What Train Travel looked like in the 1950s

During the 1950s, train travel saw a decline in popularity as more Americans began to own automobiles and the national highway system expanded. Many railroads struggled financially as a result, and some were forced to merge or declare bankruptcy.

The government also introduced policies aimed at improving the efficiency of rail transportation, such as the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976. This act provided financial assistance to struggling railroads and deregulated certain aspects of the industry.

Despite these challenges, train travel remained an important mode of transportation, particularly for long-distance travel. The introduction of streamlined trains, such as the “Super Chief” and “The California Zephyr”, offered luxury amenities and faster travel times, drawing in more passengers.

In addition, the popularity of passenger trains increased during the 1950s as more people traveled by rail, particularly for leisure and vacation purposes. Many railroads began offering special excursion trains, such as “The Great Dome” and “The Silver Meteor”, with amenities like dining cars, observation cars and sleeping cars to attract more customers.

Despite these challenges, train travel remained an important mode of transportation, particularly for long-distance travel. The introduction of luxury trains, like “The Super Chief” and “The California Zephyr” and the increased popularity of passenger trains for leisure and vacation purposes helped attract more customers.

#1 Juliette Greco in the train, 1950

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#2 Barbara Guest On Train.

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#3 Railway workers inside a railcar on their way to work near Glacier, a railway whistlestop and locality near the summit of the Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park, British Columbia, Canada, 1958.

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#4 English pop idol Tommy Steele takes a train journey with his managers Larry Parnes (left, window seat) and John Kennedy (right, aisle seat), 4th March 1957.

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#5 Brigitte Bardot during a breakfast chat with a woman in the train, 1957

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#6 Brigitte Bardot in the restaurant compartment of a train, 1957

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#7 Brigitte Bardot in the trian, Munich, 1957

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#8 Italian miss Giuliana Copreni reading a book in a train carriage resting her feet on the seat.

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#9 Elvis on the Train, 1956

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#10 The Adventure Of The Transalgerian. Algeria, March 15, 1956. From Rabat to the Tunisian border, men win the rail battle every day, on a rail network of 6000 kilometers.

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#11 The Adventure Of The Transalgerien, 1956

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#12 People on the adventure train. From Rabat to the Tunisian border, 1956

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#13 People on the adventure train. From Rabat to the Tunisian border, men win the rail battle every day, on a rail network of 6000 kilometers, Algeria, 1956

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#14 Crowds gather around platform at 86th Street station as speakers pay tribute to the about to be torn down Third Avenue El train tracks

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#15 Three realistic miniature trains owned by members of the New York Society Of Model Engineers line up on the track.

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#16 Marlon Brando sitting in a train, reading a magazine, 1954

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#17 A woman wearing a grey tweed suit and reading a newspaper on the train journey to work, 1954

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#18 A lone traveler sitting in almost empty waiting room at Denver’s union station, 1953

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#19 Passengers on the third Avenue El Train

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#20 Queen Victoria’s sitting room in one of the Royal coaches being displayed at a Coronation exhibition at Battersea Wharf Station, London

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#21 The actress Marie Laforet traveling by first class car on the Paris-Lille train, reading the newspaper on June 3, 1959.

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#22 A man reading some documents on board a train. May 1963.

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#23 Princess Anne and her brother, Prince Charles (now King Charles III) arriving at Liverpool Street Station, London, 22nd December 1958.

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#24 English pop idol Tommy Steele takes a train journey with his managers Larry Parnes (left, window seat) and John Kennedy (right, aisle seat), 4th March 1957.

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#25 Edie Adams poses for a portrait with step-daughter Elizabeth (Bette) Kovacs while travelling on a train, 1956 outside of Padua, Italy.

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#26 Three women getting off the train at the station. Italy, 1955

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#27 CBS television personality and train commuter Garry Moore leaves Grand Central Terminal, 1951.

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#28 War Correspondents on the Korean Press Train

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#29 Four feet of new snow lies on the ground in below-zero temperatures as the last train puffs into Cumbres, the station a top 10, 015-foot Cumbres pass on the Colorado-New Mexico line.

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#30 Italian actor Rossano Brazzi and his wife Lidia Bertolini appearing at their train window while coming back from Paris at Termini railway station. Rome, December 1955

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#31 Scene at the crash of a Long Island Railroad train crash near Richmond Hill.,

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#32 Families of emigrants with packs and luggage waiting for a train at the railway station. Catania, March 1958

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#33 View of the steam trains at the railway station of Porta Genova after a snow fall, Milan, 1950

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#34 Actress Sophia Loren visits US Military Base in Italy, 1950. The actress having breakfast in the train, fifties.

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#35 Passengers in the dining car on a Rio Grande streamliner train, early 1950s.

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#36 Crowded dining car aboard the Simplon Orient Express train, 1950.

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#37 A man uses a typewriter while riding the Venice-Simplon Orient Express, 1950.

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#38 Passengers in a first class dining saloon in 1951.

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#39 British Rail stewards serve drinks in a first-class dining car, 1951.

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#40 Veronica Balfe (wife of actor Gary Cooper) has a cocktail on the Super Chief railroad, 1951. The train was a favorite of celebrities traveling between Chicago and Los Angeles.

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#41 Passengers on the Pennsylvania Railroad restaurant car, 1952.

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#42 French actor, director and mime Jacques Taty examines the dining car train, September 1958.

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#43 A new restaurant car was launched on the Paris-Lille railway in France, 1959.

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#44 A family inside a Trans-Karoo compartment, 1950s

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#45 A woman and her daughter in a Blue Train compartment, 1950s

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#46 Blue Train compartment scene, 1950

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#47 Blue Train compartment scene, 1950s

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#48 Blue Train compartment scene, 1950s

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#49 Blue Train couple, 1950s

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#50 Interior of a Blue Train compartment, 1950s

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#51 Interior of a First Class Couple,1950s

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