Jasper County Democrat, Volume 5, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 June 1902 — TRAINS CLIP RECORD [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

TRAINS CLIP RECORD

CHICAGO-NEW YORK SERVICE BEATS THE WORLD. NewTwenty-.Hour Specials Reach Destinations with Time to Spare—Lake Shore - New York Central Traius Make Flying Speed. That the United States can operate the fastest long-distance passenger railway trains in the world was shown the other day when the twenty-hour trains between New York and Chicago on the Lake Shore-New York Central railroads rolled into the terminal stations at New York and Chicago, three to four minutes ahead of time in each case. At the schedule time of twenty hours the Lake Shore trains will make every day an average speed of 49 miles an hour. This average speed is surpassed by some foreign traius, but their runs are only about half the 980 miles by the New Y’ork Central and the Lake Shore. The trip from New York was the means of showing what modern motive power as applied t*> railroad trains can accomplish. The “Twentieth Century Limited” on the Lake Shore-New York Central line kept up the run westward to Buffalo without hindrance, the train arriving there and starting over the long stretch along the shores of the lakes as had been outlined. The even pace was kept up in the main until near New Carlisle, when a freight train got in tinway nnd caused the loss of thirteen minutes.

Long before the run into Chicago had been completed, however, this lost time had been made up. and when the engine came to a standstill under the sh-d at the Grand Central station it was two minutes ahead of time. Railroad men have compiled .some interesting statistics as to the relative speed of trains in America and in “Eu-

rope. While the claim that the United States has the fastest long-distance passenger trains in the world is substantiated by these figures, it is also shown that for shorter runs France and England have faster trains than America. The figures show that the Empire State express from New York to Buffalo runs the 44<) miles at the average rate of 53 miles and a fraction an hour. The new twenty-hour trains between Chicago and New York run at the rate of 45 to 49 miles an hour. Tiie Europeans' claim to have accomplished something in getting up speed is based on the performance of the Sud express, which makes the 48ti miles between Paris and Bayonne at the rate of sti miles an hour, and on the of the East Coast express, which runs "•93 miles, from London to Edinburgh, at the rate of 50.77 miles an hour, while the West Coast express runs from London to Glasgow. 401 miles, at the rate of 50.18 miles an hour.

THE TWENTIETH CENTURY LIMITED.