The story of rapid transit . Theabove regulation test, therefore, for any trainwishing to be called express in England is notan artificial one, but a natural definition suppliedby the companies themselves on their daily time-tables.* A modern railway authority informs us thaton the Continent of Europe as a rule a train isheld to be magnificent, worthy of heroic adjec-tives, and not to be rudely attempted by third-class passengers, if its journey-speed is as highas twenty-nine miles an hour, trains there whichattain such speed form a group and tower abovethe rest, just as in England it is train
The story of rapid transit . Theabove regulation test, therefore, for any trainwishing to be called express in England is notan artificial one, but a natural definition suppliedby the companies themselves on their daily time-tables.* A modern railway authority informs us thaton the Continent of Europe as a rule a train isheld to be magnificent, worthy of heroic adjec-tives, and not to be rudely attempted by third-class passengers, if its journey-speed is as highas twenty-nine miles an hour, trains there whichattain such speed form a group and tower abovethe rest, just as in England it is trains that reachforty miles an hour, inclusive, which stand apartfrom the common stopping train. Considerable more force has to be expendedto attain thib speed than would appear at firstsight. Imagine a train shot suddenly out fromits starting-point at forty miles an hour, main- *E. Foxwell, Express Trains. DEVELOPMENT OF THE RAILWAY 77 taining with unflagging uniformity this samehigh speed uphill, through suburbs and junctions,. 0) (— h cirt c OJ t/1 0) ^ rta;t-i O persisting this pace without a moments pausefor two or three hundred miles till it come to aninstantaneous stop at its distant terminus; the 78 THE STORY OF RAPID TRANSIT mildest of the trains we call express will arriveas soon as this imaginary one, though our actualtrain has had to labor slowly up the hills, to slackfor bridges, curves, or junctions, besides con-suming precious time in four or five stoppagesof as many minutes each. The feeblest expressis as smart as this; what then shall we say oftrains which secure an inclusive speed of nearlyfifty miles an hour over summits of 1,000 feet? The Great Northern Railway has the shortestroute to Leeds, Bradford, York, and Edinburgh,being eight miles shorter to the latter city thanthe North-Western, and fourteen shorter thanthe Midland route. In the mere matter of speedthis railway, as well as the Midland, is superiorto the oldest and most punctual of the Englishrailways
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