HUMAN SPEED

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 118, 14 November 1929, Page 20

HUMAN SPEED

FEATS BY AIR, LAND, AND

WATER

By his new air record of 355.08 mile 3 an hour, Squadron-Leader Orlebar has proved that a man can travel at more than seventeen times Dr. Johnson's limit of twenty miles an hour and live to describe his experience, states the "Daily Telegraph."

Sir Henry Scgrave's marvellous feat is still fresh in the memory. In his wonderful car, while recapturing the world's motor-car record for Great Britain on Daytona Sands on 11th March last, he attained a speed of 231.36 m.p.h. The United States can claim to have found the fastest speed boat, thanks to the feat of Commodore Gar AVood, who reached 93.12 miles per hour at Miami Beach last March. Another nation—France—comes first for war vessels. In official trials a French destroyer recently steamed at 3G.33 knots—approximately' 42 miles an hour. For a, long time the Mauretania's record of five days two hours and'thirtyfour minutes for the journey from Cherbourg to New York stood firm, but the Bremen knocked eight hours off it on her first voyage. The' fastest authentic speed attained on a British railway is held by the Great Western Railway, ant1 this has remained unaltered for a quarter of a century. The record run was made in May,, 1904, when the remarkable rail speed of 102.3 miles an hour was set up over a section of the line between Plymouth and Exeter. The same railway can now claim the world's fastest regular train, "The Cheltenham Flyer," which, running every week-day throughout the year, is scheduled to' cover the 77} miles between Svrindon and Paddington in 70 minutes at an average speed of (iG.2 miles an houiv During the past two months it has accomplish" ed the run on a number of occasions in from 66min to 69min.

Two other famous English trains, the "Mying Scotsman" and the "Royal Scot," have also put up performances which would have staggered Robert Stephenson and James Watt.

Careful attention to breed and diet has enabled horses to create wonderful records. Monastery Garden made one which will take a great deal of beating, while winning the Egmont Handicap at Epsom on 31st May, 1927. It covered five furlongs in 55sec. The fastest time for the Derby was put up in 1927, when Call Boy raced one and a half miles in 2min 34 2-ssee. Felstead 'repeated this time in the Derby last year. Greyhounds have also set up speed records. The best time ever put up was at Cardiff on 34th August, 1929, when Back Isle, the Welsh Derby winner, did 525 yards in 29.725ec.