Where would you like to go in the year 1896? How would you get there? How much would it cost?
Lets GO! Grab your Excelsior Diary that contains most things a world without internet would care to know in one little leather bound pocket size packet. Before we start planning our journey we just need to know a few details -
This handy pocket book information was for traveling the West Coast of the United States. It looks like each route is beginning from San Francisco and each different railroad company had a name that then became an abbreviation for space saving purposes in the printing of information. The Los Angeles Terminal Railroad is L.A.T.R. , Oregon Railroad is O.R. and etc... And don't forget to noitce the p. for Population. Where you see the p. in in the listings this is showing the population of that specific location on the roue and if there is no number given then the location is very smaill with under 50 peolple.
Lets move on. I just arrived in San Francisco California in 1896 and now I want to get home to Chico California.
I see that Chico is 186 miles from San Francisco and it will cost me $5.96. Luckily I still have $10 left so I can buy some food to take with me on the train. I wonder how long this journey will take? In this period its likely trains on the West Coast were traveling about 25 mph. As the actual tracks became better built the trains could go faster with less risk of accidents. Trains could go fast with a full head of steam, but they didn't at that time because it wasn't safe. These days we wouldn't drive our cars at 80 miles per hour on a dirt road, sor of the same thing.
I guess the journey to Chico would take about seven and a half hours, probably longer with station stops along the way. I read that stage coach travel was 10 cents per mile, and traveled about 9 miles per hour on flat terrain. But that would cost $18.60 and take about 24 hours most likely.
More detailed guides such as Phelps Travellers' Guide were printed during this time to plan travels, Tourism was beginning to blossom with the railroads making it easier to travel.
Take a geography journey with your class or homeschoolers by exploring an 1896 journey across the United States. And stop along the way to get a view of history and populations, fashions and commerce.
Explore the 1953 Guide To America.
Get the Time Travel Learning Packets for the Excelsior Diary.
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TIME TRAVELLER |
SCHOOLER | LEARNING PACKET |
