Then Railton built the car so that
it could be carried on four tires.
Eyston used eight and this was an
important financial factor when
tires cost in the neighborhood of
$500 each and had to be changed at
the end of the first half of the race.
So in order to use but four tires
1t was necessary to hold the weight
of the car dry-without fuel or ice
to cool the motor-to 1000 pounds.
A single steel girder in the center
OF the car formed the frame. The
engines were slung one on either
side of the girder. Each engine was
a l2-cylinder, 512-inch bore, 51s-
inch stroke and 1850 horsepower.
Each engine with its transmission
was independent of its fellow. One
engine drove the bevels for the front
axle, the other the rear axle. The
wheels were crab tracked.
For this car the designer claimed:
"On the point of speed it is only
possible to say that the car has been
designed to go faster than any car
hitherto used for the world land
speed record, or any car which will
be in existence this year."
That was in 1898, before Eyston
set his last record, and the Railton
was shipped back to England. But
the statement never was retracted
and Railton, before his departure,
said it was possible to step up the
speed.
Speed Difficult to Comprehend.
All this planning was done with
the sole idea of scorching the salt
at $50 miles an hour.
How fast is that?
1t is speed so great it challenges
the speed of sound. Sound travels
l,087 feet second. Cobb, when he
raced 1902 miles per hour for a rec
ord, drove the mile one way in 1919
seconds, which is approximately SIG
feet second, or nearly half the
sped of sound.
The speed was so great it confused
the spectators, who could see the
car as it blurred past them, but
were unable to explain why the roar
of its motors trailed it by some 200
yards.
A University of Utah scientist ex-
planned that since sound travels 1,O87
feet second and the crowd was 1,5OO
feet from the track, the sound re-
quired about one second to.reach the
spectators IN" that time, however,
the car had travelled approximately
500 feet.
AT $50 miles an hour a car is trav-
cling almost as fast as projectile
from q cannon, which has muzzle
velocity of $50 feet per second. An
Army .45-caliber pistol projects
bullet at 800 feet a second, muzzle
velocity.
Cobb and Railton feel sure their
car is capable of challenging the
mark set up by Eyston's Thunder
bolt" They feel sure the "Railton"
will exceed 800 miles an hour. So
they will come to the saline course
midway in August for months try
at the record.
In their quest this year they will
be unopposed. No driver outside of
England has a machine capable of
challenging them. Eyston has not
asked permission to use the track,
and Campbell long since gave up his
5-mile-a- minute racing, apparently
content to stand by as long as an
Englishman held the record.