Train logistics, 1879

[Murphy Siding]

     This may sound like a math word problem from high school, but it’s more of a logic problem. I was reading in a historical magazine about an event in our city from 1879 and wondered if what was written was possible. Some city promoters brought in a ‘train load’ of newspapermen to show off our fledgling burg in hopes of them writing glowing reports, which they did.

      The promoters brought in their dignitaries on the St. Paul & Sioux City (later part of C&NW) railroad in June of 1879. They were fed a nice dinner (mid-day meal) in Windom MN, then sent about 95 miles west on the dead-end branch line laid down the year before to Sioux Falls, in Dakota Territory. They were given a 3-hour tour of the falls area and the city of 2,000 people and then fed an elaborate supper at the city’s finest hotel. After that, they got back on the train and were shipped about 65 miles back to Worthington MN for the night.

     My question (finally!) is, did they really have enough time to eat two very nice meals, take a 3-hour tour, and ride 160 miles on a train between, say, noon and midnight in 1879? 

[jeffhergert]

I think it could be done.  It sounds like a special train was chartered.  Travel time using a 20 mph average would be about 8 hours total for both trips.  A 30 mph average speed would cut the travel time to about 5 1/2 hours.

I'd be more worried about the 3 hour tour.  Some of those have ended with the participants being stranded for years. 

Jeff

[BaltACD]

jeffhergert

I think it could be done.  It sounds like a special train was chartered.  Travel time using a 20 mph average would be about 8 hours total for both trips.  A 30 mph average speed would cut the travel time to about 5 1/2 hours.

I'd be more worried about the 3 hour tour.  Some of those have ended with the participants being stranded for years. 

Jeff

But those tours were on water.