THE FASTEST EXPRESSES.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIII, Issue 242, 11 October 1902, Page 3 (Supplement)

THE FASTEST EXPRESSES.

SOME INTERESTING FIGURES.

The following tables contain particulars of every train in the world which gives a journey speed of fifty miles an hour on a journey exceeding 100 miles in length. The journeys treated must be completed ones between any two welldefined centres, namely, from the place at which the train may bo fairly judged to start on its fifty mile an hour fiignt to the place which may be considered its primary objective, unless there are some special circumstances which put express speed out of court before the objective is reached, in which case the journey is taken to the point where these difficulties commence:— CLASS -.-JOURNEYS EXCEEDING 300 MILES IN LENGTH. Speed, inclus. of Journey, stopMiles.H.M. pages. New York to Buffalo.. 441 815 53.. Rordeaux to Paris 3G3} 7 8 50.9 King's Cross to Edin- > burgh (2) 393 745 50.7 Euston to Glasgow 4013 8 0 50.2 Paris to Bayonne 4861 943 50.0

The New York to Buffalo "Empire State" Express, the entire credit of which belongs to the New York Centra] and Hudson River Company, styles itself "fastest regular train in the world," but the proviso long-distance should be added. It makes four scheduled stoppages en route, but is compelled also to slacken speed at about thirty places,

where the track passes through streets, crosses drawbridges, Or Is punctuated by busy grade crossings. Therefore, the locomotive work must he considered a , unique achievement, though the train itself rarely exceeds the medium weight of long-distance express trains, say 200 tons.

!On the other hand, its punctuality .Is I greatly facilitated by the fact that the authorities only undertake to handle persona] baggage on board, and decline to delay the train beyond its schedule for the loading of such baggage. Passengers are advised, therefore, to send on their baggage by the preceding trainBut the "Empire State Express" was well beaten for speed by the "Sud ___> ! press" (Paris to Bayonne) of the Orleans and Midi Companies of France when the latter was at its best. Till the frightful accident which befell the French train near Dax in November, 1900, bringing about its retardation to the present timing, the journey from Paris to Bayonne was covered in 9h 2min, giving an inclusive rate of speed of 53.8 miles an hour. As a matter of fact, the accident happened to "the up train, which was some ten minutes slower than the down one over the whole journey. To-day the up "Sud" takes nine minutes longer than the down one. It has never been discovered what caused the derailment, which occurred on a straight and level part of the track, where, also, there were no points or cross-overs. _>ax la on the Midi system, and the Midi timings were then phenomenal. On the down journey the schedule was:—Bordeaux to Dax 92 miles in 97min (including a service stop at Morceux) and Dax to Bayonne 31 miles in 33min; and on up it read Bayonne to Dax in 33min, and Dax to Bordeaux in 95min«-Including a stop at Morceux. The Intermediate speeds of this train from Orleans fc> Bordeaux are very brisk, namely, 58.i, 55.1, 56.9, and 57.3 miles an j hour for breaks of 692. 62J, 70}, and 87 miles respectively. Even the "Empire State" Express does not attain such speeds between stopping places, its breaks, five in number, being at 53.5, 55.8, -0.4, 57.1, and 51.7 miles an hour. Neither the East Coast nor the West Goast night "flier" to Scotland has a run performed at a higher rate of speed than 54.5 miles an hour; but all three, for there are J two Bast Coast trains accomplishing the journey in Th 45m!n, make far longer j breaks than the French train, which has no track troughs wherewith to replenish the tender in speed. The American com- I

pany havo the troughs, yet its crack train has only one break exceeding 100 miles, namely, New York to Albany, 143 miles; whereas the West Coast train runs from Euston to" Crewe, 158 miles, and from Crewe to Carlisle, 1411 miles; and the East Coast from King's Cross to Grantham, 105_ miles, and from Newcastle to Edinburgh, 124. miles. Further, the Scotch trains are considerably heavier than the "Sud" Express, whose weight may be set down at 145 tons, while there is nothing throughout the French jour- ! ney to compare with the Shap and Beat- ; tock banks. The West Coast train also gives a fifty mile an hour connection to Edinburgh (Princes-street), 400 i miles in eight hours; but this connection cannot fairly be taken as a separate fifty miles an hour journey. CLASS a.—JOURNEYS EXCEEDING 200 j MILES IN LENGTH. , !

Inclusive Miles, h.m. speed. York to Edinburgh... 204 _ 4 0 51.1 Euston to Holyhead.. 2633 515 50.2 The Holyhead train is the Dublin, North

Wall Boat Express, and it may be noted that it ia 20 minutes faster than the fastest of tbe well-subsidised mail trains to Holyhead for Kingstown. A very fine express which just falls short of the standard is the summer "Cornishman"—Paddington to Plymouth (North-road), 24G miles in five hours, speed 49.2. This train halts for 10 minutes at Exeter; and beyond Newton Abbot (no stop, otherwise we should feel justified in reckoning ft to this point) the gradients are terrible, namely, 1 in 41 and 1 in 43.

King's Cross to Leeds.. 185_ eai Euston to Liverpool (Edge Hill) (2) 192 Liverpool (Edge Hill) to Euston (2) „... 192 go^ Berlin to Hamburg 177 __. 50.0

The train which heads the above tabid is the Nprd Company's working of tha Mediterranean-Calais Train de Luxe, running four or five times a week, and when arriving late from the South it is scheduled to leave Paris at 12.30 p.m. and make Calais Pier in exactly three hours. As a matter of fact, this remarkable train, th» weight of which varies from 150 to 2*9 tons, frequently performs the journey under three hours, including a stop o_ four minutes at Amiens for water The second train, the crack Parls-Lilla express, is remarkable for its fine run from Paris to Arras-120 miles in l_7n_ln., speed 61.5 miles per hour—which furnishes the fastest long-distance run in tha world. The third train is the Nord Company's working of the outward-bound "Nord" express as far as the Belgian frontier. The opening break made by this train to St. Quentin, 953 miles, is performed at the rate of speed of 58 miles per hour. This table does not reveal British commercial communications in a flaitoring light, and this although" it includes the accelerated North Western services between London and Liverpool, and Birmingham and Manchester, which came into force on the lst inst The quickesti .ervice between Euston and Liverpool, however, is only for the benefit of passengers by the American liners, who do not halt once between Euston and Liverpool—Edgo Hill. The fastest run furnished by the improved North Western train services is made off an up Manchester express, travelling via Stoke, which, sinca it takes 3h. 50min. over the 183_ miles,does not qualify for the table. The run in question is Lichfield to Euston, _16_ miles, in 2h. smin., speed 55.9. The two Leeds expresses of the Great Northern Company, put on last summer when the Midland made sweeping improvements in their Scotch expresses, which take Leeds on their way, are a refreshing change from the almost standstill policy of British railways as far as speed is concerned. The Midland routs to Leeds is 196 miles in length, and th© company's Scotch expresses furnish several fifty miles an hour connections, th. fastest being an up journey in 3h. 49min.. speed 51.3. The quick trains between Beiv lin and Hamburg are the only 50-mile ai. hour expresses that exist outside Great Britain, Prance, and the. United States. They originated 10 year's ago in consequence of a visit paid by the Kaiser to this country, on which occasion the Great Northern Company ran him down to York in 3. hours. Although they cannot be scheduled as distinct express journeys, it is oVily fair to state that the splendid service given by the Northern Company of France between Paris and Calais is almost paralleled by the Great Northern journey between London and York, 188 miles, performed in from 3h. 35min. to 3h. 45min.. and by the Great Western train., running between Paddington and Exeter, without a stop, 193 2-3 miles, in 3h. 38_____. speed 53.3.— "Daily Graphic."

CLASS III.-JOURNETS BETWEEN 100 AND 200 MILES IN LENGTH. Speed. Miles. Miles PelHour. Paris to Calais Piar .. 184.6 „ 5G.8 Paris to Lille 1551 .. 56.4 Paris to Jeumont 1472 -. 55.4 Paris to Calais Pier .. 184.G .. 55.3 Paris to Boulonge 1573 ... 55.3 Boulonge to Paris .... 1572 •• 55.3 Birmingham to Euston 113 .. 54.2 Paris to Calais Pier .. 184.6 .. 53.7 Lille to Paris .1561 .. 52.9 Calais Pier to Paris .. 184.6 .. 52.7 Paris to Lille 1551 - 61-7 Leeds to King's Cross.. 185_ .. 51.7 Berlin to Hamburg .... 177 ►. 51.3 Euston to Liverpool (Edge Hill) 192 .„ 5L1 Liverpool (Edge Hill) to Euston 1S3 v. 61.1 Hamburg to Berlin .... 177 .. 51.0 King's Cross to Leeds.. 185. ... 50.8 Euston to Wolverhampton 026 w 50.4 Euston to Manchester (2) 1882 .. 60.3 Manchester to Euston (2) 188$ ~- 50.3