From 1897 to 1929 the fastest trains in the world ran from Philadelphia (Camden station) to Atlantic City. Two railroads competed the Reading and the Pennsylvania. Both were scheduled for 60 minutes including a ferry transfer from Philadelphia. From Camden across the river the trains were scheduled in as little as 50 minutes.
Here is a speed log from a chartered run for conventioneers heading to Atlantic City on the Reading in 1906. Each mile was tracked and the fastest miles ran at 95 mph. Given the detail of this log and corroboration of the times with other observers on the train is can be considered authentic. This run was made in 43 1/2 minutes. Not the fastest but the fastest logged in such detail.
Enjoy!
PS. I’ll be away for vacation so I won’t be posting another log for a couple weeks.
