Look back at 200 years of UK train travel: from cheap seats in roofless ‘cattle trucks’ to 6-course meals in First Class
THIS year marks 200 years of train travel in the UK, and if you think your commute is bad these days… you’ll be horrified at what the railways used to be like.
The first train journey in the UK happened on September 27, 1825, with George Stephenson’s Locomotion No. 1 trundling along the Stockton and Darlington Railway.
After the buzz of the country’s first rail journey, the train network in the UK expanded rapidly.
In 1836, London Bridge Station became the first railway station in the English capital as well as the first elevated railway in the world.
Liverpool Lime Street Station opened in the same year.
Euston opened in 1837 and Paddington Train Station opened in 1838, with regional rail hubs opening in Manchester in 1842 and in Birmingham in 1854.
Despite the excitement and rapid expansion, train travel in Victorian Britain was far from glamorous.
Ticket options were limited, with only first and second-class carriages on most trains.
First-class carriages had upholstered seats, while passengers in second class had to make do with wooden benches.
Meanwhile, the cheap seats in third-class carriages were more like cattle trucks, with no roofs and hardly any sides.
Colin Divall, professor of railway studies at the University of York, told the BBC, “There were no great bargains to be had, and a much smaller range of tickets, really just single or return. If you were a working man you would have travelled third class.”
Trains weren’t heated either, so passengers were exposed to the elements.
One passenger described their journey as “miserably cold and wretchedly devised carriages” in the Leicester Chronicle.
By 1844, rail companies were forced to provide roofs on carriages, although it would be years before other safeguarding measures, like brakes, came into force.
Passengers could only start walking between carriages in the 1890s, but walkways weren’t common until loos were installed on trains in the early 1900s.
The Golden Age of Rail Travel came in the 1920s when Pullman cars transformed trains into hotels on wheels.
Comfort became a key player for rail companies, with several introducing a whole new class altogether, which meant passenger upgrades for all.
During the Golden Age of Rail Travel, long-distance first-class passengers could expect a full meal service on board with up to six courses, unlike first-class train journeys today.
Six-course meals included grub like soup, fish dishes, a meat dish and dessert.
Some of the services were so fancy, the menus were written in French.
Dining car inspectors even disguised themselves as passengers to make sure the on-board restaurants were up to scratch.
Following the Second World War, trains were nationalised by the UK government in 1947.
The UK stopped using steam trains in the 1960s when diesel trains arrived on the scene.
Nowadays, Diesel trains are being phased out, with a push for greener travel.
In the 1990s, railways were privatised – although some have since been renationalised like London North Eastern Railway and Northern.
While train travel over the last 200 years has seen safety improvements and increased passenger comfort, I sorely long for some of the luxury.
Full meals are no longer served in first-class carriages in favour of sarnies, biscuits and tea.
And luggage porters no longer vie for attention at UK train stations, a service I’d consider using on my journey home at Christmas.
At its peak, the UK had more than 23,000 miles of track around the country, with 20,000 miles still in operation.
Previously abandoned train routes across the UK are being revamped, renovated, including a service between Oxford and Bletchley.
Sun Travel's favourite train journeys in the world
Sun Travel's journalists have taken their fare share of train journeys on their travels and here they share their most memorable rail experiences.
Davos to Geneva, Switzerland
“After a ski holiday in Davos, I took the scenic train back to Geneva Airport. The snow-covered mountains and tiny alpine villages that we passed were so beautiful that it felt like a moving picture was playing beyond the glass.” – Caroline McGuire
Tokyo to Kyoto by Shinkansen
“Nothing quite beats the Shinkansen bullet train, one of the fastest in the world. It hardly feels like you’re whizzing along at speed until you look outside and see the trees a green blur. Make sure to book seat D or E too – as you’ll have the best view of Mount Fuji along the way.” Kara Godfrey
London to Paris by Eurostar
“Those who have never travelled on the Eurostar may wonder what’s so special about a seemingly ordinary train that takes you across the channel. You won’t have to waste a moment and can tick off all the top attractions from the Louvre to the Champs-Élysées which are both less than five kilometres from the Gare du Nord.” – Sophie Swietochowski
Glasgow to Fort William by Scotrail
“From mountain landscapes and serene lochs to the wistful moors, I spent my three-hour journey from Glasgow to Fort William gazing out the window. Sit on the left-hand side of the train for the best views overlooking Loch Lomond.” – Hope Brotherton
Beijing to Ulaanbatar
“The Trans-Mongolian Express is truly a train journey like no other. It starts amid the chaos of central Beijing before the city’s high-rises give way to crumbling ancient villages and eventually the vast vacant plains of Mongolia, via the Gobi desert. The deep orange sunset seen in the middle of the desert is among the best I’ve witnessed anywhere.” – Ryan Gray
Northern Ireland will also benefit from a huge new transport hub when Belfast Grand Central eventually opens.
Meanwhile, Aldridge station in Walsall, West Midlands, is also set to reopen following a £30million revamp.