What follows is a combination of my presentation notes and a paraphrasing of what I recall from my verbal lecture of November 20, 2010 at the Upstate Steampunk Extravaganza.

STEAM RAILWAYS: Trains and Travel of the Early Victorian Era

Most of us are familiar with the descriptions of the luxurious Orient Express and can imagine the romance of travel by rail in the late Victorian era. Some of us remember the glory days of dining cars, sleepers, and comfortable travel accomodation. Some of it still exists today, but we seldom make use of it. In the early days of travel by train, the luxuries we take for granted didn't exist, and unforunately, in the course of research we find some unpleasant truths along the way.

Pre-Railway Steam-Powered Travel

The first practical demonstration of steam-powered road travel was in 1801--the Puffing Devil, built by Richard Trevithick. Unfortunately, it broke down within 3 days of its first run and was never able to operate for long periods. With his cousin Andrew Vivian, Trevithick demonstrated a more successful road locomotive in 1803--The London Steam Carriage

A little remembered, but slightly more successful, steam carriage was developed by Sir Goldsworthy Gurney in 1827. Weighing in at 2 tons, it acheived a respectable 15mph on its first run from London to Bath. the original carriage was attacked and destroyed by a mob in Melsham, Wiltshire. But, undeterred, Gurney continued building these carriages, offering them for £1000 apiece. In 1831, one of them ran regular service between Cheltnham and Gloucester, making the 18 mile trip thrice daily. Based on the model displayed at The Castle, Bude, it could very well have inspired George Barris' Munster Koach of television fame. Wikipedia image of the Goldsworthy Gurney Steam Carriage

Early Railways -- The Locomotives

In 1829, the directors of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway invited designers to submit their locomotives to a test for a £500 prize. It was these "Rainhill Trials" at which George Stephenson's Rocket won the prize for its all-round competence over its competitors, the Sanspareil and the Novelty.

Railway Operations

It was a signalman's duty to check each train that passed his signal box, looking for the red tail lamp exhibited on the trailing vehicle, the sighting of which confirmed that the train was still complete, and thus the section was clear.

Each train movement was logged, by hand, in a Train Register Book, and it was normal practice to provide a special desk to support this sizeable book. As well as train movements, every communication between signalmen and adjacent signal boxes via bell codes (when accepting trains or dealing with a token) was logged.

Improvements in signalling made railways to operate more efficiently and safely--as long as the operators remained alert and diligent! Improvements include mechanical fixed signals in the 1840s, the electric telegraph and block working in the 1850s, and proper mechanical interlocking from 1856. All of which allowed safer, more expeditious train working, and more complicated track layouts to be controlled single-handedly. Of course, single-handed does not necessarily mean 'easy' or uncomplicated!

Railway Time

About August 23, 1852, time signals were first transmitted by telegraph from the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. Even though 98% of Great Britain's public clocks were using GMT by 1855, it was not made Britain's legal time until August 2, 1880. Prior to the establishment of GM, each town's local clock in the area was calibrated to its local noon. Therefore, each clock across England had a slightly different time. Some old clocks from this period have two minute hands—one for the local time, one for GMT.

Consider the implications of publishing an accurate railway time table under such conditions!Prior to the establishment of Greenwich Mean Time, each town's local clock in the area was calibrated to its local noon. Therefore, each clock across England had a slightly different time. In order to provides some sort of consistency for the railways, some clocks from this period have two minute hands—one for the local time, one for GMT.

Early Passenger Service

"One of the most marked characteristics in the working of the Rocket, observed very clearly during the Rainhill trials, and criticized by opponents of the Stephensons, was the swaying jerky action of the engine, attributable to the mounting of the cylinders high up on the side of the smokebox. Later engines of the 'Rocket' type had the cylinders mounted more nearly horizontal, but still outside the frames. The use of inside cylinders on the Planet in 1830 -- probably the very first case in the world -- was not wholly due to a desire to get smoother riding, but due to a suggestion made to Robert Stephenson by Richard Trevithick the great Cornish pioneer, who had found in repairing an old beam engine that he obtained an almost sensational economy of fuel by fitting a jacket round the cylinder to prevent loss of heat by radiation. On the Planet Stephenson enclosed the cylinders within the smokebox. The engine also incorporated the first use of 'sandwich' frames, which were formed of ash or oak, strengthened by iron plates inside and out. These gave flexibility and a great strength, and were a distinctive feature -- for example- of many broad gauge locomotives on the Great Western Railway in later years. The Planet was thus very much a landmark in locomotive history." [Nock, pp. 113-14]

On the Liverpool & Manchester, the coaches were color-coded to indicate class of service:
 Yellow indicated 1st class and were attended by faster locomotives
 Blue indicated 2nd class accommodation and slower travel time Note the last two cars of the first class train include a mail coach (red), and a flatcar for a carriage. The second class train shows much less protection and comfort for its passengers

Prior to the railways, there was no notion of ‘class’. Poorer members of society travelled by foot or in stage-wagons carrying goods. Railway proprietors extended travel accommodation to the poor, but the railways that served them seemed to be ambivalent about so doing. Colliery lines of the north east allowed ordinary folk to travel on them regularly, and the manufacturing districts served by the northern lines also extended such service. However, other lines made no such provisions. Gladstone’s Railway Regulation Act of 1844 institutionalized the railways’ accommodation of poorer travelers.

First Class Travel

• First Class passengers often traveled with a footman, ladies’ maid or other servant, who would ride in the Second Class cars.
• First class tended to be placed at the rear of the train to minimize passenger discomfort from locomotive smoke.
• Coaches reserved for the mail and flatcars with horse-drawn carriages were placed at the rear of the train.
• Railway Guards sat on seats mounted on the roof along with the luggage.
• Luggage was vulnerable to catching fire from embers carried in the wake of the locomotive. Eventually, this led to the development of separate carriages for luggage--known as luggage vans.

Second Class Travel

Third Class Travel

One of the early coach designs was the "Stanhope". It featured a roof and small holes in the floor for drainage when it rained, and had separate compartments for different classes of travel (separate cars for the different classes were one of the earliest developments. The only problem with this design is that the passengers were expected to stand for their entire trip.

Railways assumed third class passengers had no interest in scenery, light, or fresh air, but did concede that they probably wanted to be protected from the weather and someplace to sit. A 1845 Bristol & Gloucester Railway design for a third class carriage held 54 passengers, had no side windows, and no lighting. Many critics of the day pointed out that horses and cattle travelled in better accommodation than the average 3rd class passenger.

Further investigation seems to bear out the the critics' view. Based on this 1844 plan for a 3rd class passenger car from Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s Great Western Railway, the design is very much like a cargo boxcar with bench seating. It had some sliding "venetian" ventilators, 10 bench seats to accomodate about 60 people, and the 7' x 20' car had a single door on each side. 7'x20'?!? Yes, the Great Western was a broad-gauge line, and that will come up again soon....

Stations

Although the romantic vision of railway travel implies that travel allowed the different echelons of society to share the glory of mobility, the disappointing fact is that the classes were quite segregated--very reminiscent of the separate accomodations in the U.S. for "white" and "colored", but based on socio-economic status rather than race. Historical research isn't always pretty. As stations became more sophisticated and more grandiose, the division between the classes of travelers became more pronounced—to the point where there were separate entrances, booking halls, and waiting rooms. The railways made deliberate effort to separate the classes of travelers, including completely separate amenities. Of course, as the railways developed, larger and newer stations had improved designs that allowed passengers to embark and disembark from carriages without having to use stepstools or ladders, and be protected from the elements. Older and more rural stations received similar improvements over time.

Battle of the Gauges

The Stephensons proposed the 4’ 8 ½” as being the de facto standard according to the wheel track dimensions that had existed since Roman times. It correlates to the width required on a road vehicle drawn by a horse between shafts. Brunel proposed 7’ as a more ideal gauge. Various railway companies used 5’, 6’, and a proliferation of 3’ gauges made standardization a difficult prospect.

Brunel’s broad gauge railways had faster and more powerful locomotives in addition to greater stability and convenience of the carriages, and thus the public seemed to prefer broad gauge. The GWR managed speeds of 53 to 61 mph while Express trains on the Stephensons’ lines managed only 36-38mph.

The ‘battle of the gauges’ became a leading scientific debate. A Royal Commission accepted Brunel’s technical arguments, however, ruled in favor of the Roman standard as best suiting the needs of the country—recommending the compulsory extinction of the broad gauge. Parliament did not completely agree until much later in the century. Up until 1866 there were as many as 30 breaks of gauge in the railways, causing much turmoil and cost as goods and passengers were shuffled between trains. Chaos at the Break of Gauge

The Railway Clearing House calculated that each change of gauge added the equivalent of 20 miles to the cost of transportation. In spite of these commercial setbacks to transportation of goods, broad gauge railways persisted until 1892.

Planning Your Trip

Passenger Accomodations

• No restroom facilities were available on the trains
• No restaurant (dining) cars
• "Bed-carriages" were introduced in 1838
• No lighting in 3rd Class

Dining cars first appeared in the late 1870s and into the 1880s. Until this time, the common practice was to stop for meals at restaurants along the way (which led to the rise of Fred Harvey's chain of Harvey House restaurants in America). At first, the dining car was simply a place to serve meals that were picked up en route, but they soon evolved to include galleys in which the meals were prepared. However, until such cars began service on the railways, passengers were obliged to detrain at a station to acquire a meal, or, in the case of 1st Class passengers, their servants would disembark from their place in the 2nd Class carriages to do so.

Why Did They Travel?

As industry grew, so did the need for workers and a means for transporting them. Oddly enough, women were more migratory then men—factories and collierys could hire large numbers of men, but jobs for working-class women tended to be along the lines of domestic servants.

Alternatives and Costs

Today, the equivalent trip down the M20 takes about 1h 45 min

British Monetary Units
England and the British Isles are currently on the decimal system for currency, so these values are a little archaic....
20 shillings in £1 - a shilling was often called 'bob'
12 pennies in 1 shilling (1s)
240 pennies in £1

Bibliography

Binney, Marcus & David Pearce, Railway Architecture Freeman, Michael, Railways and the Victorian Imagination Garratt, Colin & Max Wade-Matthews, The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Steam & Rail Kay, F. George, Steam Locomotives Mitchell, Sally, Daily Life in Victorian England Riley, C.J., The Encyclopedia of Trains & Locomotives Westwood, John, The Historical Atlas of World Railroads Wikipedia: Parliamentary Train

Acknowledgements

Copyright-free images courtesy of Wikipedia.org: Richard Trevithick London Steam Carriage Isambard Kingdom Brunel Images of Romney signal box, line indicator and switch levers courtesy of and © Angus Kirk