The Little Steamer That Ate the Sound

The Flyer is the name of a little steamer that makes four daily trips on Puget Sound between Seattle and Tacoma. In 1894 the Flyer made the record of traveling 84,000 miles between those two cities. This is said to be the largest distance made by any river or sound steamer. Moreover, the total loss of time for the year was only forty-three minutes. There was considerable fog and mist on Puget Sound at times during the year, but the Flyer went sailing right through and established the name of always making time, come what might.

The distance between Seattle and Tacoma by water is twenty-nine and a half miles; by land it is about forty. The Flyer is run in competition with the railroad trains, and practically makes the same time, so that it is a more popular means of travel than the cars. The run of fifty-five miles between the two cities is made in three hours, and four trips a day make the total distance covered daily 220 miles—a greater distance than any steamer in the East or anywhere else travels in twenty-four hours. The distance traveled by the river boats each day is 150 miles; that covered by the Troy boats is less, of course, as is the distance covered by the Sound craft. The Sandy Hook boats go about 160 miles a day. The distance covered by the Cape May and Philadelphia steamers in summer time is about 130 miles, so that the Flyer's achievement of 220 is notable.

The Flyer is a very trim little steamer. She is a screw boat 100 feet long, and runs so smoothly at her high speed that no vibration of the hull can be noticed. She also makes very little noise in the water. There is almost no bow wave, and the wake is hardly greater than that of a river tug. The passengers can see that the craft is going very fast. Her machinery was made in the East and was rigged by experts. There is probably not another vessel in salt or fresh water that can show such a record, not only of fast speed but of continuous work.