Trains: The Fast Track to the Future
- Paul Campbell
- Feb 12
- 11 min read
Updated: Feb 23
Perhaps smartphones and Artificial Intelligence aren't the best starting point for a blog on trains, but here we are. Take a moment to think about the inventions of the last hundred and twenty-five years. From 1900 to 2025 we have seen some incredible advancements in technology. From the first airplane flight to commercial flights, to the TSA making everyone's lives miserable for no reason. From the telephone to dial-up to wireless high-speed internet in practically every restaurant, hotel, and home. Phones themselves have become something altogether different. Since 2000, phones have transformed from basic calling and messaging to advanced computer systems with integrated internet, giving us the ability to manage our entire lives from a chunk of magic metal the size of a Hershey's chocolate bar.
The internet itself has transformed every aspect of our lives, from the way we work, play, purchase, sell, relax, interact, travel, and even worship. While each stage has been incremental, the combined shift has been incredible. However, the changes of the twentieth century are no more incredible than the changes of the nineteenth century.
It is difficult to point to any one singular invention as the most important step toward the future. The nineteenth century saw the rise of the telegraph, providing instant communication across the globe. Messages that would have taken weeks took mere minutes. The telephone, while not yet widely used, was known by the end of the 1800's and would soon overtake the telegraph as the primary means of long-distance communication. Photographs became more common and, by the 1890's, Kodak was already producing commercial cameras for personal use. Photography forever changed the way we preserve the past and record the present. The automobile was also on the horizon, and while we will discuss both the automobile and the telegraph in later articles, this blog is on the vehicle that was viewed by Victorians as the future of travel: the locomotive.
Steaming Forward
While self-driving carriages were still seen by many as a passing trend or a whim of the upper-classes, the train solidly remained in the minds of Victorians as the vehicle of the future. From its first invention in 1804 to the end of the first world war, trains became a fixture in many Victorians' lives. Before the vast network of asphalt highways that has made automobile travel more practical, trains remained unchallenged as the most convenient method of travel. Roads did exist, naturally, but they were unpaved, and the transportation of goods overland was difficult. Horses and wagons could only haul so much weight. Large loads required multiple wagons and many horses.
As odd as it seems for terrestrial people, water was the fastest method of travel before the age of steam. For thousands of years, ships were able to move large amounts of goods over long distances far easier than any overland method. People needed waterways. Cities that were any distance from the coast or a large river had far greater difficulties importing foreign goods.
Take, for example, the trip from Paris to Calais, at the northern tip of France. Calais is 190 miles from Paris, and in 1800, the trip took nearly forty-eight hours of constant travel. If one pushed from dawn until dusk, it could be done in three days. A few decades later, after the implementation of a commercial stagecoach line and improved road conditions, Charles Dickens records the journey at half the time: twenty-two hours of travel, probably with a nightly stopover in between.
By the mid 1850's, trains had cut the travel time to less than six hours. One could travel from Paris to Calais, cross the English Channel by steamship, and arrive in London in eleven hours, half the time it took to reach Calais by coach.
Trains could transport incredible amounts of goods over vast distances, reducing the cost of foreign goods and expanding the reach of companies beyond the coastlines and waterways and into the interior. Rather than follow coasts or rivers, railways could cut a direct line from place to place and go where large steamships couldn't. Trains reduced the expense of overland transportation and travel, but it was not the transportation of goods that made Victorians celebrate the locomotive, but the transportation of people.
Travel without Trouble
As the network of rail lines expanded, travel became something even middle-class people could do, not only for work, but for pleasure as well. Rather than spend days struggling to get a team of horses and a carriage full of goods across questionable roads, people could spend hours resting comfortably on a train. What mattered that one's eyes filled with coal smoke, or that one was crowded alongside strangers in a cramped car? Long before the Wright Brothers tested their aeroplane, Charles Dickens compared travel in a train car to the flight of a sparrow flitting over the countryside. Though Otto Lilienthal was already testing his gliders, and brave aeronauts were riding the winds in balloons, travel by train was as close to flying as most Victorians ever got.
Early trains, though far superior to any other method of overland travel, were hardly comfortable. Soot from the engine would filter back through the windows, if they were open. If they were closed, the cars became stuffy. Most cars were unheated in winter, and hard benches provided the only seating. The first trains were focused exclusively on transporting goods. The very first steam locomotive was tested in Wales in 1804, and it wasn't until 1825 that the first passenger train arrived in England, carrying some four-hundred and fifty passengers at a whopping fifteen miles per hour.
Interestingly enough, rail-lines were in use before the rise of the locomotive engine. Engineers recognized that cars moved much easier and smoother on iron rails rather than rocky and uneven ground. Dockyards and mines had been using rail cars for some time, using horses to pull the cars or stationary steam engines attached to cables. When the Stockton and Darlington Railway company opened the first passenger railway, they originally planned to use horses to pull the cars along the rails. However, they ultimately decided to try the new steam-powered locomotive instead. History was made.
Improvements came at a rapid pace. Rail-lines quickly began implementing the same standards as passenger ships. Instead of crowding everyone together, people could choose between first, second, and third class accommodations, depending on their budget. Train stations became monuments to the modern age. From the Gare du Nord in Paris, Paddington Station in London, to the Grand Central in New York, train stations were designed for grandeur just as much as function.
The Pull of a Pullman
Train cars began to see a focus on luxury as much as function. While many Victorian men likely complained about the discomfort of ordinary train travel, there was one man who decided to do something about it: George Mortimer Pullman. By the time Pullman created his company alongside his partner, Benjamin C. Field, in 1857, trains had already begun adding beds to their cars where people could sleep on long, cross-country night trips. The problem was that these beds were, well... awful.
As trains decreased the time it took to get places, it also increased the distance people were willing to go. A full day of travel was equally tiresome, even if you doubled the distance traveled. And even though trains still greatly improved travel when compared to coach and buggy days, it didn't mean the ride was particularly comfortable. Much like the modern day microwave, which greatly improved the speed which a meal could be warmed, it didn't make those three-and-a-half minutes any more tolerable.
George Pullman saw an opportunity. After the War Between the States, Pullman cars became the standard for comfortable travel. Pullman cars fell into five basic categories: hotel cars, parlor cars, reclining room cars, sleeping cars, and dining cars. Railroad companies could implement any or all of the different types of cars, depending on the route their trains would take.
Parlor cars featured comfortable armchairs and sometimes tables for playing cards, smoking, reading, and other leisure activities. They often also included cold food and beverages, and were a place where travelers could come to smoke, socialize, and stretch their legs.
Reclining room cars did not have beds, but featured private rooms which pairs or small groups could rent to have privacy, rather than a single, open carriage with benches.
Sleeper cars featured a modicum of privacy, similar to reclining rooms, but the seats could fold down to form a bed, while a second bed unfolded from the ceiling above the seats, and curtains could be drawn to separate sleepers from those who were still awake. These were less expensive than private rooms, but the lack of privacy made them unpopular, and later Pullman sleeper cars featured private rooms.
Diner cars were restaurants on wheels, featuring incredibly compact kitchens and multiple tables where travelers could eat. After the era of passenger trains, many of these Pullman diner cars were sold to individual owners. For anyone with a desire to own a restaurant, these cars came with all the necessities in a perfect, pre-assembled package. Later, other restaurants copied the appearance of these cars, with long, narrow buildings and wide window fronts. The train cars themselves mostly disappeared, but the name remained, and the popularity of the diner remains today.
Hotel cars were the best of the best: featuring comfortable sleeping arrangements on one end and a kitchen on the other, combining the comfort of the sleeper car with the food of the diner car. For the wealthiest travelers, hotel cars offered private chambers with a comfortable bed, in-room service, and hot meals that could rival the best restaurants.
They were, quite literally, a hotel on wheels.
Pullman offered a variety of cars, many of which were purchased by railroad companies for their customers, while others were purchased by wealthy individuals. They often combined several elements to suit the needs of the purchaser, so despite these basic categories, many cars, especially later models, shared similar features. Not all railroads needed such cars, or wanted to spend the money. Long-distance lines made use of sleeping cars and diners, but shorter trips would not have required sleeping cars, and rarely needed diners. Cold food and beverages, which were provided in parlor cars, would have provided ample luxury for day trips. Other railroad companies preferred to focus on cheaper travel, and did not utilize luxury cars at all, while others focused on their own designs, which could be adjusted to fit their own needs. You may notice in my novel Gray Matter that the accommodations on the train from Paris to Le Havre are quite similar to Pullman standards, featuring an older style of sleeping car, a dining car, and a smoking car, alongside other, more modern cars that have private rooms. There was no specific standardization of accommodations on trains, and though many of the same comforts were provided, one of Pullman's successes was in implementing a standard level of comfort which travelers could rely upon. No matter the railroad company, if they offered a Pullman car, you could be certain that your ride would be a pleasant one, providing every modern convenience including heat, electric lights, comfy mattresses, excellent food, drink, and anything else you might find at home.
Pullman set the standard for luxury travel, but he was not the only company to offer comfortable arrangements for train travel. His business methods were highly questionable; he was quick to buy out his competitors, which gave him consistent control of the market, and equally quick to ensure his workers remained in debt to the Pullman company, making it practically impossible for them to find better paying work. Despite these failings, Pullman remained the standard.
But Europe was not to be outdone. Belgium quickly became famous for their own standards of luxury, despite the fact that their country was even younger than the railroad itself! (Belgium was not officially recognized as a country until 1839, fourteen years after the first passenger train). France was relatively late in their development of the railroad, but it was a French and Belgian rail-line that would ultimately become the most renowned luxury railroad in the world.
The French Connection
The first passenger train in France did not come around until 1837, twelve years after the first British line, and seven years after the first passenger line in the United States. While Britain had an abundance of high-quality coal—as did the United States—France had fewer coal beds, and of inferior quality. It was far less cost-effective to lay miles of track for engines which required the importing of coal at significant expense. But, just as smartphones are a practical necessity today, France became increasingly aware of the necessity of trains. Despite this knowledge, the difficulty of finding enough funding through both government and private means significantly slowed France's progress through the first half of the nineteenth century. France relied heavily on British designs, which were ahead of France by two decades. By the mid 1800's, France was struggling to catch up with the rest of Europe.
France would not remain on the sidelines, however, and the initial difficulties provided rich soil for the growth of innovation. Britain had an abundance of coal, but France's coal limitations caused a focus on efficiency. The improvements in France to the engine's efficiency were quickly adopted elsewhere, and railroads became increasingly more reliable.
It is here that we introduce a Belgian man named George Nagelmackers. While on a visit to the United States, George (who I hope will not mind my use of his first name in order to avoid typing out his last name more than once) was inspired by the beauty of the Pullman cars, and wished to take the idea one step further. Pullman cars operated across the United States, but Belgium was a small country, even by European standards, and George's vision encompassed all of Europe. In 1872, he founded the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits, or the 'International Company of Bed Cars' in English, which doesn't sound quite as fancy, I'll admit.
The success of the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits (or 'WL' for short) was not only in its luxurious accommodations but also in its range. Up until the WL, trains were built by companies and nations to cross their own network. International train travel involved multiple trains and multiple tickets at multiple stations. Through much difficulty, George created a work-around. Instead of having passengers switch trains, he had his trains switch locomotives. He arranged to have his cars pulled by the engines of the various countries and companies where his passengers wished to travel. At the end of each section of railway, the cars would be transferred to the new company's engine. Instead of having to disembark, travel to another station with their luggage, purchase another ticket, and wait for a connecting train, passengers on WL trains could remain comfortably in their cars, with all their luggage, and sip refreshing beverages in total comfort while the trains switched engines, then continue on their journey without ever moving a muscle.
The most famous of these lines was, without doubt, the Orient Express. From 1883 until its final run in 2009, the Orient Express was the most famous train in operation, and set the standard in international travel. One could travel across the continent of Europe, through six different countries, from Paris to Istanbul, without ever leaving your room.
By 1900, the WL operated some twenty lines across Europe, including lines to St. Petersburg in Russia, Rome in Italy, Lisbon in Portugal, Warsaw in Poland, and Le Train Bleu, which traveled south to the French Riviera, and was even more popular in its heyday than the Orient Express. Later expansions saw trains traveling as far as Egypt, Manchuria, and China. WL trains carried the most powerful and influential people of the day, from celebrities and authors to kings and queens, and even spies, who could use the train to cross international borders in safety and comfort.
By horse-drawn carriage, it would take nearly 48 hours of arduous travel to go the 190 miles from Paris to Calais.
By the Orient Express, 80 hours—not even twice the travel time—would transport a traveler over 1,800 miles in absolute comfort, almost ten times the distance.
The locomotive revolutionized travel in a way that has not been seen before or since. It is no wonder that the steam locomotive is so often used to typify the 19th century, as much now a symbol of the past as it was then a symbol of the future.
These blogs are designed to give you a brief look at the true history which plays a part in my novels, The Callahan Chronicles.
For more information on trains or the Callahan Chronicles, check out these links:
The Callahan Chronicles - by Paul Campbell
Gray Matter - buy on Amazon
A Brief History of French Railways by the French Railway Society
From Diligence to High-Speed Trains - a blog by Iva Polansky
Walk, Run, Fly - a blog by William Nuttle
The Iconic Train Bleu - Midnight Trains
History of Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits - from their website
The True History of the Orient Express - by David Zax for Smithsonian Magazine
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