User:RalphOnTheRailroad/Sandbox/My Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway/My David B. Jones Special
The David B. Jones Special was a one-time, passenger train operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway from Los Angeles, California to Chicago, Illinois at the request of David Benton Jones. David B. Jones was suddenly taken ill with cancer[1] at his winter home[2] "Pepper Hill" in Montecito, California [3]. This special rushed him to his Chicago physicians and surgeons at an average speed of fifty miles per hour.[4] This run was completed three minutes faster than the more famous 1905 Scott Special. Although not part of the speed run, the train continued on to David B. Jones' summer home in Lake Forest, Illinois.
Overall Trip Summary[edit]
The train left La Grande Station at Los Angeles at 11:33 PM May 5, 1923 Pacific Time and arrived in Chicago at 12:50 AM on May 8 Central Time. The 2,232 mile journey was completed "in exactly 47 hours and 27 minutes." [5] The actual running time was only 44 hours and 51 minutes [6] which deducts time spent for stops such as those for coal and water and the 55-minute delay caused by the break down of a Union Pacific locomotive ahead of the special at Nebo, California.[6] The running time was therefore three minutes less[7] than the Scott Special. Thus, the average speed was 47 mph and the average running speed was 50 mph. It was "a phenomenal run when compared with the regular Santa Fe limited time of sixty-eight hours and thirty minutes."[8] The $11,000 special thus saved about 20 hours over the time of the regularly scheduled train. "Mr. Jones' daughter, Gwendolyn[9] Jones; his brother [Thomas D.], a doctor and two nurses accompanied him on the trip."[10]
Speed and Time Over Selected[11] Segments[edit]
F. M. Gillette, engineer, and W. L. Evens, fireman on locomotive 1370 ran between Los Angeles and Barstow, California--141.4 miles-- on the Los Angeles Division in 3 hours and 26 minutes. This included:
- 34 minutes in the first 13 miles to Lamanda Park, Pasadena, California due to a slow order, and
- 16 minutes taking water and testing the air brakes, and
- 27 minutes climbing a "stiff" mountain grade.[12]
The 432 mile run between Seligman, Arizona and Albuquerque, New Mexico on the Albuquerque Division was scheduled for 12 hours, but completed in 9 hours and 32 minutes.[13]
"The stretch between Dodge City and Newton, Kan. was covered at 65 miles per hour."[14]
The Special covered the 455.3 miles between Argentine, Kansas and Chicago in 7 hours and 45 minutes at about 60 mph. This was "thirty minutes faster than the Scott Special."[15]
After Arriving in Chicago[edit]
"Upon arrival here [Chicago] it was switched back over the Northwestern track to Lake Forest, arriving there at 3:46 p.m. This switchback, however, is not counted in making the record."[10]
Legacy[edit]
The run "was in the nature of staging a comeback at the aviation record in the non-stop flight from New York to San Diego last week."[16] However, the run was only marginally faster than the Scott Special.
Notes[edit]
- ^ "Another Speed Record Broken".
- ^ "Zinc Industry Founder Dead...".
- ^ Wilson 2002: 13
- ^ "Jones Special Another Notable Santa Fe Run".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help)This article has 3 paragraphs on the Jones Special; 2 paragraphs on the Scott Special; and 1 paragraph each on the Nellie Bly; B. P. Cheney, Jr; C. P. Huntington; A. R. Peacock; H. P. Lowe; and Charles W. Clark specials. - ^ "Jones Special Another Notable Santa Fe Run".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help)This should be 47 hours 17 minutes with the 2-hour time-zone difference. Some newspapers accounts use the erroneous 27 minute figure; others use the correct 17 minute value. - ^ a b "Jones Special Another Notable Santa Fe Run".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ But notice that the Scott Special traveled 2,265 miles between Los Angeles and Chicago; The Jones Special traveled 2,232 miles between the same cities.
- ^ "Life Rests with Speed of Special...".
- ^ Actually, her name was Gwenthalyn Jones"Social Register summer 1919".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ a b "Record for Rail Speed is Smashed...".
- ^ This account has been derived from various newspaper accounts. No comprehensive account has been found.
- ^ "[ Among Ourselves ] Redondo Junction...".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "[ Among Ourselves ] Winslow...": 89.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Special Train Speeds 2,230 Miles to Doctor...".
- ^ Actually, it was twelve minutes faster."Record Made of Chicago Special...".
- ^ "Record Made of Chicago Special".
References[edit]
"[Among Ourselves] Redondo Junction (M. P. Onderdonk, care division foreman)". The Santa Fe Magazine. 17 (7 (June)). Chicago, IL: Santa Fe Magazine: p. 79. June 1923. Retrieved 7 September 2009. {{cite journal}}: |page= has extra text (help)
"[Among Ourselves] Winslow (Charles Erickson,care roundhouse foreman)". The Santa Fe Magazine. 17 (7 (June)). Chicago, IL: Santa Fe Magazine: pp. 88-89. June 1923. Retrieved 7 September 2009. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
"Another Speed Record Broken". Logansport, Indiana Pharos-Tribune. 8 May 1923. p. 13.
"Jones Special Another Notable Santa Fe Run. Average Speed of More Than Fifty Miles an Hour Maintained in Remarkable Run Across the Continent". The Santa Fe Magazine. 17 (7 (June)). Chicago, IL: Santa Fe Magazine: p. 27. June 1923. Retrieved 7 September 2009. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
"Life Rests with Speed of Special. Ill Millionaire Private Train is Breaking Time in Chicago Dash". Los Angeles Times. 8 May 1923. p. 12.
"Record for Rail Speed is Smashed. Sick Chicago Millionaire Carried to Chicago Home Under "Scotty's" Time". Los Angeles Times. 9 May 1923. p. 13.
"Record Made of Chicago Special. Average of Fifty Miles An Hour Covered On Run From Los Angeles". The Fresno Bee. 9 May 1923. p. 5.
Social Register summer 1919. XXXIII (75). Bowling Green, [KY?]: Social Register Association: p. 436. June 1919 http://books.google.com/books?id=9RQJAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA436. Retrieved 7 September 2009. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
"Special Train Speeds 2,230 Miles to Doctor. David B. Jones, Ill, Pays $11,000 for Los Angeles-Chicago Trip to Family Physician". New York Times. 8 May 1923. p. 25.
Wilson, Richard Guy; Thorne, Martha (ed.) (2002). "The Styles of David Adler". David Adler, architect: the elements of style. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press. pp. 13–33. ISBN 9780300097023. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)
"Zinc Industry Founder Dead. D. B. Jones Passes Away at Lake Forest. Magnate Became Ill Here Last May. Was Rushed East on Train That Cost $11,000". The Los Angeles Times. 24 August 1923. p. 16.