WILLIAM TUNKEY, WHOSE UNPRECEDENTED RUN FROM ERIE TO BUFFALO SAVED
THE DAY.]
If the record was to be beaten for the first half of the run, the
speed for the next thirty miles would have to be nearly 70 miles an
hour. Each individual mile was anxiously timed, and at 12 miles from
Toledo the speed was already 66 miles an hour. Nor did it stop there,
but 10 miles further on a stretch of 3-1/2 miles showed a rate of
73.80 miles an hour, and the next 5-1/2 miles were covered at the rate
of 71.40.
It would not take much of such running to put us safely ahead of
the record at the half-way point; but even as hope grew, there was a
sudden jar and grinding of the wheels which told of brakes suddenly
applied. What was the matter? It takes some little time to bring a
train to a standstill when it is running at over 70 miles an hour; and
there was still good headway on when we slid past a man who yet held a
red flag in his hand. Evidently he had signalled the engineer to stop.
But why? Windows were thrown up, and before the train had stopped,
heads were thrust out. The engineer climbed down from his cab.
From the rear platform the passengers poured out, until only the
time-keepers were left on the train, sitting watch in hand to catch
the exact record of the stop and the start. And already, before his
voice could be heard, the man with the flag was brandishing his arms
in the signal to "go ahead;" and no one cared to stop to question him.
The stop was short--only a few seconds over two minutes, but the good
headway of 70 miles an hour was lost; and as the wheels moved again,
it was a sullen and dispirited party on the train. Just as the hope
of winning our uphill fight had begun to grow strong, precious minutes
had been lost; and for what reason none could guess. The common belief
on the train was that the man, in excess of enthusiasm at the speed
which the train was making, had lost his head, and waved his red flag
in token of encouragement. It subsequently transpired that he was
justified, an injury to a rail having been discovered which might have
made the passage at great speed dangerous; but, until that fact was
known, the poor trackman at Port Clinton was sufficiently abused.
On the 70 miles that remained of this division there was no
possibility that such a speed could be made as would put the total for
the first half of the run above the record. Once it was necessary to
slow down to take water from the track, and once again for safety
in rounding the curve at Berea. Between these points there were
occasional bursts of speed when 68 and 70 miles an hour were reached;
and after Berea was passed, there remained only 13 miles to Cleveland.
But in those 13 miles was done the fastest running that had been made
that day; for 7 miles to Rockport were covered at the rate of 83.4
miles an hour, and at Rockport itself the train must have been running
nearly a mile and a half in a minute.
It was a gallant effort; and, but for "the man at Port Clinton," there
is no doubt that by that time the success of the run would have been
reasonably assured. As it was, Cleveland was reached at ten minutes to
nine (8.50.13), the 107 miles from Toledo having been covered in 109
minutes--from which two minutes and five seconds were to be deducted
for the time in which the train was at rest at Port Clinton. In all,
so far, 328-1/2 miles had been run at a speed of 62.16 miles an hour.
"It may be done yet," people told each other, but there was little
confidence in the voices which said it.
The stop at Cleveland was a good omen, for the change of engines was
made in a minute and forty-five seconds, and it was soon evident that
Jacob Garner, the new engineer, understood that he had a desperate
case in hand. Before ten miles were covered the train was travelling
more than a mile in a minute. Twenty-eight miles from the start, in
spite of an adverse grade, six miles were covered at the rate of
74.40 miles an hour; and from there on mile after mile flew past,
and station after station, and still the speed showed 70 miles
and upwards. Through Ashtabula, haunted with the memory of railway
disaster, we burst, and on to Conneaut and Springfield; and, even
against hope, hope grew again. Twelve miles from Springfield is the
little town of Swanville, and here the high-water mark of 83.4 miles
at the end of the last division was beaten; for the 6.2 miles from
there to Dock Junction were made in 4.4 minutes--or at the speed of
84.54 miles an hour.
As has been said, it was hoping only against hope. But to despair was
impossible in the face of such running; and when Erie, 8-1/2 miles
beyond Dock Junction, was reached, the 95-1/2 miles from Cleveland
had been done in 85-1/2 minutes, at an average speed of 67.01 miles
an hour. The average speed for the whole distance from Chicago was now
63.18 miles an hour, which was crawling close up to the record. But
424 miles had been covered, and only 86 miles remained. If the record
was to be beaten, the speed for those 86 miles would have to average
over 70 miles an hour.
Was it possible to do such a thing? It never had been done, of course,
in all the world; but the essence and the object of the whole day's
run were that it should defy all precedent. There were few people,
however, of those on board who in their hearts dared harbor any hope;
especially as the engine which was to be tried at this crucial moment
was a doubtful quantity.
All the engines used upon this run were built by the Brooks Locomotive
Works, of Dunkirk, N.Y., after designs by Mr. George W. Stevens, of
the Lake Shore road. The first four engines, which had hauled
the train as far as Erie, were of what is known as the American
type--eight-wheelers, comparatively light, but built for fast speeds.
These locomotives weighed only 52 tons, with 17 by 24-inch cylinders
and 72-inch driving-wheels. They had been doing admirable work in
service, having been built to haul the famous "Exposition Flyer"
in 1893; and that they were capable of very high speeds, for short
distances at least, even with a fairly heavy train, had been shown
in the earlier stages of this run, when all had reached a speed of 70
miles an hour, and two had touched and held a speed of well over 80.
The last engine was of a different type, and a type which among
experts has not been considered best adapted to extremely high speeds.
Somewhat heavier than its predecessors (weighing 56-1/2 tons in
working order), this engine was a ten-wheeler, with three pairs of
coupled drivers and a four-wheeled swivelling truck. It had the same
small cylinders (17 by 24 inches), and driving-wheels of only 68
inches diameter. It was a bold experiment to put such an engine to
do such work; and nothing could well be devised for fast speeds more
unlike the magnificent engine "No. 999," which was built in the New
York Central Railroad shops at West Albany, and is the glory of the
New York Central road, or than the London and Northwestern compound
engine with its 88-inch driving-wheels, or the Caledonian locomotive
(which did the best running in the English races) with its 78-inch
drivers and cylinders 18 by 26 inches.
It was now after ten o'clock in the morning; and at Erie crowds had
assembled at the station to see the train go out, for news of what was
being done had by this time gone abroad. The platforms, too, at every
station from Erie to Buffalo were thronged with people as we went
roaring by. In Dunkirk (through which we burst at 75 miles an hour)
crowds stood on the sidewalks and at every corner. To describe the run
for those 86 miles in detail would be impossible, or to put into words
the tension of the suppressed excitement among those on board the
train as miles flew by and we knew that we were travelling as men had
never travelled before.
For those who had misgivings as to the possibilities of the type of
engine there was a surprise as soon as she picked up the train. She
must have reached a speed of a mile a minute within five miles from
the first movement of the wheels. The first eight miles were finished
in 8 minutes, 49 seconds. From there on there was never an instant of
slackening pace. From 60 miles an hour the velocity rose to 70; from
70 to 80; from 80, past the previous high-water marks, to 85 and 90,
and at last to over 92.
Trains have been timed for individual miles at speeds of over 90 miles
before. There is even said to be on record an instance of a single
mile run at 112 miles an hour. But never before has an engine done
what the ten-wheeler did that day, when it reached 80 miles an hour
and held the speed for half an hour; reached 85 miles an hour and held
that for nearly ten minutes; reached 90 miles and held that for three
or four consecutive miles. A speed of 75 miles an hour (a mile and a
quarter a minute) was maintained for the whole hour, and the 75 miles
were actually covered in the 60 minutes. The entire 86 miles were done
in 70 minutes 46 seconds,--an average speed of 72.91 miles an hour.
In the English run, a speed of 68.40 miles was maintained for an even
hour, 69 miles being done in 60.5 minutes; and 141 miles were run at
an average speed of 67.20 miles an hour.
To word it otherwise, the American train covered 7 miles more in its
fastest hour than did the English train. The speed which the English
engines held for 141 miles the American engines held for over 200--181
miles being made at 69.67 miles an hour.
The most remarkable figures in the American run are given in the
following table:
A distance of 510.1 miles made at 65.07 miles an hour.
" " " 289.3 " " " 66.68 " " "
" " " 181.5 " " " 69.67 " " "
" " " 85 " " " 72.92 " " "
" " " 71 " " " 75.06 " " "
" " " 59 " " " 76.08 " " "
" " " 52 " " " 78.00 " " "
" " " 42 " " " 79.04 " " "
" " " 33 " " " 80.07 " " "
" " " 8 " " " 85.44 " " "
A single mile was also timed (unofficially) at the speed of 92.3 miles
an hour.
Here is the schedule of the last division:
Dis- Time of
tance. leaving.
Erie (leave).............................-- 10-19-48
Harbor Creek............................. 8 miles 10-28-37
Moorhead................................. 3 " 10-31-06
North East............................... 4 " 10-34-22
State Line............................... 5 " 10-38-15
Ripley................................... 3 " 10-40-22
Westfield................................ 8 " 10-45-56
Brocton.................................. 8 " 10-52-06
Van Buren................................ 5 " 10-55-39
Dunkirk.................................. 4 " 10-58-54
Silver Creek............................. 9 " 11-06-05
Fairhaven................................ 5 " 11-10-33
Angola .................................. 5 " 11-14-14
Lake View................................ 7 " 11-20-11
Athol Springs............................ 4 " 11-24-39
Buffalo Creek............................ 8 " 11-30-34
Total distance Erie to Buffalo
Creek................................86 "
Total time for the 86 miles.... 1-10-46