Shortening Time Across the Continent 321 



than 200 miles. These are a few of the 

 qualifications for speed. 



Indeed, if one desired to account for 

 all of the elements which combine in the 

 result of present-day speed and comfort 

 in long-distance travel it would be neces- 

 sary to review the whole history of 

 railroading. It is a far cry even from 

 the service of twenty-five years ago to 

 that of today. It is not so long since 

 parlor and sleeping cars were unknown ; 

 twenty-five miles an hour was considered 

 a good speed for a passenger train ; there 

 were no air brakes, no safety devices. 

 Travel, even for five hundred miles, re- 

 quired considerable physical endurance. 

 Now, however, New York to San Fran- 

 cisco is an easier journey than New 

 York to Chicago was formerly. Elec- 

 trically lighted trains, with library, 

 buffet, dining, sleeping, and observa- 

 tion cars drawn by huge greyhounds of 

 steel, whirl swiftly and safely over a 

 pathway whose every mile is a monu- 

 ment in stone and steel to the engineer- 

 ing ability of our country. The trav- 

 eler has every comfort at hand — a tele- 

 phone is at his elbow, a bath-room and 

 a barber shop are at his disposal. 



Through the West, at least, as great 

 changes have taken place in the country. 

 In thirty years time the granary of the 

 world has been opened up. Unbroken 

 wastes have given place to thousands of 

 prosperous towns. Maps were made and 

 remade, and a geographical text book 

 was not long in getting out of date. 

 The growth of the West, as well as the 

 development of the East, was not only 

 fostered by the great railroads, but it 

 was met and anticipated by them. Wit- 

 ness the rapid introduction of every 

 modern invention which may be applied 

 to railroading. On the Chicago and 

 Northwestern and the Illinois Central 

 Railroads passengers may telephone 

 from the moving train to any point 

 within the range of long-distance te- 

 lephony. On a Texas railway wireless 

 telegraphy is now being installed for the 



purpose of preventing collisions. The 

 new twenty-hour trains between New 

 York and Chicago are lighted with elec- 

 tricity generated by dynamoes attached 

 to the car axles. These are mere de- 

 tails which indicate the struggle for the 

 best service possible. 



The New York Central's " Twentieth 

 Century Train ' ' stands first in point of 

 speed, ease of operation, etc., between 

 New York and Chicago. Their mileage 

 is nearly seventy miles greater than that 

 over which the Pennsylvania Special 

 goes, but they have fewer grades and 

 curves. Beyond Chicago the traveler 

 will find four routes to the coast open 

 to him. The Burlington No. i has re- 

 cently increased its speed to Denver so 

 that one hour and ten minutes are saved. 

 Over the Rock Island's El Paso Short 

 Line route will begin a service this fall 

 by which the time to Los Angeles will 

 be considerably shortened. The line to 

 El Paso, completed only this year, is 

 over 200 miles shorter from Kansas City 

 than any other route, but the entire dis- 

 tance from Chicago to Los Angeles on 

 the Rock Island and Southern Pacific is 

 practically the same as that over the 

 Santa Fe route. The former, by reason 

 of a smaller per cent of grades, will be 

 able to make more speed, while the lat- 

 ter will, of course, continue to hold its 

 attraction as a scenic route through the 

 mountains. The Chicago and North- 

 western road has recently completed a 

 two-track system to the Missouri River 

 at Omaha — a movement which is part of 

 a plan to make the facilities for travel 

 as good as possible over this and the 

 Union Pacific line to San Francisco. 

 Within a year Salt Lake will be bridged. 

 Millions of dollars are being spent in 

 shortening distances, abolishing grades 

 and curves wherever possible. Our 

 country is becoming smaller all the time, 

 and all because the transcontinental 

 links of steel railways are annihilating 

 space and conquering time with more 

 vigor and result than ever before. 



