Vintage photos show how first-class train travel has changed over the past 100 years

Talia LakritzApr 11, 2024, 20:54 IST

Passengers listen to a radio gramophone on a LNER train carriage in 1930.Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images

First-class train cars used to include gramophones and leather armchairs.
Travelers would dress up in suits and fur coats for their trips.

Modern first-class train tickets include perks like lounge access and meals, but trains used to be even more luxurious.

Train travel has experienced a renaissance in recent years, with more passengers opting to avoid rising airfare costs and the environmental impact of flying. Amtrak reported its ridership reached 28.8 million in 2023 — a 24.6% increase from the previous year.

Here's a look back at how glamorous first-class train cars once were and how they've changed through the years.

In the early 1900s, first-class train carriages featured club cars with sumptuous leather furniture.

A Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway carriage interior in 1905.Science & Society Picture Library/Getty Images

In 1912, meals on the Great Eastern Railway's first-class dining cars were served on fine china and silverware embossed with the GER logo.

A GER first-class dining car in 1912.Science & Society Picture Library/Getty IMages

First-class lounges looked more like living rooms aboard the London, Midland, and Scottish Railway in 1928.

The luxurious first-class lounge on board a London, Midland, and Scottish Railway train.Edward G Malindine/Getty Images

Passengers dressed to the nines in hats, gloves, and fur coats in a first-class London North Eastern Railway car in 1930.

Passengers listen to a radio gramophone on a LNER train carriage in 1930.Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images

Travelers on the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1930 passed the time by reading newspapers or listening to the radio.

Passengers listen to the wireless on board a train on the Canadian Pacific Railway.Fox Photos/Getty Images

In 1937, sleeping carriages on luxury Pullman trains included perks like being served breakfast in bed.

A passenger is served breakfast in bed in a sleeping car in 1937.Science & Society Picture Library/Getty Images

In 1951, waitstaff served food and drinks in a first-class dining saloon on a train at Marylebone Station in London.

Passengers in a first-class dining saloon in 1951.Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images

Lunch was also a dressy affair in British Railways' first-class dining car.

Passengers taking lunch in a British Railways first-class dining car in 1951.Science & Society Picture Library/Getty Images

Glamorous Golden Arrow trains, operated by Pullman, ran between London and Paris from 1929 to 1972.

The first-class Trianon Bar on a Golden Arrow train in 1951.PA Images via Getty Images

Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger traveled in style in first class in 1967.

Paul McCartney of the Beatles and Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones sit opposite each other on a train at Euston Station in 1967.Victor Blackman/Express/Getty Images

King Charles (then Prince of Wales) also rode in first class in 1978.

King Charles (then Prince of Wales) rides a train in first class in 1978.Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

In 1992, the first-class lounge on Indian Pacific trains offered entertainment in the form of board games like Scrabble.

Passengers in an Indian Pacific first-class lounge in 1992.Peter Rae/Fairfax Media via Getty Images

In 1997, British Prime Minister John Major and his wife, Norma, ate a meal in first class as they rode a train from King's Cross Station in London.

British Prime Minister John Major and his wife Norma on a train at King's Cross Station in 1997.Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

Today's first-class cars on Amtrak don't look much different from the rest of the train.

A first-class Amtrak Acela car.Joey Hadden/Insider

Some trains still offer the old-world glamour of yesteryear, like the Venice Simplon-Orient Express.

The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express in 2022.YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images

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