The Neuroses of the Railway
Ralph Harrington looks at the paranoias that railway travel stirred up as it spread across the 19th century.
From the beginnings of their development in the early nineteenth century, railways inspired deep anxieties and provoked strong opposition. The common factor in much anti-railway discourse whether couched in environmental, medical or social terms – was a perception of railways as fundamentally unnatural, as intrinsically at odds with the established order embodied in the rural landscape, the social structure of traditional communities, and the constitution of the human mind and body.
To continue reading this article you need to purchase a subscription, available from only £5.
Start my trial subscription now
If you have already purchased access, or are a print & archive subscriber, please ensure you are logged in.
Please email digital@historytoday.com if you have any problems.
