The railroad transformed the Victorian world. In Britain, people who previously had rarely left their towns or villages could now travel across the entire country in a relatively short period of time and at a relatively low cost. Country folk could easily visit London - and London dwellers could access the country. The rail turned sleepy seaside towns into thriving spa resorts, visited by thousands of tourists during holiday weeks. In America, the railroad turned vast distances into manageable distances, and provided work (and controversy) for thousands of immigrants.

New Railway Regulations (Illustrated London Almanack, 1845)

Distances of the Principle Towns from London (Illustrated London Almanack, 1846)

Secretaries and Principal Offices of the Railways of Great Britain and Ireland (Illustrated London Almanack, 1846)

Cars and Stages in America (Leisure Hour 1860)

A British traveler looks at modes of transporation in the US, including omnibuses, tramway "cars," railways, sleighs or sledges, and river steamboats. There is also an interesting observation on the treatment of African Americans on all forms of public conveyance in America.

Electric System - Railway Signals (Cassell's Family Paper, 1860)

Five Years' Railway Profits (Illustrated London Almanack, 1867)

Summary of the profits of the United Kingdom's railways from 1860-1864

Of Some Railroad Accidents, by Charles Francis Adams, Jr. (Atlantic Monthly, 1875)

A look at a variety of rail accidents, primarily in Britain, contrasted with safety measures in the US.

Are Narrow-Gauge [Railroads] Economical? (Scribners, 1879A)

Over the Narrowest Narrow Gauge (Scribners, 1879B)

The Festiniog railway in Wales.

A Year's Railway Statistics (Illustrated London Almanack, 1881)

Railway Times and Distances from New York to Major US Cities (Collier's Cyclopedia, 1882)

Recent Progress in the Application of Electricity to Railroads (Century Magazine, 1882B)

A Day in the Railway Clearing House (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1883)

Standard Railway Time, by W.F. Allen (Century Magazine, 1883B)

At the time of this article, railways operated across more than 50 separate time-zones; efforts to standardize times to make railway travel less complicated led to the time zones we know today.

Railway Regulations, by W. Maurice Adams (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1884)

Pretty Railway Stations (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1886)

American Railroad Legislation, by Prof. A.T. Hadley (Harper's Monthly, 1887B)

All Night at a [Railroad] Junction (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1889)

The Artistic Aspect of Railways (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1890)

Railway to the Clouds (Pictorial Museum of Sport & Adventure, ca. 1890)

The Mount Washington Cog Railway is the world's first mountain-climbing cog railway (rack-and-pinion railway). The railway is still in operation, climbing Mount Washington in New Hampshire, USA. It is the second steepest rack railway in the world after the Pilatus railway [in Switzerland].

Railway Signalling, by Alexander Japp (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1891)

Ideal Transit (Atlantic Monthly, 1893)

Speculations on the perfect mode of transportation, from elevated roads to electric rails and suspended carriages.

American Railways and American Cities, by Henry J. Fletcher (Atlantic Monthly, 1894)

The New Derbyshire Railway, by Edward Bradbury (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1894)

Railway Facts in Fancy Frames, by J. Holt Schooling (The Strand, 1896A)

The Chicago-Jericho Line (The Strand, 1896B)

Railways in the Air, by Corrie Sefton (The Strand, 1896B)

Aerial tramways.

Underground London: A Chat About Its Railways, by G.E. Mitton and Wilfrid Klickmann (Windsor Magazine, 1897B)

A Single-Line Railway, by William Shortis (The Strand, 1898A)

The Lartigue Single Rail Elevated Railway in County Kerry.

Railway Crossings in Europe and America, by Franklin Locke (Century Magazine, 1898B)

A look at problems, costs, casualties and solutions.

From the Cape to Cairo, by C. De Thierry (English Illustrated Magazine, 1899A)

"A description of Mr. Rhodes' great scheme of building a railway from one end of Africa to another. This railway will pass through districts inhabited by very strange tribes, some of which are here depicted by photographs taken by different travelers."

The Cape to Cairo Railway, by W.T. Stead (Windsor Magazine, 1899B)

Two Railway Sensations, by Jeremy Broome (The Strand, 1899A)

A railway race between Chicago and Omaha; a railway collision staged "to order" to raise funds.

Snow Plows, by George E. Walsh (St. Nicholas, 1900A)

The plows used to clear train-tracks of snow.

A Campaign Against Avalanches, by A. de Burgh (Strand, 1901A)

Methods of protecting Alpine railways from avalanches.

See also:

• Bridges & Tunnels

• Trains & Locomotives