As the speed and weight of trains increased, the dangers due to lack of brake power soon became alarmingly apparent, and numerous forms of continuous brakes were devised, to be applied to the wheels of every car, under the control of the engineman. In 1889, the British government passed the Railways Regulation Act, making compulsory the use of the block system, the interlocking system, and continuous brakes. In England and some other foreign countries, the vacuum brake (introduced about 1871) is largely used, but it is slower in action than the compressed air brake, and is therefore less efficient for long, heavy, and fast trains.
The Westinghouse brake is one of the most important factors in the safe and efficient handling of heavy and fast trains. Mr. George Westinghouse patented his straight-air brake in 1869, his plain automatic brake in 1872, and his quick-action freight train brake in 1887, while in 1892 he introduced his high-speed brake for express trains. Up to the opening of 1899, the Westinghouse brake had been applied to about 55,500 locomotives and 912,000 cars, of which 34,300 locomotives, 50,000 passenger cars and 750,000 freight cars were on American railways. With this brake, a passenger train of 300 tons, traveling at 60 miles per hour, can be stopped in about 4500 feet and about 90 seconds, or in 1200 feet and 31 seconds in case of emergency. A freight train of 800 tons, running at 30 miles per hour, can be stopped in about 950 feet in 32 seconds, or in 300 feet and 11 seconds by an “emergency” application. Very few countries have applied continuous brakes to freight cars, except the United States and Canada, and (to some extent) Russia and New South Wales.
The improvement in train service has been even greater than that in train equipment, and this improvement has been in speed, accommodation, and number of trains. Among the notable runs are those across the American and European continents. The Canadian Pacific Railway starts a train daily from each end of the line for a through run of 2900 miles. In 1888, a through train service (with sleeping and dining cars) was instituted between Paris and Constantinople, about 1800 miles, and through trains are run twice a week between Paris and St. Petersburg, 1600 miles. There is also a similar service between Calais and Brindisi, 1200 miles, in connection with the mail steamers between England and India. In 1898, the Trans-Siberian Railway was completed to Irkutsk, and a through train service between St. Petersburg and that city, 3230 miles, was commenced.
Railway trains were at first intended to have speeds of about 10 to 20 miles per hour, the latter being looked upon as almost excessive, but much higher speeds were very soon attained. There has been almost from the earliest days a public demand for higher and higher speeds, with consequent rivalry between the railways. The United States and Great Britain (and France within the past few years) have the fastest trains and by far the greater number of fast trains. The highest recorded train speed is that of the Exposition Flyer, 270 tons total, upon the New York Central Railway, May 10th, 1893. It ran a distance of one mile at the rate of 112 miles per hour, and again, on the same date, maintained a speed of 100 miles per hour, through a distance of five miles. As a daily train between New York and Chicago, it maintained a rate of 60 to 75 miles an hour, throughout the entire 980 miles of distance.
RAILWAY SUSPENSION BRIDGE, NIAGARA FALLS.
It will be seen that the speed of “100-miles-an-hour,” which is popularly looked upon as a sort of ideal, has been more than once exceeded, but it may be well to explain that such spectacular bursts of speed are really less important and less wonderful than the trips of 50 to 1000 miles at speeds averaging 50 to 65 miles per hour for the entire journey. Taking into account the loss of time by stops at stations, by changing engines, by the resistance of long grades, etc., it will be easily understood that in order to maintain the average speed from start to finish, the actual speeds must often range from 60 to 75 or even 80 miles per hour. The regular daily transcontinental train of the Canadian Pacific Railway has an average speed of 30 miles per hour, but maintains this for the trip of 2906 miles, which occupies 94½ hours. This is a train and a record of which railway men in general, and those of the Canadian Pacific Railway in particular, may well be proud. There are no such through trains in the United States, but in 1876 a special theatre train was run from New York to San Francisco in 3 days 7⅔ hours. In 1889, the time of the transcontinental mails was 5 days 8¼ hours, but that same year it was reduced to 4 days 12¾ hours, which schedule continued in force until 1899. On January 1, 1899, a new mail service was inaugurated, making the 3408 miles in 98½ hours, or at an average of 34½ miles per hour, including all stops, and the transfer of mail bags across Chicago by wagon from one station to another. The actual running speed is often 60 to 75 miles per hour for long stretches. Engines are changed 18 times and postal crews 7 times.
Fast passenger trains are a popular attraction, but only railway men can fully appreciate the advantages and economies of heavy trains for handling freight traffic. In Europe coal trains weigh from 300 to 400 tons, but in the United States the weight of coal, ore, and freight trains is from 800 to 2000 tons. Automatic couplers and power brakes enable the freight trains to be run as fast as passenger trains, with entire safety; improved cars carry greater loads, and more powerful locomotives are continually being put in service to haul heavier trains. The heaviest trains on record are as follows: (1) Pennsylvania Railway, 130 cars, 5213 tons, or 5560 tons with engine and tender; (2) New York Central Railway, 81 cars, 3478 tons, or 3595 tons with engine and tender. Both these were run in 1898, the length of journey being 160 and 140 miles.
The mails were carried by rail between Baltimore and Washington in 1834, on recommendation of the Postmaster-General. The U. S. railway service was instituted in August, 1864, between Chicago and Clinton, and the following figures indicate its wonderful development:—
| 1880 | 1898 | |
|---|---|---|
| Mileage run by mail cars | 65,763,993 | 187,483,187 |
| Number of mail cars | —— | 3,649 |
| Number of mail clerks | 2,946 | 7,999 |
| Miles of railway operated over | 85,320 | 174,777 |
| Tons of mail carried | 368,000 | 1,432,050 |