RAILWAY TRAVELLING IN ENGLAND.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8272, 19 September 1888, Page 3

RAILWAY TRAVELLING IN ENGLAND.

The railway world has hardly recovered from the shock, says Tho Times, with which it learnt on July 20 tl at the Northwestern was going to run to Edinburgh in eight hours and a half, and that the Great Northern had promptly replied with a promise of eight hours, when it hears with a feeling akin to consternation that the West Coast also is going to reduce i's time to eight hours. Now tho 10 express will reach Edinburgh at 6 p.m. instead of 6.30, bb was the time last week. Perhaps tbo most remarkable feature of (ho change is that the stop at Rugby disappears, and the train runs through from London to Crewe, one hundred and fifty-eight miles, without a halt. This is 34 miles longer than the two next longest runs in England, those from London to Nottingham on the 1040 a.m. from St. Pnncras, and from Newcastle to Edinburgh on the 745 and 8 p.m. from King's Cross, which are prnctically equal at 124 miles apiece. What i<i more, it is 12 miles longer than that which has hitherto been the longest run in the world, the 146 miles from Fort Wayne to Chicago on tho Limited Express via the Pennsylvania line. And whereas the English line is prepared to go to Crowe in 3 hours 5 minutee, tho Pennsylvania line, which is often known as the North WeHtern of America, allows 4 hours 10 minutes for its 12 miles shorter road. So we may fairly suy that the performance is simply unique in railway histo.y. Thdt it is physically possible at all is, of course, owing to the system of water troughs, from which water can be taken up us the train is running— -a system which other lines, with the single exception of tbo Lancashire and Yorkshire, have hitherto been strangely relaotunt to imitate from the North WesfeiQi But femar^blQ pi ( thio purt

of the performance is, it is perhaps less wonderful than the run from Carlisle to Edinburgh. To cover 101 miles in 118 minutes over two successive watersheds of 1015 and 870 feet in height respectively was a sufficiently herculean feat already The distance romuas just as long and the course as severe, but only 108 minutes is apparently available to the Caledonian in which to cover it. Ab au illustration of the speed at which railway travelling can be effected wheothe necessity arises, it may be mentioned that on July 20th nn American having missed his train in London, and having to catch an Atlantic steamer at Liverpool, proceeded by the ordinary train to Crewe, where a special engine had been chartered to convey him direct to Liverpool. The distance between Crewe and Liverpool is 36 miles, and one of the large Ore we engines completed the journey in 33 minutes, the American reaching the Linding-stage at Liverpool ten minutes before tho timed departure of his steamer.