TWO MILES A MINUTE ON A TRICYCLE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXV, Issue 130, 3 June 1891, Page 4

TWO MILES A MINUTE ON A TRICYCLE.

"Iwondtr yen never thought of applying. Bteam to four trieyole," said a friend and f&lOW-englneer, Sera Andrews. "I should; tbink It would not be difficult, and you are jMittft fellow to doit— so loud ot experi. meaty, and all (be appliances to your hand, Wsideif being an experienced oyollat. " •' Oh !'' replied 1, , " I have done better tban that. Wbat do you tbink of electricity?" " " Have yon really tried it ? " " Yep }>J will teU soa how, ' " You know, before I o&me heve, I had tor thfi previous six months been assisting my. father, who waß ohief engineer to the Oompany, in finishing tbe small branoh line it ~ . The roads were frightfully bad, and I had no opportunity of indulging in my Jttvonrite rx-retse. so the idea of oonßtruoting tyttioyolo ;wuu on tbe metals occurred to me. "I was. sanguine of buoocbs, but kept tbe lj'ea' a secret'! rom evoiyone but old Warner, whose assistance I required in constructing the machine. This was easily done, as my father, jw«« much occupied witb bis respon. Bible duties, and there was a private workshop adjoining the large one at , where the workneop'e were- aooustomed to our working at experiments they were. not allowed to spa, Thus my prooeediogi gave rise to no particular remarks. "Well to out a long story aB short as I ban, W wner and * bad nearly flushed a machine, , the o! ibe railway, with flanges on the wheels, one large driving ,wheel, v eight feet in dhmeter, on tl.e lef^and two smiUer ones on the rfght, when the. idea of eleotrioity as a motive S^er struck me, I may say, like a flash of ghtning, and ao onoe I determined oa tbe experiment. Tbis, however, I kept secret even; from Warner, aud the maohine was furnished with treadles aud multiplying gear as at first designed, it being my intention to make either mode of propulsion ayiailable at will. " At length all was ready, ond I prepared for a. trial trip. We got the maohino down to a lonely plaoe by the rails ou the main libe after dark one night and at daylight next moruiug I fixed my batteries aud oumulators eagerly wuit ing for the 6 a.m. fgxprev to pass, when I knew I Bhould have jbh^ ljUie clear for above half an hour, the nexb train being a slow ' mineral,' whioh turned on to our new branoh about a mile .further pu. -And I knew the points, would be turne^ for it at the junction rs soon bb th?'ekpreßß had passed over them. ' ' ■'• •' Just ob the latter was due the old man eame ruimitfg down to say I was wanted by 'my father, and my bfing oalled away has an 'Important bearing on my story. I hurried tothe afflce, and after some little delay found whnt he required, and, looking at my watoh as t hastened baok, thoughtC might still be in time, the mineial train beiug rather irregular, and often a few minutes late. •' It Was not in sight, at-d without muoh difficulty I got my steed on the rails jußt as 1 hea,rd tbe distant sound of the approaching ttaiq. Nothingdaunted, as I felt quite ■nre' of beating the slowooaob, I mouuted, and tried the treadles first. The maohine worked .beautifully, and I was delighted with the eaee \yith which I Bped along ; but, bearing the train bobind apparently gaining OQ me, I cautiously applied my eleotrio ' power', and in a few seoonde was going at tome 90 miles an hour. , "Still I did not shake oil my pursuer, and o my astonishment I pat Bed tbe junotion Withoot being turned off the main line, as I had txpeeted. Wbat was the pointsman about? A glance over my shoulder and another at> my watoh explained si). Tty mirierfll train bad passed while I was away, and the arrangement of the lamps in front ol tbe engine told me that I wis running a not Witb the fMteßt mail train on tbe line. '•Pot a moment my bead swam. The next, with professional promptness, I took in tha Whole situation, whioh, though trj ing ebOugb, T oonfeis, was uot yet deßperate. I was going far too fast to jump off, and my only ohanos of safety seemed to lie in increased speed until ihe driver should Bee me, whioh be would surely, I thought, soon do, aud I listened iutenily for hia whistle. "In the meantime I boldly turned ou more electric force (I had ioug sinco taken my feet from the treadles), and looked ahead anxiously for tbe tunnel, which, &s you „, 'kno.fi is t exactly two miles long, and has a . JjoWnwitrd gradient, boping fervently that my " position would be seen, and the train Btopped betore I reaohed it. Thiß, however waa not to be. "Fortunately for me, tbe line bere is perfectly 'straight (or praotioiliy bo) for several miles, or my light machine would Boon have left tbe rails, with what result it is ■ needlf B^ to, speculate. As it wbb. thc rapid knd moi't astonishing emooth motion turough tbe eir wm ro exhilarating that I felt a kind ? of -balf *fl>.kl«« exultation, and, it it had not 1 been /or (hat confounded tunntl, should have thoroughly enjoyed the race. J M'All tou/Bu'on I ekfaita black moutb— at flrßt a meie dot iu the hillside— rapidly approaohing,' ■ as it Beemedj to devour me, Strange that the driver itili took no notioe.' *&s,*= on we eped. MeohautoMly I glanced. at »y watoh aßjientered the black jaws of the tunnel. The man at the signal-box saw me, but; was too dnmbfouodered at the novel light tb believe bis eyei, and in another "riiomesit tbe 'opportunity of warning the express was lost. Now, at last, I beard tbe Jifautle as I rusbed through the darkness, but t was pnly, tbe oautionary. ono usual on entering a tunhel. " How pitchy that darkness was, And wsj*t a.roar .ftcootppaniod the thriek of tho steapi whistle t§ the tram entered olote in my ' v re^(,}, I instantly increased the force at my toinm&nd to &e utmost, eo imminent did the risk ol .ray .bejng °yer taken v.hile in the ' ttinnel ejppew to my exoited senßee, I shall p^ver forget iny sensatipne. It seemed an : °iig4fcsbtfrt ww tne welcome light of day at |be Other end, thbiigh in'fe'ality it could not : A rh4,vrl)ten more tbiiri sortie 60 ot 60 seoondu. ;' rtfTbeabow alotly tbe bright stiot ahead seemed 1 to inweaw, until like ff ■ fl4ib^6«hed into

"At tha same iaiUnt i felt a chock, and heard lometMu snap bantath me, The Whole of my eleolrta apparatus had besoms detaobed. Still I ipsd on, but gradually at a Ull |nd ltM hndipng speed. The signalman at the en* of tbs fnnnei, however, bad seen me and waved his flag. My race for lite was over, and in another half mile I osme to a standstill. This maohine was so strained that another mile might have been fatal to me, and it eood never bs used again. By my own stop.watoh, corroborated by the two signalmen, I had run the two milea in 67 seconds."