How did people travel in Victorian times?

At the beginning of Queen Victoria's reign, most people travelled by road, either on horseback, in horse-drawn vehicles or on foot. There were no cars or aeroplanes. Instead stagecoaches were used for long-distance travel between major towns. Wealthier people could afford to buy their own horse-drawn carriages.



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At the beginning of the century, U.S. citizens and immigrants to the country traveled primarily by horseback or on the rivers. After a while, crude roads were built and then canals. Before long the railroads crisscrossed the country moving people and goods with greater efficiency.

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Trains served as the most important mode of transportation during a period of time called “The Golden Age” of railroads, which lasted from the 1880s until the 1920s. An American railway circa 1884-1885.

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In the 1800s a wide spread of railroads were laid, so that the wealthy could travel much faster. Also the steam boat was invented that made it possible to go across sea.

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These are early Victorian rail carriages 1840. Not fast by modern standards (going on British standards here) - 40–60 mph on busier secondary & main lines and 25–35 mph on rural routes. You might have got up to 60–70 mph on long haul express routes, but not much more.

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By 1857, which is still within one lifetime from someone born around 1800, travel by rail (the fastest way to get around at the time — remember that the Wright brothers were not even born yet and air travel was far off in the future) had gotten significantly faster.

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People travelled by foot only and they carried their goods on animals like horses, donkeys etc. Some travellers also used livestock like horses to travel long distances.

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