Newtonian physics includes gravity so why worry if the boiler or any other kind of HP precludes the 106 mph. we had locomotives that it was said couldn't overspeed if they were run off of a cliff.
I set many an SP Coast Div clocks at 9:00 AM but never compared the elapsed time between points on our reporting, OS reports I mean, as evidence.
Consider that an ancient device: a mechanical stop-watch carried between the definig locations if accurateley manipulated......
The "stops" for the watch also generated problems....say between mile posts. After the Mojave-Colton By-Pass was completeded, everyone knew the mileposts signs were set by a crew driving the M of W paths, trails roads along side the new main.
I went home on Santa Fe's Grand Canyon Limited and some where on an Illinois winter afternoon in a few miles saw 32 to 35 second miles based on my ability to gage the passage of the mile posts and their accurate location.
/
My take is the 106.1 mph claim is a "back of the envelope" type calculation made by someone riding the train. It may not be scientifically 100% accurate, but pretty darn close. At least over what Mr. Hankey claims the engine could do based on published data.
When it comes to the laws of physics or thermodynamics, I'm like Bugs Bunny. I never studied law. That being said, I do know that you can have identical machines built by the same company, same factory, same people, but work slightly differently. I know I've read in Trains, and elsewhere, of steam engines of the same class that fired differently. As an engineer I've had identical (on paper) trains that handled differently. Some roll with ease, some don't. One you can't maintain 50 mph in notch 8 while the next one you have to throttle down to avoid going over 50 mph at the same location.
It could well be that on the day and at the place the 100 mph plus speed was claimed everything, and I mean everything down to weather conditions were just right. That day they could do it, the day before or day after maybe not so well.
Something caught my attention in the sidebar. I know someone brought up that maybe there was an extra hand tossing coal into the fire that day. Certainly plausible if they thought ahead of time to "see what she could do" at a specific location thought to be ideal for that. Some of the published data on the engine, like grate area, heating surface, drive wheel diameter, etc is not subject to change. Of course there could be minute changes from manufacturing or repairs done, but that data is probably very close. But what about boiler pressure? That 220 psi is surely for the class of engine. While there is an absolute operating pressure, it's going to be higher than working pressure. I don't claim to know what it is, but what if the boiler could be carried safely at 230 psi? Maybe it wouldn't get them to 106 mph, but it might get them close to it, at least over the 90 mph Hankey claims is the best it could do. Those of you with the law degrees will have to argue that one.
I enjoyed the April issue. I do think it is stretching some of the articles to include them in "Railroading's 7 Greatest Myths and Legends" though. Track 61, Al Capone going to the pokey by train, or the RMS Titanic's (a subject that has filled many volumes with myth and legend itself) connection to railroading (I knew about the two executives, but didn't know of the architect) have never been on my radar for a list of railroad legends or myths. Excellent articles, but there are other subjects more worthy for such a list. Possibly some of those were not used because they have been featured before in the pages of Trains.
Jeff
I get the impression that some people believe that because earlier locomotives were relatively smaller, pulled less, and were less modern, it had to also follow that they were slower. From what I have read, the opposite is closer to the truth because the smaller locomotives were easier to balance. So, I have no problem believing that, for the best 1905 passenger locomotives, 100 mph with two or three cars was a piece of cake. So, was 106 possible? How about 120? I don't know, but those speeds do not strike me as being far fetched.
1905 was not the beginning of railroading. It was well developed and had acquired quite the swagger by that period. It was a wild and bold era where risk-taking was fashionable, and delivering the big promise was part of that fashion. If one does not understand the railroad culture of that era, it might sound like too much to believe.
I finally got around to reading the story last night. Coupling all that has been said here and what was said in the article I come up with what has not been said, and could point to the soluition or at least some kind of answer. We know the exact time LA to Chi. and the elapsed time. I gather that there are numerous point to point speeds recorded with the one, the 106.1 mph one, in question. I am sure there must be an Einstien or other mathimatical wizard out there who could or have access to computer program that could, take all the known times and speeds and figure what other speeds, or if this particular segment speed, had to be achieved to total the LA to Chi avreage and exact. I can type, not well, but I can type, I cannot do major math after I take my shoes and socks off, so maybe one of you out there could "add" a little help.
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I think what we have accomplished here is to confirm what Mortimer J Adler said about a "historical fact" being a very difficult thing to nail down. All of the people involved are long dead, the company is merged away into BNSF years ago, all the equipment used was scarped years ago. Other than the tracks, all there is left of this incident are the accounts of it. We cannot successfully refute any of it, since none of us were there. We can only speculate.
George
Bucyrus I get the impression that some people believe that because earlier locomotives were relatively smaller, pulled less, and were less modern, it had to also follow that they were slower. From what I have read, the opposite is closer to the truth because the smaller locomotives were easier to balance.
Bucyrus: good point --- would like to add that those engines also had very large driving wheels which enabled slower piston travel.
I am going with Hankey and Bill Withuhn and their view that the 106mph is suspect. Withuhn appearantly has sufficient knowledge of thermodynamics to be able to run calculations. (quote) "Years ago, he ran calculations to determine the power output..."
The specs for Baldwin built Santa Fe 4-4-2 No. 507, basically identical to No. 510, can be seen here- http://www.catskillarchive.com/rrextra/blatpg23.Html I don't know if there are any professional mechanical engineers with good knowledge of thermodynamics now on the forum, but I'd expect that the specs on the engine would provide the necessary data to run maximum speed calculations.
This Wikipedia entry on the special includes the running times for each crew district. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Special Note the Shopton, IA to Chillicothe, IL segment which includes Cameron to Surrey-104.7 miles was run in 1hr 41min for an average speed of 62.3 MPH. Not clear, but I assume the segment times include engine change.
Today the Amtrak Southwest Chief is scheduled to make the run from Fort Madison to Galesburg, for the most part ex-Santa Fe-58 miles in 59 minutes or just under 60MPH. Amtrak is limited to a top speed of 79 MPH on that run, but has much lower limits over the ex-Santa Fe to ex-Burlington interchange tracks at Cameron and from Cameron to the Galesburg station. The time also includes the station stop at Galesburg.
My thought: If the Scott Special was not subject to any speed limit on tangent track and the engineers were allowed to take curves as fast as their experience said they could do, what held them down to an average speed now almost matched by an operation with a top speed limit of 79MPH. If the Santa Fe No. 501 could run at a steady 90MPH, why would the average speed be not better than the 62.3 as reported.
I am not going to argue that accurate clocking of the run between Cameron and Surrey would not have been possible, but there doesn't seem to be any record of who clocked the time. The sidebar notes that it was not included in the dispatches of the on-board reporter. Aside from the Booklet put out by the Santa Fe (availble as a pdf as part of the preview of the magazine), newspapers reporting on the special made no note of the speed. So what was the origin? Hankey makes good points in suggesting it was just corporate spin.
"We have met the enemy and he is us." Pogo Possum "We have met the anemone... and he is Russ." Bucky Katt "Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future." Niels Bohr, Nobel laureate in physics
To rephrase my point: can the final average speed be broken down enough to find out how fast the train had to be going on the segment in question to support the average speed as publicized?
I glanced at the article and haven't read it in depth yet. But I did see a graph with the different engines that were used listed and average speed. In some places, maybe one engine did go faster than in another place.
I was on UP City of St. Louis west of Green River, WY with my parents and a guy in the dome car was clocking mileposts and we were doing 100 mph. It was straight track and they were making up time. This is when the waiters were dropping dishes in the diner earlier, which meant something unusual was happening. Our trip didn't average 100 mph, but on that stretch we did. No speed limits in those days, except ones UP put in place on their own, I guess. It was a diesel of course, but I know I've heard of a famous steamer running over 100 mph in the early 1900's.
It's an interesting article, in fact the whole issue has a lot of goodies. My parents and I saw the General when she was visiting different cities in 1962.
Sunnyland I glanced at the article and haven't read it in depth yet. But I did see a graph with the different engines that were used listed and average speed. In some places, maybe one engine did go faster than in another place. I was on UP City of St. Louis west of Green River, WY with my parents and a guy in the dome car was clocking mileposts and we were doing 100 mph. It was straight track and they were making up time. This is when the waiters were dropping dishes in the diner earlier, which meant something unusual was happening. Our trip didn't average 100 mph, but on that stretch we did. No speed limits in those days, except ones UP put in place on their own, I guess. It was a diesel of course, but I know I've heard of a famous steamer running over 100 mph in the early 1900's. It's an interesting article, in fact the whole issue has a lot of goodies. My parents and I saw the General when she was visiting different cities in 1962.
If nothing better than Automatic Block or Manual Block (CTC was no better) was in service, passenger trains were limited to 79 mph and freights were limited to 59 mph. If there was no signal protection, passenger trains were limited to 59 mph and freights were limited to 49 mph.
Johnny
henry6 To rephrase my point: can the final average speed be broken down enough to find out how fast the train had to be going on the segment in question to support the average speed as publicized?
Given the admittedly brief duration of the run (90 seconds), plus the possiblity of slow orders and other restrictions even within that crew district, I'd opine that even during the time that just that engineer was running, the total time elapsed would probably not be apparent.
Even considering acceleration and deceleration, the entire burst of speed probably didn't exceed 8-10 miles.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
..or 8-10 seconds!
Considering the replies in this thread, I think it is fair to say that we all agree that there is insufficient evidence to prove whether the speed record was true or false. All you can do is believe one way or the other; or simply not come to a conclusion. So it is a fundamental truth that there are only those three choices.
Therefore, when somebody says they have debunked the speed record, that claim has to be false.
So it is remarkable that we have a thread where everyone agrees on something. Clearly, Mr. Hankey has not debunked the 106.1 mph speed record.
Bucyrus Considering the replies in this thread, I think it is fair to say that we all agree that there is insufficient evidence to prove whether the speed record was true or false. All you can do is believe one way or the other; or simply not come to a conclusion. So it is a fundamental truth that there are only those three choices. Therefore, when somebody says they have debunked the speed record, that claim has to be false. So it is remarkable that we have a thread where everyone agrees on something. Clearly, Mr. Hankey has not debunked the 106.1 mph speed record.
Bucyrus makes a good summarizing conclusion. Hankey's attempt todebunk hasn't succeeded.I think we should cut him some slack. He is evidently a reporter, nota principal, in this matter. His job is difficult, as is everybody'swho practices journalism or history.As much as I enjoy railroad history, I prefer the history of theMedieval times. The main advantage: *all* those people are dead, andso are all the people who might have strong feelings about them.<smile>BTW Bucyrus: I grew up in Shelby.
Hankey is an academic and not a reporter. He presents the various factors and recitations and tries to come to a conclusion based on them in a manner that draws conversation and questions.
It might be useful to consider what is required to move a 349 ton train at that speed. Using a chart found in John Armstrong's "The Railroad, What It Is, What It Does," (page 50), you can estimate it would take 1400 horsepower to move a 349 ton train 100 mph. Using the formula HPx308/ 100 (mph) = TE, the result is a need for 4312 lbs TE. Yes, I know the speed was 106.1 mph, but for illustration an even 100 mph is sufficient.
First I ask anyone with engineering ability to debunk or improve upon these figures. I am no engineer and don't claim to know a lot about it.
Second, assuming my figures are in the ballpark, the question is whether the SF 4-4-2 could achieve that performance. Note it is a saturated steamer, with only 49.5 sqft grate area. Its TE was rated at only 22,200 lbs.
It is worthwhile to note that PRR E6 5075 was tested and published results show drawbar pull declining as speed increases, falling to 3300 lbs at 95 mph. For the test 5075 was hand fired and had no superheater.
Finally, somebody call Juniatha. She could add some light to this thread and be entertaining, too!
henry6... in a manner that draws conversation and questions.
Well, he certainly succeeded there...
The basic question regarding the locomotive's capacity, IMHO, comes down to whether or not it had sufficient reserve to maintain speed (60-ish) at it's rated boiler pressure, and then enough latent capacity to power the locomotive up 106+ without dropping the boiler pressure to a point where it was a problem.
I looked for the drawbar horsepower of that particular class of locomotive, but didn't find it.
It is interesting that Mr. Hankey flatly asserts that the speed record would have been physically impossible, with his only verification being that it is the “opinion” of Bill Withuhn.
Mr. Hankey has vaguely implied that the firebox size on the AT&SF engine was not large enough to achieve the claimed speed record. And apparently, the assessment of the firebox inadequacy is based on the fact that this was a relatively small firebox compared to more modern locomotives. But just because more modern locomotives had bigger fireboxes, it does not necessarily follow that they were capable of higher speeds. Locomotive development was not an evolution toward higher and higher speeds, as this firebox size issue tries to assert. Instead, the development evolution was toward the ability to pull ever-greater train weights at typical road speed limits.
So the size of the AT&SF engine’s firebox relative to later fireboxes is irrelevant to the speed record claim. Compared to later engines, the AT&SF engine did have a smaller firebox, but it was also a lighter locomotive, and train weight was relatively lighter. We are talking about a train weight of 170 tons. That is only a little more the just one of today’s loaded cover hoppers.
As has been suggested, the proper analysis of this speed record claim is the relationship between horsepower and total train weight, including the weight of the locomotive. The main challenge is to determine the horsepower.
Generally, I do not see much analysis of horsepower for steam locomotives. Diesels produce their maximum horsepower when the throttle is wide open under maximum loading. Steamers develop more horsepower the faster they go, up to the point where they can’t burn fuel any faster. I do recall some intense discussions here on the forum about horsepower versus tractive effort. The beauty of it was that you could always tell when the correct mathematical conclusions were reached because everybody was in perfect agreement.
Bucyrus As has been suggested, the proper analysis of this speed record claim is the relationship between horsepower and total train weight, including the weight of the locomotive. The main challenge is to determine the horsepower. Generally, I do not see much analysis of horsepower for steam locomotives. Diesels produce their maximum horsepower when the throttle is wide open under maximum loading. Steamers develop more horsepower the faster they go, up to the point where they can’t burn fuel any faster. I do recall some intense discussions here on the forum about horsepower versus tractive effort. The beauty of it was that you could always tell when the correct mathematical conclusions were reached because everybody was in perfect agreement.
There was quite a bit of steam locomotive horsepower from the 30's and 40's, not so much from 1900. The horsepower peak for modern freight locomotives was typically around 40 to 50 MPH, with power dropping off above that presumably due to pressure drop related to steam flow through the valves and cylinders. I would think driver diameter would have an affect on high speed power as a larger diameter would reduce the valve operating speed.
Having an accurate figure for drawbar horsepower doesn't do much good without an accurate figure for train resistance, with aero drag being a major component at that speed. Local wind conditions would be important, a 20 MPH tail wind would bring the aero drag component down to 86 MPH equivalent.
To put matters in perspective: Less than 30 years later, the Milwaukee was running much larger passengers trains with daily top speeds over 100MPH with an Atlantic, albeit one huge Atlantic with higher pressure superheated steam.
- Erik
NY Times articles...
MINER STARTS COSTLY TRIP
LOS ANGELES, Cal., July 9. -- With a yellow dog decorated with a thousand-dollar collar on board as a mascot, Miner Walter Scott's skyrocket special train got away exactly on schedule time at 1 o'clock this afternoon on its trial for the record of forty-five hours for the 2,265 miles between Los Angeles and Chicago.
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F50C11FD3B5E12738DDDA90994DF405B858CF1D3
CHICAGO MOB SCARES DEATH VALLEY CROESUS
CHICAGO, Ill., July 11. -- Walter Scott, the Croesus of Death Valley, was mobbed by more than 1,000 men and women when his Santa Fe special from Los Angeles shot into the Polk Street station six minutes ahead of schedule time at 11:54 to-day.
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F70912FE345913738DDDAB0994DF405B858CF1D3
SCOTT OF DEATH VALLEY IN WALL ST. -- AND OUT
Walter Scott, alias "Scotty Swift," of Death Valley, arrived in town yesterday on the Twentieth Century Limited. The reason why he did not break the record between Chicago and New York was because the railway companies would not take him, he says.
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F60C16F63F5512738DDDAC0994DF405B858CF1D3
Wanswheel's ATSF advertisement is pretty interesting in itself. SF offers a trip, Chicago to LA and return, for $110.00. Although slower than Scotty's run, it would be more luxurious. My handy inflation calculator says $110 in 1906 equals $2634.44 in 2010.
Fast forward to today. Amtrak sells the same trip round for $1406.00.That includes a first class room and free meals in the diner. And maybe best of all, it's even faster than Scotty, 43 hours flat, eastbound and only 15 minutes longer going west.
BTW, Scotty spent the 2010 equivalent of $143,696.72
Can't be sure that ad is from an LA paper. If the round-trip fare was $110 from LA, that likely was off-peak or something. And probably didn't include the Pullman charges?
Hankey makes the point that the speed claim must be false because Walter Scott has poor credibility. Indeed, that seems to be a part of his career. Yet, as the account above posted by wanswheel clearly shows, the speed claim was made by AT&SF. I am not sure if Scott even made the 106mph claim himself. But since AT&SF did, the issue of credibility rests with them. No problem; Hankey dismisses the AT&SF claim as corporate spin. But is spin the right word for it? The AT&SF clearly stated the speed record as a well-detailed fact. So they were either telling the truth or lying.
BucyrusSo they were either telling the truth or lying.
Yes, I believe the same applies. My only point was that labeling such a forthright and specific claim as spin when you assert it to be false seems like trying let the AT&SF off the hook in favor of blaming the alleged false speed claim on Scotty because his reputation for exaggeration makes it easy to do so.
Excerpt from The Story of Scotty by Charles A. Taylor (1906).
http://books.google.com/books?id=Li0XAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1[
CHAPTER IV.
VAN LOAN'S STORY OF THE "COYOTE'' SPECIAL.
One July evening, seated in the reception room of the Hollenbeck Hotel, Los Angeles, two friends of mine from San Francisco were talking of "Scotty's" wild ride on the "Coyote" special. Old Jim Haswell, a well-known California character and an ardent admirer of "Scotty," came in and joined us with a "Hello, fellows! Did you hear what Charlie Van Loan, the Examiner man, said about 'Scotty?' No? Then wait a moment. Who ordered that last round? No, thanks; no more cigarettes for me, not since I left New York. Yes, waiter, cigars for four; best you have. Now, then, I just came from the editorial rooms of the Examiner and have a proof of Van's story. Never mind how I got it. Listen while I read it to you:
" 'All aboard!' called Conductor George Simpson, of Walter Scott's special record-breaker train to Chicago at one minute of 1 o'clock yesterday afternoon. A minute later he waved his hand to Engineer John Finley, and the greatest race against time in railroad history commenced.
"Scott and his wife stood on the rear platform, with C.E. Van Loan, the Examiner's recorder of this most remarkable journey across the continent. The crowd of fifteen hundred people gave a cheer, and shouted: 'Hit it up, Scotty!' 'Get your money's worth, old man!' 'You're wild and wooly, but you're a dandy!' 'Good luck, old Death Valley sport!' to which Scotty smiled and waved a farewell.
"Long before noon the depot grounds were filled with the curious to see the 'Man of the Earth,' as he is called in New York clubs, take his departure.
"The special train stood glistening as brightly as the force that worked on it all night could make paint, brass and nickel. There was a Pullman, the 'Muskegon,' dining-car No. 1407, baggage-car No. 210, and a ten-wheel Baldwin locomotive No. 442, which made the run to Barstow.
"Engineer John Finley was in command, with Traveling Engineer J.B. Gallivan supervising, and Charles Ashleigh as fireman. Conductor George Simpson and Brakeman F.A. King had charge of the coaches, and Dining Car Conductor Thomas Lee, with Chef Fred Geyer, looked after the commissary, with a corps of waiters and dishwashers.
"Every table in the diner was set and each was adorned with a bouquet of carnations.
" 'Here he comes! Here he comes!' and Walter Scott was seen pushing his way through the jam leading a dog. He started as he saw the immense throng in front of him. 'What in Hades is this, a funeral?' he said to a friend, as the dog showed fright. Now here's a story about that dog which is illustrative of the man, whose sense of dramatic proportion is most keen.
"Late Saturday night Scott sent for a friend and said: 'Bill, I want a dog. Not one with a pedigree, not one that knows any one; I want a dog that has no owner, that is, just a homeless, hungry cur, which hasn't had a square meal for a week, and doesn't know where it is going to get the next one. I want the most friendless, forlorn, unhappy yellow pup that you can find, and I want you to have it at my room early to-morrow.'
"That was the dog Scott led through the crowd in the hour of his greatest prominence. Scott smiled greetings to various friends. He did not head for the Pullman, but straight for the baggage car, where he called the conductor, and had the dog made fast, provided with water and given all the comforts of a Pullman special.
"More abashed by the vast crowd the dog hung back, but Scott coddled it, and said: 'Come along, pard, don't buck now. I'm going to give you a time that you'll remember all your life.'
"The frightened little animal looked whimperingly about the sea of faces and then at the countenance of the 'Man of the Earth,' the Death Valley human enigma. What he saw in the man's face satisfied him. With all his fear gone he trotted confidently after his new master, and never even looked a question as he was quartered in the baggage car. He had read Walter Scott's heart as most men read it who know him.
"After the dog was made comfortable, Scott started to go, presumably to the comfort of the Pullman, but that is not his manner. He swung off the baggage car -and, by the way, that dog will have the car entirely to himself - and headed for the locomotive. The crowd rushed after him. He climbed into the cab and gripped the grimy hand of Engineer Finley. 'Glad you're going to pull us, pard,' he said; 'guess you'll rush her along some. This is the same game we played coming in from Barstow. You're the best ever.' There was a rustle of crisp new bank notes, but that is not necessary for publication, and after greetings all along the crew of the machine, Scott climbed down and again there was a wild scramble of the curious onlookers as he made his way to the Pullman. As he climbed the steps there were shouts of 'Speech, Scotty!' and for the first time he showed a trace of self-consciousness.
"He came to a standstill on the platform and smilingly faced the throng. 'You all look good to me,' he said, heartily; 'I can't shake hands with you all, but I wish you good-by and good luck,' and he shook hands with himself, waving his hands toward the crowd in a farewell.
"Whatever they may have thought about Scott's sense in spending his money to make a railway record, he had the people with him. His alert, unpretentious personality, his way of doing something, even if it were a folly; the indomitability of his character and his hearty amiability had won their hearts, and they cheered him again and again.
"Meanwhile the Santa Fe officials were busy. General Passenger Agent John J. Byrne, who had conducted this tremendous sporting event, which will form the most striking advertisement the Santa Fe Company possibly could obtain; General Superintendent Hibbard, Chief Clerk Heid of the passenger department, City Ticket and Passenger Agent McGee, Division Superintendent John Hitchcock and Assistant General Manager Brewer were among those who assisted in seeing that everything was set right for the trip over this division.
" 'The time from here to Barstow is scheduled at three hours and twenty minutes,' said General Superintendent Hibbard, 'but we are liable to cut that down. I figure the trip through at about fifty-two hours. If we cut that it will be a wonder. There is a stretch of 200 miles of track from Derby to La Junta where we will shake him up a bit. I expect that the indicator will show seventy-five or eighty miles an hour along there.
"'We have arranged a clear track for miles ahead of him. Every switch will be watched and a man will be at every crossing with a flag, so there will be no slowing up.
" 'Safe? Why the train is safer than a regular train. We have got a good bit at stake in getting her through in safety. We will not take any wild chances with it, but that train will go to Chicago - well, you wait and watch the returns.'
"All the same, just as the engine pulled out, an insurance agent was sent for by the company and instructed to write an accident policy on Scott's life for $10,000 in favor of the Santa Fe Company.
"For forty odd hours its system must be practically surrendered to Scott's train. While traffic can be performed on some sections, all must be subordinated to the special. By the time it pulls into Chicago sixteen full crews of trainmen, or eighty-five men, will have been employed. It will have been pulled by sixteen different engines. All along the line the station agents and telegraphers will be kept on watch during the time the train is on their sections and divisions. Every switch and every crossing of road or railway will be under watch, and, more than all, the entire detective force of the company will be on guard.
"How much cash Scott has with him no one but himself knows. It certainly is a large amount, for he never carries drafts or checks. His pockets had a very enticing bulge yesterday, and his favorite place for carrying his roll - the inside pockets in his blue shirts - were distinctly overcrowded.
" 'Well, you Examiner boys are satisfied, I hope,' said Scott to a newspaper friend, just before the train left, 'When you had me on the wire at Barstow on Thursday I told you not to worry; that I'd make the trip all right, but that I wanted to know I would get what I paid for.
"'I keep hearing that I have got some scheme, something to sell, and that this is advertising myself. I can't help the advertising. I wanted to do this and I am going to do it. But if people make it their business it is not my fault.
" 'I want to tell you again that I have nothing to sell. No one can buy my mine for any price, for it is as good as any quantity of money to me. I have it safe, and have kept its location secret for a long time. But I'm not foolish enough to imagine that I can keep it to myself much longer. This fall will see a rush into my region such as has never been seen before; but my mine is safe, and I have got enough to last me.
" 'When the boys find my district it will be up to them. But I had to find it myself, and it was no picnic. See here,' and he rolled up the sleeve of his blue shirt and showed an angry-looking scar. 'I woke up one morning in my bed on the sands - hot sands, too - and on my bare arm was a rattlesnake. He looked at me as I moved and I looked at him. He did not seem to like my face, for before I could move he had sunk his fangs in my arm where you see that scar. I whipped out my knife and first did for the snake, for he irritated me. Then I slashed open my arm and sucked the wound. It bothered me a few days, but that's all. Those are the sort of things you meet with in a desert life, so it seems right a man should be well paid for staying in such a country. Maybe I am foolish in traveling this way and hunting fun and comfort; but, my boy, if you had spent so many years alone, in utter isolation, maybe people would say you were silly for spending a little money when you had come into more than you could get rid of even in buying trains. Well, so long. See you when I come back.'
"There was the grip of a powerful hand and a smile, the bell rang, the crowd cheered, and Scott, the mystery of Death Valley, had started to make the quickest journey on record from Los Angeles to New York, with the prospect ahead of him of many impossibilities to be accomplished. That is all he wants to be told in order to do something - that it is impossible.
"The Scott party comprises: Mr. Walter Scott, Mrs. Walter Scott, Mr. C.E. Van Loan. His entourage comprises: 1 engineer, 1 fireman, 1 train conductor, 1 Pullman conductor, 1 dining car conductor, 1 brakeman, 1 Pullman porter, 1 chef, 2 assistant cooks, 2 waiters, 1 dog and 1 stowaway."
CHAPTER V.
Story Of The Dog That Ate In A Diner.
Menu.
Caviar Sandwich a la Death Valley.
Iced Consomme.
Porterhouse Steak a la Coyote, two inches thick, and a Marvel of Tenderness.
Broiled Squab on Toast, with Strips of Bacon au Scotty.
Stuffed Tomatoes.
Ice Cream with Colored Trimmings.
Cheese. Coffee. Cigars.
"On board the Coyote Special, Williams, A. T., July 9. - Conductor A. L. Dunklin in charge, Trainmaster J. Kinucan, third district, on board.
"The Arizona moon is looking down on the Coyote now. Heaviest mountain division in front of us. Engineer Charlie Wood is running wide open, bent on keeping the Coyote ahead of the Examiner 46-hour schedule.
"Running seventy miles an hour at present, and she will do eighty between Winona and Winslow, forty-three miles. Old 485 is waiting at Williams with Dave Lenhart at the throttle. Four hundred and eighty-five is the fastest engine on the third district of the Albuquerque division. They call 485 the shadow down here. Lenhart is the man who took the Lowe special over the mountains. No sleep to-night. The 'Shadow' will make eighty miles an hour without a struggle. Scott woke up in time to climb over the tender and hand Engineer Jackson a $20 gold piece.
" 'Why?' said he - 'Well, I think Jackson earned it. Almost two hours ahead of the best time ever made so far. Nothing but a breakdown can keep the Coyote from smashing the Peacock special's time by twelve hours.'
"Scotty is passing out the celebrated yellowback cigars and offering to bet even money, no limit, that we make it in forty-five hours.
"The stray dog does not like the game. He howls dismally in the baggage coach ahead. It might have been more charitable to have allowed the newspaper stowaway to keep him company.
"It seems a long time since we left Los Angeles. Passed through Ash Fork at 11.34 1-2, Los Angeles time. Big crowd there to cheer the Coyote. Railroad time jumped an hour at Seligman. In just nine hours and forty-eight minutes the Coyote ran down one hour in its great dash across the country.
"Four hundred and sixty miles of mountain and plain in 588 minutes, including stops. Great railroading. E. J. Gibson, division superintendent, is sitting up at Williams to carry the Coyote through to Albuquerque.
"Scotty says: 'No common yap of a cowpuncher ever got such a run as this for his money.' I can see where he is right.
"On board the Coyote Special, Crozier Canyon, 9:35 p. m., July 9. - Walter Scott has just called the dining crew into the Fullman and made them the following characteristic speech: 'Men, it's going to be pretty rough sledding to-night, and I hear that you have no place to sleep in that diner. Come right in here and make yourselves at home. If she skips the ditch you'll stand a better chance back here in the sleeper than you will there.'
"Now, that's a nice comfortable speech to go to sleep on, isn't it? It is some satisfaction to know that every train crew is composed of picked men - the best to be had in the different divisions.
"These old railroad men are wonders. They know that they are making railroad history which will stand for years - they know they are setting a mark which may never be lowered by this sort of equipment, and yet they treat the whole thing as a part of the day's work.
"There is no wild enthusiasm excepting at the stations where the great crowds cheer as the Coyote special sweeps through the dark Arizona night. On board the train everything is taken as a matter of course. The conductor says that the train is doing well - very well. The impassive darkies grin and say nothing. And yet the Scott special is writing railroad history to-night.
"She is making marvelous time over a mountain division which was washed out no later than last winter. Most of the track is new track, yet there has been no slackening of the terrific speed.
"Engineer Jackson is a man to be proud of.
"Nine-fifty, Los Angeles time. Just passed through Cherokee. These little towns flit by like a handful of sparks in the night. At times the cheers of the watchers penetrate the Pullman. Scotty is sleeping. This man of iron seems able to lie down and sleep like a child at any time. He has no nerves - no imagination.
"His last words before dropping off were: 'How do you like it as far as she's hopped?' But while the miner sleeps the Sante Fe system is awake. Men are patrolling every mile of the track ahead of the Coyote; a man stands at every switch.
"There will be no sleep for roadmasters and section bosses until the special has passed. Arizona is sitting up with the Coyote to-night.
"On board the Coyote Special, Seligman, A. T., July 9. - Needles broke the record for short stops. W. H. Mills, trainmaster for the new division, rehearsed his little program and had everything in readiness when the Coyote showed up some miles away.
"Incredible as it may seem, Gallegher took old 1005 away and 1010, the new engine, had the Coyote on the move again in exactly one minute by the watch.
"But things can happen in one minute. The cowboy Croesus showed himself at the door of his coach and immediately there was a wild stampede to catch a glimpse of the now famous miner. Three very black gentlemen stationed themselves at the step of the coach and sang a short song about Scotty and Engineer Gallegher and Pharoah in the bullrushes.
"It was a very touching little ditty, winding up with the rather suggestive refrain -
"'Hand down your roll, hand down your roll, He don't care for money - no more than a chunk of coal.'
"Being thus publicly 'called,' Scotty gave up a ten-spot and the surging crowd cheered. Then Engineer Jackson put one brawny hand on the throttle and inaugurated what has proved to be the roughest 54-mile run of the trip.
"Needles caught one glimpse of the Coyote and that was all. Engineer Jackson was off about his business.
"As the train pulled out of the station, the little party gathered in the diner. Scotty, his wife, Frank N. Holman and the 'Examiner' correspondent. It is a well-known fact that the Pullman diner is costing Walter Scott exactly one thousand large iron dollars. It can be said for the Harvey system, that they are certainly trying to give the hungry quartet Scott's money's worth.
"But before I tell you about that dinner, I want to free my mind concerning that man Jackson - Engineer F.W. Jackson, of the Arizona division. He is a great engineer. I will swear to this and offer one badly damaged pair of trousers in evidence. Any man who will yank three cars at such a rate of speed that he upsets a whole course in the dining-car must be a great engineer.
"Running through the bad lands between Needles and the Colorado River, Jackson opened her wide and let her go. When a tremendous lunge wiped the table clean of everything except the cloth and deposited one stuffed tomato upside down in my lap, Walter Scott laughed out loud and smote the swimming table with his clenched fist.
"'That's the dope,' he shouted. 'That engineer's all right. I'll bet those two men are just holding the nozzle wide open with one hand and shaking hands with the other. That's what Finley and that other sport were doing - shaking hands with each other coming down the Cajon Pass at ninety-six miles an hour.'
"Have you ever eaten a dinner that you had to hold down with both hands to keep it out of the aisle? Have you ever seen the saltcellers play ping-pong with each other? It is not conducive to a healthy appetite. One gets to wondering what would happen if an engine should take the ditch going at that rate of speed.
"I looked over at Conductor Tom Brayil, and it was a great relief to an amateur record-breaker to note that he was still smiling.
" 'Jackson doesn't know a curve when he sees one,' called the conductor across the car. 'The whole road looks straight to him.'
"Now that's going some," said Haswell, laying down his paper, "but for me, Captain Tom Baldwin and his airship. No curves, or grades and - maybe - no bumps. If you do, you will never know it, as Baldwin said to me the first parachute jump he ever made. Well, good night; I'll read you more to-morrow evening." With that, Old Jim made a bee-line to the Burbank to see Ollie Morosco and perchance talk shop for an hour or two.
Leaving the Orpheum the next evening after enjoying a good show, I met my friend Haswell again with a Spring Street smile and another dispatch proof from Van Loan, the "Examiner' man. We journeyed down to the Hollenbeck, as I had an appointment with Rol King, the genial manager of that famous old hostelry. When we entered we discovered our 'Frisco friends, Axtell and Peters, playing a game of pinocle while waiting to hear more news of Scotty, as Haswell had promised. "Well, here we are," says Jim, as he drew up his chair and commenced to unfold the news. "Now then, gentlemen, be seated, as the main guy in the minstrels says. Here goes."
CHAPTER VI.
A NERVE-RACKING NIGHT.
"Twelve tortuous miles below Needles the Santa Fe crosses the Colorado River on a steel cantilever bridge - a marvel of modern engineering, flung solidly across a wide, tawny stream. Engineer Jackson swung over that twisting track at 65 miles an hour and the glasses leaped in the diner. A rush of sound, a creaking of bridge timbers, and with a dull whirl the Coyote found Arizona soil.
"Three hours of hard mountain railroading brought us to Seligman, where we picked up an hour. Division Superintendent Gibson climbed into the pullman, and his first facetious words were: 'What detained you?' Jackson's dare devil run will go down in song and story as the most spectacular dash of the western section.
"Then began the real fight of the trip - a war against heavy grades. Clouds of sparks whirled by the windows - the little Arizona towns wink once as the Coyote passed. It was here, they said, that we were to win or lose, for if we could make the schedule up and down the divides which separate Seligman from Albuquerque, win over the famous Glorieta Pass, and hold our own on the Raton Mountains, the record was ours beyond question.
"It is impossible, recalling the events of that nerve-racking night, to pick out for special mention the names of the railroad heroes who won for their road a victory over those grim Arizona mountains.
"I only know that from time to time crews of stern-visaged men succeeded one another, that engines were changed in record haste, and that Division
Superintendent Gibson, heavy-jawed, laconic, and resourceful, rode the train, alert, confident, and conquering. Outside the cool mountain wind swept through the stunted pines and over all twinkled the clear stars of the great Southwest.
"There was no sleep on board the Coyote that night. In far-off cities tireless presses were reeling off the story of the flying Coyote, and on board the train 'Van' hammered away at his staggering typewriter, clicking off the tale of the run which now belongs to railroad history.
"It was not until the first switch at the outer edge of the Albuquerque yards clattered beneath the flying wheels that Superintendent Gibson smiled.
" 'I've brought you over the Albuquerque Division 34 minutes faster than any train ever went over it before,' said he, as he bade us good-by. He had beaten the time of the Lowe Special by 34 minutes; he expected to beat it by 30.
"The two Indian villages between Albuquerque and Lamy have never seen a train dropped down a hill at such a rate of speed. Engineer Ed Sears was at the throttle, and every inch of the track is well known to this big engineer. A helper engine swung in at Lamy for the climb to the top of the Glorieta, one of the steepest grades in the entire run - 158 feet to the mile. Back in the Pullman, Trainmaster Jim Kurn grinned as he greeted Scott.
" 'Here's where you get a touch of real mountain railroading,' said he, 'and we're going to beat the schedule if we have to sidetrack that dining-car. She's got another hot-box.'
" 'Sure,' said Scott. 'If she smokes any more, cut 'er out!'
"A few minutes later the Coyote struck the Apache Canyon, a wild bit of mountain country, memorable as the scene of many an Indian fight. At the rate of 40 miles an hour the train climbed the incline; there was a few seconds delay as the helper engine dropped out, and then began the 'real mountain railroading.'
"Down the steep grade, Sears drove his engine, the white mile-posts flashing by at the rate of one every minute. The whole train lurched and staggered over the reverse curves, the typewriter carriage banged from side to side and the passengers, looking at each other, smiled. It seemed that the train must leave the track as it took those great curves and from the diner came a negro, blanched almost white. 'Ah's seen a lot ob railroadin', fus an' las,' said he, 'but runnin' lak dis is plumb ridiculous! Jess plumb ridiculous!' It was impossible to stand up in the leaping, swaying Pullman. One man tried it, his shoulder went through the window. After that we were all content to sit still and hang on. Only Jim Kurn was calm. He knew Sears' reputation for careful running, but it seems to me the engineer crowded the limit hard that morning. None of us were sorry when the train stopped at Las Vegas.
"At Raton, Jim Kurn said good-by.
" 'You're a long way ahead of that schedule now,' he said, 'and it won't be our fault if the people east of here don't shoot you into Chicago on time! It's hard work fighting these mountains twenty-three hours out of every twenty-four, but show me a mountain railroad man who wants a job on a plains division! Good luck!'
"Two engines took the Coyote at Raton. The time of the change was a trifle over a minute, and we were off again. 'Hud' Gardner is another mountain engineer who knows the game. He brought us into La Junta at 5:13, hours ahead of schedule and the worst part of the journey behind us.
"East of La Junta lies the Santa Fe 'race track.' It is here that trains are supposed to make time. With a straight track, the Kansas plains lying level as a floor and a good roadbed underneath, the Coyote took up the second part of the journey.
With engineers Lesher, Simmons, Norton, and Halsey alternating in the cab, all the way from La Junta to Newton, the new and mighty balanced-compounds whizzed down the Arkansas Valley. 'Scotty' rode the engine into Dodge, with the telegraph poles looking like a fine-tooth comb. It was from Dodge he wired President Roosevelt:
" 'An American cowboy is coming East on a special train faster than any cowpuncher ever rode before. How much shall I break transcontinental record?'
"All that Monday night the miles flew from under the whirring wheels; in places at the rate of 85 and 90 miles an hour; the average for 300 miles being a mile every 50 seconds. The great Kipling once wrote the story of a record-breaking run East over this same road. It is a part of his 'Captain Courageous.' It was fiction, but it reads like fact. That is because Kipling wrote it. On almost every point in his narrative of the fictitious run I can say he tells the truth. He says, however, that 'the ties ripple and surge away behind the flying train,' and for once he is wrong. Given a reasonably straight piece of roadbed, and the faster the train goes the smoother it goes. And the ties do not ripple and surge away behind it. The roadbed just slips away, as the paper slips from the roller of a big newspaper press. That was the way it slipped from under the wheels of the flying Scott Special.
"Josiah Gossard, who has been an engineer on the Santa Fe for twenty-three years, took the train from Emporia to Argentine in the quickest time over made between those two points - 124 miles in 130 minutes, notwithstanding four slow orders and several grade crossings. Gossard has a medal, recently presented by the Shriners, for making up one and a half hours of lost time on their special - Newton to Kansas City.
"It was nearly eight o'clock Tuesday morning when the Coyote crossed the Mississippi. The end was almost in sight now.
"We had taken on another engineer at Fort Madison shops, just on the western edge of Illinois. He was a German named Losee. As a fine finisher in the stretch you will look a long time for his equal. Stolid, modest, destitute of nerves, he is the direct antithesis of the dare-devil engineer of fiction.
"With Losee at the throttle and a straightaway stretch to the wire, the Coyote cut loose for the run home across the State of Illinois. They knew all about 'Scotty' and his private train in Illinois. And so they made a holiday of that July morning, and every little hamlet along the line from Shopton to Chicago turned out to cheer the Coyote on to the goal.
"It was an ovation all through Illinois. And Losee was earning every bit of it. The special had made some splendid miles in Colorado and Kansas. She was to outdo them all in Illinois. Losee ran engine No. 510 from Fort Madison to Chillicothe, 105 miles, in 101 minutes, changing at the latter point to clear track into Chicago, with every switch spiked and the entire operating department standing on its toes 'rooting.'
" 'Scotty' rode a part of the distance on the engine with Losee, and helped the fireman feed coal into the furnace.
"From the little hamlet of Cameron to the still smaller one of Surrey is 2.8 miles. 'She' made it in one minute and thirty-five seconds, at the rate of 106 miles an hour. The world's record before had been held by the Pennsylvania road, which covered the 2.5 miles between Landover and Anacosta in 102-miles-an-hour time. That was in August, 1895.
"We lost five minutes at Chillicothe, and four more at South Joliet. Nevertheless, we made the run of 239 miles from Shopton to the Dearborn Street station in Chicago in 239 minutes. "The record-breaking run was ended!"
It never happened....
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/
There is certainly a big disconnect between the AT&SF claim of the speed record and Mr. Hankey’s view of it. But there is also a big disconnect between Mr. Hankey’s view of Death Valley Scotty and his public image at the time of the speed run. In fact, when reading the article, I get the impression that Mr. Hankey is mainly trying to debunk Walter Scott.
It seems pretty obvious, by the details in the piece posted by wanswheel, that Death Valley Scotty was a much beloved and honored hero in the era of the speed record. I wonder when he turned into the person Mr. Hankey describes.
Death Valley Scotty was a fraud, a product of an era when people enjoyed his showmanship and didn't worry about whether he was honest and trustworthy.
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