Bikes on Trains
1883
In 2015 Amtrak announced with much fanfare that they will now allow passengers to bring a bicycle onto trains —but only certain bicycles, and they'll have to pay a $20 bicycle surcharge.
http://www.bikeleague.org/content/amtrak-expands-roll-service
Here's what they didn't mention: In the early 1880s thanks to the efforts of cycling advocacy groups like the League of American Wheelmen, the majority of railroads in the U.S. already allowed passengers to bring a bicycle on the train with them at no extra charge! (There weren't any restrictions on the types of bicycles, either.)
Here are some lists from 1883 cycling magazines telling Wheelmen which trains would carry their bikes at no extra cost:
"The following railroads have issued instructions to carry bicycles free, at owner's risks, in baggage-cars, when accompanied by owners. . . : Baltimore & Ohio; Grand Trunk; Wabash, St. Louis, & Pacific; Illinois Central; Chicago, Alton & St. Louis; Wheeling & Lake Erie; Cleveland & Marietta; Ohio & Central; New York, Chicago & St. Louis; Lake Erie & Western; Detroit, Grand Haven, & Milwaukee." —"Wheel News." The Wheelman, May 1883, p. 154.
"The Pennsylvania Railroad has been added to the list of those which carry bicycles free when accompanied by the owner." --The Wheelman, June, 1883, p. 231.
"We give a list of railroads that have issued circulars of instructions to bagagge-masters and station-agents to pass bicycles free in baggage-cars, when accompanied by owner, and upon presentation of a first-class ticket:
Baltimore & Ohio
Grand Trunk
Chicago & Grand Trunk
Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific
Illinois Central
Chicago, Alton & St. Louis.
Wheeling & Lake Erie.
Cleveland & Marietta
Ohio Central
New York, Chicago, & St. Louis
Lake Erie & Western
Cleveland, Lorain & Wheeling
Flint & Pere Marquette
Chicago, Burlington, & Quincy
Chicago & Iowa
Kansas City, St. Joseph & Council Bluffs
Cleveland, Tuscarawas Valley, & Wheeling
Vandalia Line
Grand Rapids & Indiana
Indiana, Bloomington, & Western
Valley
Cleveland, Akron, & Canton
Pennysylvania Company
Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, & St. Louis (C., St. L., & P.)
Michigan Central
Canada Southern
Ohio & Mississippi
Cleveland, Columbus, Cincin., & Indianapolis
Cincinnati, Hamilton, & Dayton
Chicago & West Michigan
Louisville, New Albany, & Chicago
Chicago, Milwaukee, & St. Paul.
Chicago & Eastern Illinois.
Toledo, Ann Arbor, & Grand Trunk.
Cincinnatti, Indianapolis, St. Louis, & Chicago
Maine Central.
Portland & Ogdensburg.
Detroit, Lansing, & Northern.
Port Huron & Northwestern.
Buffalo, New York & Pennsylvania.
Lehigh Valley."
—"Wheel News." The Wheelman. July, 1883. p. 312.
http://www.bikeleague.org/content/amtrak-expands-roll-service
Here's what they didn't mention: In the early 1880s thanks to the efforts of cycling advocacy groups like the League of American Wheelmen, the majority of railroads in the U.S. already allowed passengers to bring a bicycle on the train with them at no extra charge! (There weren't any restrictions on the types of bicycles, either.)
Here are some lists from 1883 cycling magazines telling Wheelmen which trains would carry their bikes at no extra cost:
"The following railroads have issued instructions to carry bicycles free, at owner's risks, in baggage-cars, when accompanied by owners. . . : Baltimore & Ohio; Grand Trunk; Wabash, St. Louis, & Pacific; Illinois Central; Chicago, Alton & St. Louis; Wheeling & Lake Erie; Cleveland & Marietta; Ohio & Central; New York, Chicago & St. Louis; Lake Erie & Western; Detroit, Grand Haven, & Milwaukee." —"Wheel News." The Wheelman, May 1883, p. 154.
"The Pennsylvania Railroad has been added to the list of those which carry bicycles free when accompanied by the owner." --The Wheelman, June, 1883, p. 231.
"We give a list of railroads that have issued circulars of instructions to bagagge-masters and station-agents to pass bicycles free in baggage-cars, when accompanied by owner, and upon presentation of a first-class ticket:
Baltimore & Ohio
Grand Trunk
Chicago & Grand Trunk
Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific
Illinois Central
Chicago, Alton & St. Louis.
Wheeling & Lake Erie.
Cleveland & Marietta
Ohio Central
New York, Chicago, & St. Louis
Lake Erie & Western
Cleveland, Lorain & Wheeling
Flint & Pere Marquette
Chicago, Burlington, & Quincy
Chicago & Iowa
Kansas City, St. Joseph & Council Bluffs
Cleveland, Tuscarawas Valley, & Wheeling
Vandalia Line
Grand Rapids & Indiana
Indiana, Bloomington, & Western
Valley
Cleveland, Akron, & Canton
Pennysylvania Company
Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, & St. Louis (C., St. L., & P.)
Michigan Central
Canada Southern
Ohio & Mississippi
Cleveland, Columbus, Cincin., & Indianapolis
Cincinnati, Hamilton, & Dayton
Chicago & West Michigan
Louisville, New Albany, & Chicago
Chicago, Milwaukee, & St. Paul.
Chicago & Eastern Illinois.
Toledo, Ann Arbor, & Grand Trunk.
Cincinnatti, Indianapolis, St. Louis, & Chicago
Maine Central.
Portland & Ogdensburg.
Detroit, Lansing, & Northern.
Port Huron & Northwestern.
Buffalo, New York & Pennsylvania.
Lehigh Valley."
—"Wheel News." The Wheelman. July, 1883. p. 312.
If you enjoyed this piece, you might like these:
A Burglar, A Bicycle, and A Storm (Fiction—1896)
A Cycle of the Seasons: A Bicycle Romance in Four Meets (Fiction—1883)
A Cycle Show in Little (1896)
A Header (?) (Poem—1883)
A Modern Love Sung in Ancient Fashion (Poem—1884)
Bicycle Riding In The United States (1881)
Bicycling and Tricycling (1884)
Cycling's Value As An Exercise (1879)
Cycling for Women (1888)
Is Bicycling Harmful? (1896)
An Early Morning Ride (Poem—1883)
The Evolution of a Sport (1896)
Foreign [Bicycling News] (1884)
'Neath the Magnolias (Poem—1883)
On Wings of Love (Poem—1884)
Rosalind A Wheel (Fiction—1896)
Snakes in his Wheel (1895)
Wheelman's Song (Poem—1883)
The Work of Wheelmen for Better Roads (1896)
Woman's Cycle (1896)
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