The passenger runner's greatest concern is to "make time." Some trains are scheduled so that the engineman must keep his locomotive up to its very highest efficiency over every furlong of its journey in order to arrive at his destination on time. A little carelessness in firing, in letting cold water into the boiler irregularly, or in slackening more than is necessary where the right to the track is in doubt for a few rods; these and a score of similar circumstances may make five minutes' delay in the arrival at the terminus and necessitate an embarrassing interview with the trainmaster. A trip on a crowded line may involve watching for danger-signals every quarter of a mile and the maintenance of such high speed that they must be obeyed the instant they are espied in order to avoid the possibility of collision.[34] The passenger runner finds himself now and then with a disabled engine on his hands, and two or three hundred passengers standing around apparently ready to eat him up if he does not remedy the difficulty in short order. Often in such cases he is in doubt himself whether the repairs necessary to enable his engine to proceed will occupy fifteen minutes or an hour. This, with the knotty question of where the nearest relief engine is, causes the brow to knit and the sweat to start, and to the young runner proves an experience which he long remembers. [Illustration: A Breakdown on the Road.] Stories of fast running are common but unreliable; and when truthful, important considerations are often omitted. There are so many elements to be considered, that usually the verdict can be justly rendered only after a careful comparison with previous records. Most regular runs include a number of stops, and are subject to numerous slackenings of the speed, thus dimming the lustre of the record of the trip as a whole. Frequently, quick runs which have been reported as noteworthy have had favoring circumstances not told of. The most remarkable single run on record was that of Jarrett & Palmer's special train chartered to carry their theatrical company from New York to San Francisco (Jersey City to Oakland), June 1-4, 1876, which is well known to all Americans. Perhaps the fastest long run ever made in this country was that of a special train over the West Shore Railroad from East Buffalo to Frankfort, N. Y., two hundred and one miles, on July 9, 1885, which ran this distance in four hours, including several stops. This train ran thirty-six miles in thirty minutes, and ran many single miles in forty-three seconds each. An engine with two cars ran over the Canada Southern Division of the Michigan Central from St. Clair Junction to Windsor, Ont., on November 16, 1886, a distance of one hundred and seven miles, in ninety-seven minutes; and this included two or three stops. The average rate of speed was about sixty-nine miles an hour, and in places it rose to seventy-five and over. The engineers and their firemen,