company. It has been suggested that he was either colour-blind, or cunning: deliberately describing his new yellow as âimproved greenâ to convince his companyâs board to make the change.
Behind this smart locomotive, the third class carriage that Florence travelled in was comfortable enough. Outside, it was painted in plain umber, with the companyâs initials in gold-shaded black lettering. Inside, the upholstery was sprung or stuffed with horsehair, and buttoned. The walls were panelled with wood, heating was from steam pipes, and the carriage was lit by gaslight. There was a rack overhead for luggage, and a window in each side which could be opened by a leather strap. There was no door handle on the inside: passengers had to lower the window to reach the outside handle, or wait for the guard on the platform to open the door. There was a communication cord which ran between compartments to allow passengers to alert the guard to any problems. Seasoned travellers from this period described the smell of the train as a mix of the coal from the engine â with a different smell in different counties, depending where the coal came from â and gas from the carriage lights.
In 1920, however, the railways were in a state of flux, the consequences of which may have had a direct effect on Florenceâs journey. From the opening of the first railways â the Stockton to Darlington line in 1825, and the Liverpool to Manchester line in 1830 â to the early years of the 20 th century, there had been decades of expansion, experimentation, competition and development. New technologies for engines, carriages and the wheeled âbogiesâ on which they travelled, track building, braking systems and signalling had been invented, refined, introduced and replaced. Speed records were set and broken, and new forms of heating, lighting and furnishing of carriages were regularly introduced. All long distance express trains had corridors allowing all passengers â even in third class â access to toilets and the dining cars. From a dangerous if heroic novelty, the railways had become a huge industry, burgeoning with competing companies, advertising campaigns and related businesses such as hotels and omnibuses to complete the journey.
Then, when war was declared in 1914, the Government took over the railways. Throughout the war, a Railway Executive Committee, made up of the general managers of the ten leading rail companies under the direction of the Board of Trade, managed the countryâs rail system. Under the Committeeâs direction, the railways played a major role in transporting troops and war goods from 1914 onwards. A report in The Railway Gazette in 1919 shows the staggering strain put on the LB&SCR by this work:
âIn common with other railways, the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway was called upon to do important service in connection with the war.
The immediate selection of Newhaven, and some months later of Littlehampton (at one time used for the companyâs Continental services) as ports of embarkation for munitions and war stores, brought a concentrated and continuous traffic over the railway from all parts of the country.
All kinds of munitions, military stores and foodstuffs, coming for the most part from the places of production, were carried over the railway as goods traffic, and up to the present the quantity conveyed to these two ports amounts to 6,805,810 tons, while a substantial tonnage passed over the line to other places on the railway.
The number of special trains which were run in connection with this traffic was 53,376. The largest number of loaded special trains dealt with in any one day was 64. The number of loaded wagons handled at Newhaven and Littlehampton was close on 1,000,000. A considerable quantity of war traffic was, of course, also conveyed by ordinary goods trainsâ¦
The passenger train traffic, although it did not equal the goods
Behind this smart locomotive, the third class carriage that Florence travelled in was comfortable enough. Outside, it was painted in plain umber, with the companyâs initials in gold-shaded black lettering. Inside, the upholstery was sprung or stuffed with horsehair, and buttoned. The walls were panelled with wood, heating was from steam pipes, and the carriage was lit by gaslight. There was a rack overhead for luggage, and a window in each side which could be opened by a leather strap. There was no door handle on the inside: passengers had to lower the window to reach the outside handle, or wait for the guard on the platform to open the door. There was a communication cord which ran between compartments to allow passengers to alert the guard to any problems. Seasoned travellers from this period described the smell of the train as a mix of the coal from the engine â with a different smell in different counties, depending where the coal came from â and gas from the carriage lights.
In 1920, however, the railways were in a state of flux, the consequences of which may have had a direct effect on Florenceâs journey. From the opening of the first railways â the Stockton to Darlington line in 1825, and the Liverpool to Manchester line in 1830 â to the early years of the 20 th century, there had been decades of expansion, experimentation, competition and development. New technologies for engines, carriages and the wheeled âbogiesâ on which they travelled, track building, braking systems and signalling had been invented, refined, introduced and replaced. Speed records were set and broken, and new forms of heating, lighting and furnishing of carriages were regularly introduced. All long distance express trains had corridors allowing all passengers â even in third class â access to toilets and the dining cars. From a dangerous if heroic novelty, the railways had become a huge industry, burgeoning with competing companies, advertising campaigns and related businesses such as hotels and omnibuses to complete the journey.
Then, when war was declared in 1914, the Government took over the railways. Throughout the war, a Railway Executive Committee, made up of the general managers of the ten leading rail companies under the direction of the Board of Trade, managed the countryâs rail system. Under the Committeeâs direction, the railways played a major role in transporting troops and war goods from 1914 onwards. A report in The Railway Gazette in 1919 shows the staggering strain put on the LB&SCR by this work:
âIn common with other railways, the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway was called upon to do important service in connection with the war.
The immediate selection of Newhaven, and some months later of Littlehampton (at one time used for the companyâs Continental services) as ports of embarkation for munitions and war stores, brought a concentrated and continuous traffic over the railway from all parts of the country.
All kinds of munitions, military stores and foodstuffs, coming for the most part from the places of production, were carried over the railway as goods traffic, and up to the present the quantity conveyed to these two ports amounts to 6,805,810 tons, while a substantial tonnage passed over the line to other places on the railway.
The number of special trains which were run in connection with this traffic was 53,376. The largest number of loaded special trains dealt with in any one day was 64. The number of loaded wagons handled at Newhaven and Littlehampton was close on 1,000,000. A considerable quantity of war traffic was, of course, also conveyed by ordinary goods trainsâ¦
The passenger train traffic, although it did not equal the goods
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