1867 and 1878:
Station and mechanics
But there is much more to trains than ceremony and demonstration. At universal expositions, they also bring in a large number of exhibitors, objects and visitors. As a result, the organisers negotiated with the companies to make the event a success. At the Exposition of 1867, the “belt railway” was thus linked to one of the entrances to the exhibition. 31 inbound and 28 outbound trains carried the public to and from the event. 11 years later, at the Universal Exposition of 1878, the Champ-de-Mars station was built for the occasion. The visitors included a certain R. Martial, who made this comment about the Gallery of Machines: “[…] soon, there will be only one possible trade left – that of mechanic”.
Games,
tales and images
Trains nurtured an imaginary world that gradually spread to children. The “Jeu de l’oie des chemins de fer“, a railway board game created by Ernest Henry around 1855 that can be found in the Archives of Mulhouse is a perfect example of that phenomenon. On a board with squares bearing pictures of Epinal prints, players travelled from one station to the next. In 1872, a writer for La Semaine des enfants, a publication with amusing and educational pictures and writing, took pleasure in mixing historical periods. In a tale with renaissance notes and décor, trains made a discreet appearance. The writer reminded his young readers that in those days, one could only travel to distance places in extremely slow carriages. The train, a mysterious and noisy character, gradually became a subject of learning. When Jules Ferry made education in France free, secular and compulsory, the walls of classrooms and school books were gradually populated by locomotives. At the same time, companies like Märklin began to sell model trains. With toy trains and deluxe models, play and learning went hand in hand.
Learning
about the railways
While the 19th century was the age of scientific popularisation, the diversity of trades involved in the railways made companies organise their learning methods. At the international railway conferences organised in Milan in 1887 and then in Paris in 1889, the need to create special educational institutions was pointed out. Teaching of geography, physics, arithmetic and French were supplemented by technical learning in industrial drafting, cabinet making, boiler work and forging. The mastery over teaching materials and models became a prerequisite for the future career of young railway workers. Signal models and other masterpieces made by apprentices form a significant body of this part of the railway heritage and can be found at the Cité du Train.
Celebrating
the railways
50 years after the inauguration of the line between Paris and Saint-Germain-en-Laye, gaily draped platforms appeared in the Bois de Vincennes. On 22 May 1887, dove releases and concerts marked the commemoration. In spite of the bankruptcy of the organising company, that international event did however enable the writers for Journal des Débats to “browse through the old collection” of the daily and remind readers of a historic episode that could have been forgotten.
Folklore
and landscapes
Railways were at their peak in the second half of the 19th century. In a few decades, railway transport had secured a lasting foothold in the day-to-day lives of a large number of people in France, as railway workers or regular users. Indeed, trains, combined with trams and cable railways, allowed people to go ever further, deep within mountain ranges or up to the sea.
Railway companies, which helped develop tourism, tried to be more creative than the competition when it came to promoting their destinations. Posters appeared in stations. These were brightly coloured and followed a recurring model, with at the centre, an idyllic landscape, sometimes with someone dressed in the local costume or what it was believed to be. The name of the company was stated in bold, most commonly with insets indicating the affordable cost of fares.
Later on, tourist brochures and guide books published by rail companies turned these organisations into recommenders of cultural practices. Joanne Guides, which were already sold in the railway bookshops managed by Hachette, made people want to travel. In 1872, when the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits was founded, the picturesque was replaced by the need for a change in scenery.
By the dawn of the 20th century, railways had become a means of transport firmly rooted in the daily life of people across France. The inauguration of Orsay station in Paris in 1900 renewed the city landscape. Because unlike exhibition pavilions, these buildings were designed to last. With every new exhibition, the total length of tracks dedicated to railways grew significantly.