Britain has always led the world in passenger train speeds. Trains like the “Flying Scotsman,” the “Royal Scot,” the “Cornish Riviera Limited.” and the “Atlantic Coast Express” have rightly attained universal fame for their speed, comfort and allround reliability. This season even more striking accelerations have been introduced in the Home railway time-tables, so that on almost every main line speeds of sixty miles an hour and upwards have become a daily commonplace.

Top of all the crack fast passenger services of the world's railways comes the wonderful daily performance of the Great Western “Cheltenham Flyer.” Not content with breaking all world's records, the Great Western authorities have now knocked off another two minutes in the journey time of this express between Swindon and Paddington Station, London. To-day the 77½ miles separating the great locomotive-building centre and the metropolis are covered in just 65 minutes—an average start to stop speed of 71.3 miles an hour!

Examination of the time-tables of the other three big group railways reveals an attractive list of fast long-distance passenger trains running at average throughout speeds of 55 miles an hour and upwards. On the London and North Eastern line six daily long-distance expresses are running at an average start-to-stop speed of 60 m.p.h. or over, one travelling for 105½ miles at an average speed of 63.3 m.p.h. The London, Midland and Scottish Company, which has its headquarters at the Euston Terminus, London, has accelerated no fewer than one thousand of its principal passenger trains, while on the Southern system a vast choice of fast services between London and the south and south-west coast towns is a feature of the current passenger train programme.

Improved Sleeping-cars.

Not only are the Home railways speeding-up train running in all directions.

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They are also putting into traffic many new and improved types of passenger vehicles, some of which are quite unique in railway practice. A most interesting design of coach is represented in the new sleeping cars turned out for the Anglo-Scottish night services of the London and North Eastern Railway. These new first-class sleepers each have ten compartments and a shower bath section, together with the usual toilet and pantry accommodation. One passenger only is accommodated in each compartment, absolute privacy thus being assured. A most comfortable bed is provided, with tasteful blue blankets and bedspread to match, the walls of the compartment also being finished in blue. The bed-head and foot are of walnut, and the floor has a blue and fawn carpet covering. All metal fittings are chromium-plated, and each compartment is furnished with a long dressing mirror.

The London and North Eastern was the pioneer of the travelling shower-bath. On the new sleepers, the shower-bath section is 4ft. 6in. long and 6ft. 7¾in. wide. It is lined with blue rexine, while the shower cabinet itself is 2ft. lin. square. The complete sleeping-car measures 66ft. 6in. in length, being carried on two four-wheel bogies. All spaces in the body shell are packed with felt, and the fitting of sponge rubber under the carpets eliminates all travel noise successfully.