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New Zealand Times, Volume LI, Issue 8521, 30 October 1888, Page 4

About a mouth ago we gave a history of the 35 years’ struggle between the East and West Coast railways of Great Britain for predominance in the Anglo-Scottish traffic, a struggle culminating in the remarkable 400 mile race from London to Edinburgh on the 6th August, which was unexpectedly won by the West Coast train by just four minutes, the run being made in. 7 hours 52 minutes. We then stated that the East Coast had accepted the defeat, and that there was to be no more racing. That was the determination annonnced to a meeting of shareholders. But after the next mail left for New Zealand this decision was reversed. The spirit of eager rivalry was not easily allayed, “ the savage soul of fight was up,” and the- East Coasters could not endure to submit to defeat at the hands of opponents whom they had hitherto looked on as quite “out of the running” so far as mere speed went, and especially so in the case of Edinburgh, to which city the West Coast route is both longer and harder. So the East Coast linos next announced that they would run from London to Edinburgh in 7hr 45min, or 7min less than the phenomenal run of the West Coast train on the 6th August. And now the final struggle began in earnest. Each line experienced a mishap. The East Coast racer encountered so fierce a gale in Northumberland that the speed was sufficiently impeded to make the train eleven minutes late. Disappointment and despair reigned triumphant! But, O joy, the news came that the engine of the West Coast flyer had burst a tube going up Shap Fell, and was 40min late! The East Coasters breathed once more. The incident formed the text of some highly diverting articles in the London papers denouncing this “reckless and dangerous running,” in happy ignorance of the facts that the actual speed had been slightly below that run daily by the Manchester and Leeds expresses during the last ten years on the Great Northern and Midland lines, and that a burst tube is a very common and harmless railway incident, its worst effect being delay. And now both rivals girded up their loins for a decisive spurt. The West Coast lines adopted the novel course of ignoring the intermediate station times altogether. They simply got to and from Crewe, Preston and Carlisle as soon as ever they could, calmly indifferent to the fact that a troop of passengers for Edinburgh flocked on to Carlisle platform at the due time of departure, only to find that the “flyer” had left a quarter of an hour before, whereat there was weeping and gnashing of teeth, to say nothing of certain cursory observations. However, by dint of this style of work, the West Coaster reached Edinburgh in the unprecedented time of 7hr 39min, or thirteen minutes quicker than the famous run of the 6th August. But the tables were turned on them this time. It was their turn to eat the bread of mortification and defeat. They found that the rival train via the East Coast had already been in Edinburgh for seven minutes, having come from London in 7hr 32min, including stoppages ! This time the West Coast really did give in, and raced no more. But the East Coast made one more spurt and actually ran from London to Edinburgh (with a load of 100 tons, exclusive of engine and tender) in 7hr 29min. a totally unequalled feat of long-distance fast running. With this masterpiece of railway work the struggle ended for the year, both lines reducing their time at the end of August to B|rhrs. But the battle is to be renewed again next year, and possibly under several novel conditions. The races of 1888, however, will always remain an interesting event in railway history.