This presentation traces development of transportation and tries to provide a visual guide for transportation throughout the Victorian Era.

1. Development of Transportation
in the Victorian Era
Submitted to:
Prof. Dr. Hande Seber
İDE 6/781 – Victorian Poetry
Hacettepe University
Ahmet Mesut ATEŞ

2. Outline of the Study
• Introduction
• Coach, Omnibus and Tramway
• Railroads
– Over the ground
– Underground
• Steamships
• Bicycle
• Further developments
• Works Cited
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

3. Introduction
Queen Victoria overtook a Britain which was already in motion
and though she was sometimes reluctant to changes, means for
public and private transportation completely changed during her
tenure.
Queen Victoria’s reign witnessed coaches, omnibuses, motor
buses, railways, underground railways, steamships and even cars
and airplanes. Therefore, “ transformation”, “innovation” and
“entrepreneurship” are three important aspects of the era.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

4. Introduction
During Queen Victoria’s reign,
all classes of population gained access to transportation,
British ships dominated the Atlantic ocean,
the way people view the world changed entirely.
This presentation will trace these developments and try to
provide a visual guide for transportation throughout the
Victorian Era.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

5. Coaches, Omnibus and Tramway
Coaches
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, there was a variety
of coaches for every purpose and budget. Coaches used a well
established road network but did not lack inconveniences. These
were as follows:
Inadequate heating (inside and outside the carriage)
The need for stopping at inns to change horses,
High prices.
Private coaches were only available for the very rich. Even the
Duke of Kent had to drive the coach himself, which carried his
pregnant wife, in 1819 when his financial means were limited.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

6. Coaches, Omnibus and Tramway – ctd.
The efficacy of carriage system had peaked at the end of 18th
century and that was the reason carriage system was able to
resist to the railways until the mid-nineteenth century.
At the time of coaches, it was believed that human body could
only withstand fifteen or sixteen miles an hour, which was
coincidently speed limit of carriages.
Despite their efficacy, there was no public transportation. Those
who could not afford a carriage would walk on foot.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

7. Coaches, Omnibus and Tramway – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era
Left: Hansom Cab, Jacqueline Banerjee (2007); the Flynge Stud Farm, Sweden
Right: West side of Russell Square, Cabmen’s shelter (modern day picture)

8. Coaches, Omnibus and Tramway – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

9. Coaches, Omnibus and Tramway – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

10. Coaches, Omnibus and Tramway – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

11. Coaches, Omnibus and Tramway – ctd.
Omnibus
The omnibus was introduced in 1829 by carriage maker George
Shillibeer who had worked in Paris. He imported the idea from
France. Omnibus offered transportation for everyone – omnis in
Latin means “all, everyone, the whole”.
His vehicle was pulled by three horses and it housed about
eighteen passengers. There was even a conductor to help
passengers and call the stops. In 1830, he changed the vehicle’s
design to a lighter carriage which was pulled by two horses.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

12. Coaches, Omnibus and Tramway – ctd.
 First omnibus was between Paddington and the Bank of England.
 Many entrepreneurs followed Shillibeer.
 In 1855, omnibus services and routes were consolidated.
 The regulating body was Compagnie Generale des Omnibus de
Londres and it was in Paris.
 Omnibus remained single-decker until 1840s.
 In 1847, a clerestory was added to the roof.
 By 1851, some vehicles added a plank on the roof, that was called a
“knife-board”.
 At the end of the 1890s, knife-board transformed into “garden seat”
that is still in use today.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

13. Coaches, Omnibus and Tramway – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

14. Coaches, Omnibus and Tramway – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

15. Coaches, Omnibus and Tramway – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

16. Coaches, Omnibus and Tramway – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

17. Coaches, Omnibus and Tramway – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

18. Coaches, Omnibus and Tramway – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

19. Coaches, Omnibus and Tramway – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

20. Coaches, Omnibus and Tramway – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

21. Coaches, Omnibus and Tramway – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

22. Coaches, Omnibus and Tramway – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

23. Coaches, Omnibus and Tramway – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

24. Coaches, Omnibus and Tramway – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

25. Coaches, Omnibus and Tramway – ctd.
Tramway
In 1861, a proposal was made to import tramway from France.
Liverpool introduced tramway in 1868 by an Act of Parliament. It
was later introduced in southern and eastern parts of London.
First trams were pulled by horses – basically an omnibus running
on railways.
 In 1884, the first tramway to use electric opened in Blackpool.
 The first entirely electric powered tram was introduced in
1891, in Leeds.
 The Highways Act of 1898 permitted the use of motor buses.
 The first motor bus was introduced in 1899.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

26. Coaches, Omnibus and Tramway – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

27. Coaches, Omnibus and Tramway – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

28. Coaches, Omnibus and Tramway – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

29. Coaches, Omnibus and Tramway – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

30. Coaches, Omnibus and Tramway – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

31. Coaches, Omnibus and Tramway – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

32. Coaches, Omnibus and Tramway – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

33. Railways
Over the ground
Railways were in existence before the Victorian Era. Richard
Trevithick had carried out the first successful test of steam
carriage in 1801. His machine, Catch Me Who Can, ran in a
circular set of tracks.
Trevithick later built the first steam locomotive in 1803. His
design was improved and the first locomotive train Puffing Billy
was built on his design in 1814.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

34. Railways – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

35. Railways – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era
Side and front views of Puffing Billy.
Deutches Museum, Munich.

36. Railways – ctd.
 By 1825, there was a railway between Stockton and Darlington.
Liverpool-Manchester railway opened in 1830 and London-
Birmingham railway opened in 1837.
 In London, where all railways converged, twelve termini were built
between 1836 and 1899:
• London Bridge Station (1836)
• Euston (1837)
• Paddington (1838)
• Fenchurch Street (1841)
• Waterloo Bridge Station (1848)
• King's Cross (1852)
• Victoria Station (1858)
• Charing Cross (1864)
• Moorgate (1866)
• St Pancras (1868)
• Liverpool Street (1874)
• Marylebone (1899)
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

37. Railways – ctd.
 Railways were believed to be a health hazard because of their
speed – thirty miles an hour was twice the speed of carriages.
 In 1842, the Railway Clearing House, a centralized booking
office, was set up in order to organize booking process.
 There were hundreds of railway companies. George Hudson,
who controlled a majority of railway lines, consolidated them
into a network.
 Railways also gave way to standardization of timekeeping -
using telegraph and timetables a shared time based on
Greenwich was used.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

38. Railways – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

39. Railways – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

40. Railways – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

41. Railways – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era
The passengers were carried according to their passenger class:
 First class: the nobility, gentry and the upper middle class. The
wagons had horsehair-stuffed seats.
 Second class: the clerk, shopkeeper and suburbanites. The
wagons had wooden seats.
 Third class: the lower middle class and workmen. There were
no seats or indeed roofs.
Standipedes were third class wagons. These were open wagons
and had no roof; passenger huddled in the wagons.

42. Railways – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

43. Railways – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

44. Railways – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

45. Railways – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

46. Railways – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era
 Queen Victoria took her first train ride on 13 June 1842
between Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace.
 Great Western Railway prepared a royal carriage which was
almost identical with other first class carriages except the
flower decorations.
 The carriage was placed between seven other carriages to
protect the Queen.
 After Queen’s ride, worries of the middle class population
were resolved.

47. Railways – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

48. Railways – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era
 The railways were heavily regulated by the Parliament.
 Railways companies were authorized with the Parliament
Acts.
 There were forty-eight regulations between 1831 and 1882.
 When they were first put into service, different railways used
varying gauges.
 In 1846, the Royal Commission intervened and standard gauge
was introduced.
 There were hundreds of railway companies which were
consolidated into four major companies in the twentieth
century.

49. Railways – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

50. Railways – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

51. Railways – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

52. Railways – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

53. Railways – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era
 By 1850, 6000 miles of railway were in use.
 The number of railway laborers was between 200,000 and
250,000.
 British engineers and laborers worked abroad to build railroad
networks in Europe and manufactured locomotives, rails and
rolling stocks.
 The route between London and Scotland was one of the
longest routes. “The Special Scotch Express” worked on this
route and came to be known as “the Flying Scotsman”. It was
one of the most famous train journeys of the era.

54. Railways – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

55. Railways – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

56. Railways – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

57. Railways – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era
The Railway emblems (from left to right): (a) The Great Western Railway,
(b) The London & South Western Railway, and (c) The North Eastern Railway.

58. Railways – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era
Railways shaped the suburbs and urban landscape;
accessibility of transportation “meant that for the first
time people’s homes and workplaces could be entirely
separate.”

59. Railways – ctd.
Underground
The concept of an underground railway was prevalent as early as
1830s. Charles Pearson, in 1845, proposed schemes for “Metropolitan
Railway”. These schemes were approved by the Parliament.
 The capital was raised during 1850s.
 The project began in 1860.
 The service was introduced on 10 January 1863.
 At the first day, 32,000 people used the underground.
The underground trains also provided three classes of carriages: first
and second classes had leather seats and were lit by gas lighting while
third class had wooden seats.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

60. Railways – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

61. Railways – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

62. Railways – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

63. Railways – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

64. Railways – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

65. Railways – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

66. Railways – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

67. Railways – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

68. Railways – ctd.
 Underground railways altered the lives of workmen and
artisans; “they arrived in a better mood and did not row with
their wives” at home.
 The tunnels were “more like a well – kept street at night than
a subterranean passage” therefore “Londoners … preferred
the underground railway to the slower horse bus for anything
but the shortest journeys”.
 Although tunnels provided fast and affordable transportation,
only other underground system built in this period was
opened in Glasgow in 1896.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

69. Steamships
The chief purpose of steamships, which were first introduced in
1830s, was crossing the Atlantic. Steamships were conceived as
an extension of railways and the man behind this “systemic
connection” was Isambard Brunel.
Brunel conceived three steam projects that revolutionized British
commerce:
The Great Western (1837)
She was the first ship built in Britain to cross the Atlantic.
The largest vessel of her time.
Built of oak with an iron reinforced hull
She made her maiden voyage to New York In 1838.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

70. Steamships – ctd.
The Great Britain (1843)
She had a complete iron hull.
The largest vessel of her time.
 She also had a propeller.
The Great Eastern (1858)
The largest vessel of her time.
She was so immensely built, she could not work as a passenger
ship.
It was turned into a cable laying ship, in 1864.
She was used for laying cables under the Atlantic.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

71. Steamships – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

72. Steamships – ctd.
 Steamship travel enabled the mass migrations throughout the
century.
 The time for transatlantic travel reduced to six days.
 Rudyard Kipling reflects on steamships and cables as a binding force
through the globe.
But steamships did not yet dominate the seas.
 By 1865, the clippers that brought Chinese tea and Australian wool
to England were the fastest merchant vessels powered by wind.
 They were called ocean greyhounds for their speed.
 Their journey was followed in intense excitement as they raced
across the globe.
 Greyhounds carried on the race until 1895.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

73. Steamships – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

74. Bicycle
The bicycle was a redesign of celerifere (hobbyhorse). Baron von Doris
later added the saddle and steering mechanism in 1817 and velocipede
was imported to Britain in 1818. Bicycle was more affordable than a
horse and mastering the riding liberated the driver.
 It was popular among men and women as well as couples.
 It removed the necessity of a chaperone for “respectable ladies”.
 Its popularity increased even more after the invention of pedals in
1863.
 The first demonstration of bicycle in Britain took place in a gym in
1869.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

75. Bicycle – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

76. Bicycle – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

77. Bicycle – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

78. Bicycle – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

79. Bicycle – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

80. Bicycle – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

81. Bicycle – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

82. Bicycle – ctd.
 French Michaux brothers invented the high-wheeler which was
introduced in 1871.
 During 1870s and 80s, the high-wheeler (penny-farthing) was the
most popular bicycle model.
 Because it was faster than previous models, high-wheelers were not
suited for the elderly and women.
 There were also four-wheeled “quadricycles” – which were possible
for women to ride without their clothing getting caught.
 There was no special clothing for women. Women had to use
ordinary clothes while cycling.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

83. Bicycle – ctd.
 Cyclist were often involved in cycling clubs and preferred a grey suit
as an emblem.
 Women also began to use the same colours for the anonymity they
provided.
 Harry Lawson produced the first tricycles with safety measures in
1884.
 The safety bicycle was introduced in 1887.
 In 1893, ‘rational dress’ movement began – revolutionized cycling
suits for women.
 In 1896, pneumatic tyres were introduced.
 Production of British bicycles was carried out in Coventry.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

84. Bicycle – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

85. Bicycle – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

86. Bicycle – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

87. Bicycle – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

88. Bicycle – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

89. Bicycle – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

90. Bicycle – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

91. Further Developments
Cars
 French engineer Cugnot developed the first steam car in 1769.
 In 1830s, steam powered coaches were introduced.
 In 1880, railway engineer Robert Neville built “Grenville
Steam Carriage”.
 Charles Jeantaud built the first electric car in France in 1881.
 In 1887, Jeantuad used a British model motor.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

92. Further Developments – ctd.
 Frederick Simms brought the first car in Britain in 1889.
 Evelyn Ellis brought a motor car from France in 1895.
 The first British motor show was organised privately by Sir
David Salomons in 1895.
 On 14 November 1896, the Parliament allowed motor cars on
British streets.
 At the end of the century, cars were highly expensive and
considered as playthings.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

93. Further Developments – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

94. Further Developments – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

95. Further Developments – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

96. Further Developments – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

97. Further Developments – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

98. Further Developments – ctd.
Queen Victoria never used an automobile in her reign and
“intensely disliked this new invention, saying to the Master of
the Horse: I hope you will never allow one of those horrible
machines to be used in my stables.”
When her son, Edward VII, came to throne, automobiles were
kept in the Royal Stables and supervised by the Master of the
Horse.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

99. Further Developments – ctd.
Airplane
 George Cayley had designed his first airplane at the beginning
of the century.
 He concluded that his design would require a lightweight and
powerful engine.
 In 1853, he built his flying machine.
 His machine was made of wood with fixed wings and
moveable tail controls.
 He made the first recorded flight on a machine.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

100. Further Developments – ctd.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

101. Further Developments – ctd.
In 1897, Walter Besant wrote in Illustrated London News that “Steam
and electricity have conquered time and space”. Indeed, Cayley’s
ambition stands witness to the spirit of Victorian entrepreneurship
that revolutionized transportation of the century. Victorians were born
into a horse-powered Britain, which, at the turn of the century, would
reach a height of modernity through rails, engines and electricity.
Development of Transportation in the Victorian Era

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