Vintage photos show how glamorous train travel used to be
Talia Lakritz
![Vintage photos show how glamorous train travel used to be](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstaticbiassets.in%2Fthumb%2Fmsid-112178118%2Cwidth-700%2Cheight-525%2Cimgsize-150946%2Fvintage-photos-show-how-glamorous-train-travel-used-to-be.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
- Vintage photos from decades ago show how traveling by train used to be a lot fancier.
- First-class cabins were furnished like living rooms and included radio gramophones.
Traveling by train was pretty swanky in the early to mid-1900s, and it hasn't gone out of style.
Today, Japan's bullet trains can make the trip from Tokyo to Osaka in just 2 1/2 hours, and in the US, Amtrak is working on high-speed trains of its own.
Still, the lavish furnishings and fine dining of the past hold a special place in the railroad's rich history. These vintage photos show how glamorous train travel used to be.
People used to dress up for train travel.
![People used to dress up for train travel.](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-112178315,width-700,height-525,imgsize-69672/people-used-to-dress-up-for-train-travel-.jpg)
Dressed-up passengers waited with their luggage to board the first special passenger train to London in 1909.
Passengers wore fascinators and white gloves — no sweats or hoodies here.
![Passengers wore fascinators and white gloves — no sweats or hoodies here.](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-112178302,width-700,height-525,imgsize-66336/passengers-wore-fascinators-and-white-gloves-x2014-no-sweats-or-hoodies-here-.jpg)
Messrs Carreras employees peered out of their railway carriage window before departing Charing Cross Station in London in 1934.
Traveling was an event.
![Traveling was an event.](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-112178291,width-700,height-525,imgsize-85820/traveling-was-an-event-.jpg)
A crowd of Messrs Carreras employees waved from the platform before departing Charing Cross Station in 1935.
Railway carriages were spacious and well-lit.
![Railway carriages were spacious and well-lit.](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-112178278,width-700,height-525,imgsize-52120/railway-carriages-were-spacious-and-well-lit-.jpg)
A train carriage photographed in 1934 featured plush seats with tables.
First-class cars in particular were tastefully decorated.
![First-class cars in particular were tastefully decorated.](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-112178269,width-700,height-525,imgsize-396928/first-class-cars-in-particular-were-tastefully-decorated-.jpg)
Cleaners working in a Minerva train car in 1938 polished its tables and dusted its cushy armchairs.
Furnished like living rooms, they came complete with armchairs, drapes, and carpeting.
![Furnished like living rooms, they came complete with armchairs, drapes, and carpeting.](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-112178259,width-700,height-525,imgsize-61322/furnished-like-living-rooms-they-came-complete-with-armchairs-drapes-and-carpeting-.jpg)
In 1928, passengers enjoyed a luxurious first-class lounge onboard a London Midland and Scottish Royal Scot train.
A first-class Japanese Railway Department observation car in 1920 utilized elements of Japanese art.
![A first-class Japanese Railway Department observation car in 1920 utilized elements of Japanese art.](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-112178250,width-700,height-525,imgsize-547534/a-first-class-japanese-railway-department-observation-car-in-1920-utilized-elements-of-japanese-art-.jpg)
The car's decorative trim and light fixtures evoked the ancient Momoyama style of Japanese art.
Celebrities like Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger enjoyed the comforts of first-class cars.
![Celebrities like Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger enjoyed the comforts of first-class cars.](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-112178241,width-700,height-525,imgsize-1726032/celebrities-like-paul-mccartney-and-mick-jagger-enjoyed-the-comforts-of-first-class-cars-.jpg)
McCartney and Jagger traveled together from London's Euston Station in 1967.
Second class wasn't quite as glamorous, but it still ensured a cushy ride.
![Second class wasn](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-112178231,width-700,height-525,imgsize-1222370/second-class-wasnapost-quite-as-glamorous-but-it-still-ensured-a-cushy-ride-.jpg)
Passengers in the second-class coach of a Hikari Train in Japan in 1965 read newspapers and looked out of the windows.
Restaurant cars hosted guests with elegant table settings.
![Restaurant cars hosted guests with elegant table settings.](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-112178220,width-700,height-525,imgsize-571450/restaurant-cars-hosted-guests-with-elegant-table-settings-.jpg)
A British Railways restaurant car in 1949 featured tables set with artfully folded napkins.
Passengers dined on fine china.
![Passengers dined on fine china.](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-112178212,width-700,height-525,imgsize-375186/passengers-dined-on-fine-china-.jpg)
A first-class dining saloon in 1951 looked more like a restaurant than a train car.
Some trains offered food buffet-style.
![Some trains offered food buffet-style.](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-112178203,width-700,height-525,imgsize-47944/some-trains-offered-food-buffet-style-.jpg)
Passengers enjoyed refreshments in a buffet car at London's Waterloo station in 1938.
Others employed dapper servers to pour drinks.
![Others employed dapper servers to pour drinks.](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-112178194,width-700,height-525,imgsize-252608/others-employed-dapper-servers-to-pour-drinks-.jpg)
Waiters wore tuxedos in a restaurant car on a Great Western Railway oil-fired locomotive in 1946.
In cars equipped with radio gramophones, passengers could enjoy music and radio programs.
![In cars equipped with radio gramophones, passengers could enjoy music and radio programs.](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-112178188,width-700,height-525,imgsize-90514/in-cars-equipped-with-radio-gramophones-passengers-could-enjoy-music-and-radio-programs-.jpg)
Passengers draped in fur listened to a radio gramophone on a LNER train carriage in 1930.
Playing cards was also a popular pastime.
![Playing cards was also a popular pastime.](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-112178181,width-700,height-525,imgsize-88406/playing-cards-was-also-a-popular-pastime-.jpg)
Travelers in a BEA Vickers Viking train played a game of cards in 1947.
As was reading the newspaper.
![As was reading the newspaper.](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-112178169,width-700,height-525,imgsize-351986/as-was-reading-the-newspaper-.jpg)
Passengers listened to the wireless radio while perusing the paper on board a Canadian Pacific Railway train in 1930.
Sleeper cars featured upholstered beds with plenty of room to spread out.
![Sleeper cars featured upholstered beds with plenty of room to spread out.](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-112178161,width-700,height-525,imgsize-39212/sleeper-cars-featured-upholstered-beds-with-plenty-of-room-to-spread-out-.jpg)
A woman was photographed reading in a sleeper car in 1905.
Sleeper-car attendants would bring passengers morning cups of tea on trays.
![Sleeper-car attendants would bring passengers morning cups of tea on trays.](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-112178151,width-700,height-525,imgsize-205854/sleeper-car-attendants-would-bring-passengers-morning-cups-of-tea-on-trays-.jpg)
An attendant wearing a suit and tie brought a passenger a cup of tea in an LMS sleeper car in 1945.
Back then, traveling still involved the same crowded rush as it does now.
![Back then, traveling still involved the same crowded rush as it does now.](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-112178138,width-700,height-525,imgsize-136568/back-then-traveling-still-involved-the-same-crowded-rush-as-it-does-now-.jpg)
Passengers waiting for the Cornish Riviera Express train crowded London's Paddington Station in 1924.
There was also a special thrill to riding the railroad that's hard to come by these days.
![There was also a special thrill to riding the railroad that](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-112178127,width-700,height-525,imgsize-348082/there-was-also-a-special-thrill-to-riding-the-railroad-thataposs-hard-to-come-by-these-days-.jpg)
Milkmen from United Dairies posed with an LNER train at King's Cross Station in 1932.
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