RAILWAY TRAVELING ON THE CONTINENT.
The American traveler who makes his first tour abroad will come upon
something new as soon as he visits a railway station. The cars are
quite unlike those to which he has been accustomed at home; they have
no passage-way running the whole length of the vehicle, and most of
them present a Lilliputian appearance when compared with the American
passenger car. They are divided into compartments which generally
contain seats for eight persons, and are entered by doors at either
end. The occupants of a compartment face each other, so that when the
place is full half the passengers are riding backwards and the other
half forwards. Some persons are made ill unless they have their faces
in the direction they are traveling; a tourist who belongs to this
category should make sure of his place by the aid of a porter, and
there is generally no trouble about the matter. Those who are not
disturbed by the aforesaid nausea prefer to sit with their backs
toward the locomotive, as they escape a good deal of the dust and
smoke that fall to the lot of those in the "front-face" position.
There is a large window in the upper half of the door, and there are
smaller windows at the ends of the rows of seats; if you have your
back towards the engine, and are in an end seat, the open window in
the door will give you all the air you need, while in the opposite
seat you might find the breeze too strong. A seat on the windward side
of the train is preferable to a leeward one, though much will depend
upon the position of the sun and the scenery along the route.
On the Swiss railways many of the carriages are on the American
system, with doors at the ends and a passageway in the center, but
they still cling to the compartment idea, and have partitions with
doors that permit free circulation. In Italy, and some other
countries, you occasionally find a carriage with a saloon in the
center, capable of seating twelve or sixteen persons, but such cars
are not common, and are considered a luxury to be specially ordered.
Some of the first-class carriages have the compartments arranged for
six passengers--three on a side--but the majority are intended for
eight. On every train you will usually find one or more carriages with
a coupé at the end; it can be made to hold four persons, but there is
no advantage in securing it for more than two. It is considered as a
_place de luxe_, and can only be occupied by payment of an extra
charge, which is usually about one-sixth of the price of the passage
ticket. Two persons in a coupé are tolerably certain not to be
disturbed by the entrance of other passengers, but a single passenger
is not so safe. The coupé may be engaged beforehand on application to
the station-master, but the companies will never guarantee that a
particular train will contain coupé carriages.
The Pullman palace and sleeping-cars have not been introduced in
Europe to any extent, notwithstanding persistent efforts by the
Pullman Company for a decade or more. The Midland Railway Company, of
England, has adopted them, and they are used on two or three smaller
lines in the United Kingdom, but not in any great number. On the
Continent they have found their principal footing in Italy, under the
auspices of the _Strada Ferrata del' Alta Italia_ (Railway of Upper
Italy), which has adopted them for the comfort of passengers on the
Indian mail route between London and Brindisi. On several of the
continental lines the Mann Boudoir sleeping-car has been introduced;
it is the enterprise of an American, and is a very serviceable
vehicle, though less comfortable than the famous Pullman. The Mann car
is the ordinary European railway carriage equipped with sleeping
accommodations, lavatories and the like; the traveler must have a
first-class ticket to be admitted, and he pays in addition about $2.50
per night. There are offices in Paris, Berlin, Vienna, and other large
cities, where places may be secured in the Mann sleeping-cars just as
they are secured in the Pullman cars in America.
Some of the companies have cars fitted up with the "fauteuil-lit," or
bed-chair; it is the ordinary seat so arranged that it may be
converted into a bed, or a poor substitute for one, and the extra cost
is nearly, if not quite, equal to a third of the price of the ticket.
Three fauteuils-lits fill a compartment, and the occupants of those
away from the door must climb over the one nearest to it in getting in
or out after the beds have been opened. Very few of the roads have any
kind of sleeping-carriage whatever, and the night traveler on long
journeys will miss the luxuries that he finds in the United States.
"Bless the name of Pullman," he will often exclaim, as he crawls,
dusty and disjointed, from where he has sat bolt or limply upright for
hours, and contrasts his present feelings with those he would have at
the end of a journey from New York to Chicago. There are no toilet
facilities on the European trains, with the exception of those on the
few sleeping-cars in use, and retiring-closets are by no means
universal. Most of the coupés contain them, and they can generally be
found in the baggage-wagon or under the brake-van. The keys of these
"cabinets" are in charge of the conductor, who will readily open them
on application, but they can only be reached or left while the train
is halted at a station.
The carriages are of three and sometimes four classes, and their
character is indicated in different ways in different countries. In
England they are labelled "first-class," "second-class," or
"third-class," as the case may be; in France they are marked
"premiere," "seconde," "troisieme," or with the abbreviation of those
words into figures and letters, and in Germany and some other
countries by "I," "II," "III." Sometimes you find only the figures
"1," "2," and "3" on the doors of the carriages to indicate the class,
and sometimes the designation is by a number of stars, corresponding
to the class. When you leave a carriage temporarily at a station, be
careful to observe and remember its number, or you may have difficulty
in finding it when you return. If you have the number and class well
in mind, you will not be likely to make a mistake.
Nearly every train will have one or more compartments exclusively for
ladies; they are labelled "Dames Seules" in France, "Damen Coupé," or
"Fur Damen," in Germany, and "Per Signore" in Italy. The sterner sex
is not allowed in these carriages under any pretext whatever; even the
offer of a piece of money, so potent in other matters, will not secure
the violation of the rule. Smoking is forbidden except in compartments
specially designated for that amusement; in France smoking-carriages
are labelled "Pour Fumeurs," and in Italy "Per Fumare." The Germans
get at the subject in the opposite way by allowing smoking in all
carriages save those wherein it is forbidden; these are labelled
"Nicht Rauchen," but if an entire party in one of them chooses to
suspend the rules, it may do so. It is customary in case of doubt to
ask permission to smoke, and if any person objects, the rule must be
obeyed.
In Germany the second-class carriages are quite comfortable, but they
are apt to be crowded, and the traveler who desires plenty of room
will do well to buy a first-class ticket. The first-class vehicles are
upholstered with velvet, and the second with cloth; the former are
often the more uncomfortable in hot weather, as the velvet retains
more heat than the cloth. The third-class carriages have seats of
plain boards, and the fourth-class no seats at all; if you travel
fourth-class in Germany, you must stand and cling to an iron rod, or,
if there are not many passengers, you may sit or lie on the floor.
Fourth-class is rarely found in any other country than Germany, and
only where there is a considerable amount of travel among those who
cannot afford to pay for the higher grades. Second-class in Germany is
nearly if not quite as comfortable as first-class in France or Italy,
and this is so well understood that "mixed" tickets are sold for long
journeys, entitling the holder to first-class in other countries and
second in Germany.
In some countries, but not in all, there is a difference in fares,
according to the speed of the train by which you take passage, so that
a given distance costs less by a way-train than by an express. In
France and Italy the quickest trains are generally made up of
first-class carriages only, so that the economical voyageur must
content himself to move more slowly than his first-class rival. The
fares by mixed trains (freight and passengers) are often only about a
third of those of the first-class expresses. This is particularly the
case in Austria and all the South German States.
The allowance of baggage varies greatly. In England it is one hundred
pounds, but the weight is not always taken, and even if it is
considerably in excess, a shilling in the hand of the man who weighs
it will cause a sudden diminution of its avoirdupois, so as to bring
it within the limit. This is particularly the case on the roads where
notices are posted forbidding the employés of the companies to receive
gratuities, under penalty of dismissal. In France and Spain the
allowance is thirty kilogrammes (about sixty-five pounds). In most
parts of Germany it is fifty pounds, and sometimes sixty, and in
Bavaria, Italy, and most parts of Switzerland there is no allowance,
and every pound of luggage must be paid for. In Austria the traveler,
no matter what class ticket he holds, is allowed fifty-five pounds. In
Russia fifty-five, in Sweden sixty-six pounds to first-class and
forty-seven to second-class, and in Denmark fifty-five pounds. The
rates for excessive luggage are pretty high, and in the countries
where no allowance is made the rate of transportation is worse than in
any other.
The sale of tickets ceases from five to ten minutes before the
departure of a train, and the registration of luggage not less than
fifteen minutes. The traveler first buys his ticket and then goes to
the baggage agent, who stands in a little office close to the
baggage-counter. The baggage is weighed and the weight declared by one
of the attendants; the agent takes the ticket, stamps it to show that
it has received its baggage allowance, then fills out a receipt
stating the number of trunks, their weight, and the amount paid (if
any). Where there is no excess there is usually a charge of ten
centimes (two cents) for the receipt; the paper should be carefully
guarded, as its production is necessary at the destination to secure
the delivery of the baggage. The attentive traveler who closely scans
his receipt will find that there is a column for dogs, and if he
investigates the train he will discover a compartment for those
animals, with grated doors.
On most of the English roads no receipt is given for baggage, and the
traveler must take the chances of its loss. A label showing its
destination is pasted on your trunk, and when you are at the journey's
end you must go to the platform where the contents of the van have
been discharged, and pick out your property. Attempts have been made
to introduce the American checking system in England, but the English
are too conservative to take up with such a Yankee notion.
Ticket and baggage arranged, the traveler is permitted to go to the
waiting-room. There the intending passengers (no others are admitted)
are huddled together till within a few minutes of the departure of
the train, and very often the room is overcrowded, and cheerless
in the extreme. Passengers are not allowed on the platforms till
everything is ready, and sometimes there is hardly time for all to get
comfortably seated before the train moves. Latterly some of the roads
have made a reform in this matter; the _Paris, Lyon & Mediterranee_
was the first to relax the rules and allow passengers to go direct to
the platform, after passing the supervisor of tickets, instead of
shivering or crowding in the waiting-room. On some lines the porters
are not permitted to enter the waiting-rooms, and passengers must
carry their own satchels and other impedimenta, while on others the
porters can go direct to the carriages, and secure desirable seats for
actual or expected return in cash.
On account of the high tariff for extra baggage, travelers on the
Continent usually carry more in their hands than would be the case
with the same people in America. Parcels may be stowed under the seats
or in the racks overhead, but no one is allowed to have anything that
will be an inconvenience to others in the same compartment. This rule
is not rigidly enforced, as will often be seen; the old woman with six
bandboxes and three bundles is as common in Europe as she was
traditionally in America, and very often it is impossible for eight
passengers to dispose of all their "traps" without holding some of
them on their knees.
Railway fares are much higher on the eastern side of the Atlantic than
on the western, and those of England are dearer than the fares on the
Continent. The English fares are threepence, twopence, and one penny a
mile for the respective classes; _i.e._, about six cents, four cents,
and two cents of American currency. In France the rate is calculated
at twelve centimes, the kilometre which is equivalent to very nearly
twenty centimes (four cents), the mile. This is for first-class;
third-class is half the price of first-class, and second-class midway
between the two. Italian fares are a trifle higher than those of
France, while those of Belgium, Bavaria, Sweden, Norway, and Germany
are lower. A rough calculation of the cost of travel by railway may be
made by allowing four cents to the mile for first-class, and the
corresponding rates for the other classes. Another mode of ready
reckoning is to allow five francs (one dollar) per hour for the time
required for transit from one city to another by first-class ordinary
trains, and six francs an hour for the fast expresses. For example,
the fare from Paris to Marseilles is one hundred and six francs,
twenty centimes, and the distance is eight hundred and sixty-three
kilometres, or five hundred and thirty-nine miles. There is a train
called the "Rapide" that runs through in fifteen hours, and makes only
eight stoppages; the ordinary express takes a trifle over twenty hours
for the same journey, and the so-called "Directe" train requires
twenty-three hours. The direct train contains carriages of the three
classes, but the express and "Rapide" are exclusively first-class. Any
one who is curious in arithmetic can apply the rules given above, and
will find that they bring the result near enough for rough estimates.
Return tickets are sold at various discounts from the full rates,
generally about twenty-five per cent. less than the double fare.
They are sometimes good only for the day of issue, but are usually
available for two days, and in some countries for four or five. On
some lines they do not issue return tickets for express trains, or
for trains exclusively first-class. The holder of a return ticket
(first-class) often feels that he is harshly treated when refused a
place on a train of first-class coaches only, and if he cannot speak
the language, it is impossible to make him comprehend the rules of the
company.
Circular tickets are issued at a great reduction from the single
fares, but they are subject to certain restrictions that go far toward
counterbalancing the saving in money. A circular ticket is limited in
time, according to the localities it covers; it may be available for
only one week from the date, or it may be good for three months, or
even longer. The journey can commence at any point of the route, but
once begun it must be continued in the same direction, and on the
route indicated, and if it is not completed within the time specified,
no money will be returned for unused coupons. If the traveler halts at
any intermediate station not indicated on the itinerary, he must pay
his fare to the next indicated station on resuming his journey, and he
is also required to have his ticket stamped by the proper official
when he arrives at a station where he is to stop.
These circular tickets are highly popular, and have been the means of
creating a great deal of travel by reason of their cheapness. A
tourist who selects his route and finds a circular ticket that covers
it will make a large saving over the single fares from one place to
another. To illustrate: the writer once bought for one hundred francs
a circular ticket (first-class) with the following itinerary: Paris,
Vichy, Lyons, Grenoble, Aix-les-Bains, Culoz, Besançon, Dijon, Paris,
with the option of returning from Grenoble by way of Lyons, Macon, and
Dijon to Paris, instead of passing by Besançon and Dijon. The single
fares from place to place would have aggregated something over two
hundred francs for the journey. In many instances the saving by a
circular ticket is considerably more than one-half.
The circular tickets issued by the railway companies should not be
confounded with those sold by private individuals in London, Paris,
New York, and other cities. The railway companies sell their own
tickets at their own offices or agencies; it frequently happens that
the most direct of the lines will have nothing to do with the "tourist
agencies," so that those who patronize the latter establishments find
that they are sent by roundabout ways from one great city to another.
At all the principal ticket-offices on the railway lines there is a
table of fares near the window; it is printed in large letters and
figures so that there is little chance of a mistake. And in most
countries there is an additional security to the traveler; the fare is
printed on the ticket in plain figures, so that the most laudable
intentions of the seller to cheat the stranger may be frustrated,
provided the latter knows enough to count his money.
In Northern Europe, especially in Russia, the carriages are warmed by
stoves, though sometimes the first-class passengers are the only ones
having the benefits of heat. In Central and Southern Europe long
cylinders of sheet iron containing hot water are thrust into the
compartments at intervals more or less regular; by means of these
cylinders the traveler can keep his feet comfortable, and if the
weather is not too frosty, they give all the heat to be desired in the
compartment. In cold weather the railway traveler should be well
provided with wraps, as the night air has a penetrating familiarity,
especially when the wind is blowing.
Eating-rooms, or "buffets," are abundant, and generally good. The best
are on the long lines where there is a large amount of through travel,
so that a good patronage is secured, and the trains halt there at
convenient hours for meals. The table d'hote system prevails, but
there are always plenty of small tables where those who do not want
a "square meal" can be accommodated. The price of a table d'hote
breakfast varies from two francs, fifty centimes, to four francs, and
that of a dinner from three francs to five francs, wine included. On
most of the lines the keepers of the restaurants are required to post
a notice in a conspicuous place, showing the prices of meals, so as
to prevent any possible cheating; any complaint addressed to the
management of the road is pretty certain to receive attention, as the
companies are desirous of having the best possible service.
A table d'hote breakfast or dinner on the great lines, especially on
the Paris, Lyon & Mediterranee, is the perfection of railway feeding,
and the most rapid eater the world ever saw cannot complain of the
dilatoriness of the waiters. The conductor generally telegraphs the
number of passengers on the train, so that the restaurateur knows
pretty nearly how many will patronize him; as the train rolls into the
station, the first dish of the course is placed on the table, and you
have only to drop into a chair and begin eating. Before you are
through with the first course the second is at your side, and the
third is there before you can possibly finish with the second. Thus
the meal is served, and when it is near its end the cashier passes
around and collects the stipulated money. The time allowed is from
fifteen to thirty minutes; five minutes before the moment of starting,
a bell rings or a gong is struck, or perhaps a horn in blown, and the
signal is repeated four minutes later, and when you hear the second
signal there is no more chance for delay, as the train, like time and
tide, will wait for no man. The form of the signal, and also the
period of giving it, are not the same in all countries, and the
verdant traveler will do well to watch the motions of his neighbors,
and be governed accordingly. The buffets are divided into the first,
second, and third class at the great stations, and there are
waiting-rooms with the same distinctions. In France the smaller
stations are known as "stations," and the larger ones, especially at
terminal points, are called "gares." "Bahnhof" in Germany, and
"stazione" in Italy means the same as "station" in England and "depot"
in the United States.
On some of the roads meals are served in baskets, so that they can be
eaten while the train is in motion. An hour or more before you arrive
at the restaurant station, the conductor, or some other employé of the
company, takes your order for a breakfast or dinner according to a
bill of fare which he presents. The order is telegraphed forward, and
you are told to ask for a certain number, by which it has been
indicated. When the train reaches the station a basket containing what
you have ordered is handed in through the door of the compartment, and
the train moves on. The baskets are specially made for the business,
and contain compartments for everything needed in the meal, together
with the inevitable bottle of wine. You eat at your leisure, and at a
stopping place an hour further on the basket is removed and sent back
to the place whence it came. The plan has certain merits, and likewise
certain defects; to eat without hurry and without delay is certainly a
great advantage, but it is not altogether comfortable to breakfast or
dine from a wicker basket that rests on your knees, and it frequently
happens that the pepper, salt, or some other necessary trifle, has
been overlooked.
A private lunch-basket is as desirable on a European railway as on an
American one, and may be stocked to suit the owner's taste. On a long
journey provide yourself with a bottle of water, as there is no
water-cooler on the train, and you might suffer from thirst without
the means of alleviating it. The advocates of principles opposed to
the total abstinence theories of Father Mathew will not forget their
pocket-flasks with stimulating contents.
Measures of distance on the railways in the British Dominions are in
English miles, as in America. In France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain,
and Belgium, they are in kilometres; in Russia, in versts, and in
Germany in German miles. The kilometer is five-eighths of an English
mile, and the verst very nearly the same; the German long mile equals
five and three-fourths English miles, and the German short mile is
about three and a half English. The rapid spread of the metric system
of weights and measures will probably make the kilometer the unit of
all railway distances on the Continent in the next decade. Trains are
run by the time of the capitals of their respective countries, without
regard to the longitude, and you will often find the local clocks a
long way ahead or behind those of the railway station.
On arriving at a continental railway station there will be an
abundance of porters to carry your hand-baggage to the hotel
omnibusses that wait outside for passengers. You have only to indicate
the name of your hotel and the porter who takes charge of you will
lead the way to its carriage. You hand the receipt for your heavy
baggage to the porter, after depositing the light impedimenta in the
omnibus, and follow him to the _salle des bagages_, where you have a
period of waiting, more or less tedious. When the trunks are ready for
delivery you point out the pieces which the porter has gathered
according to the numbers on them, and the formalities of the octroi
begin.
The octroi is a continental institution, distinct from the
custom-house, but greatly resembling it, whereby every article of food
or drink entering a city pays a tax. The officers of the octroi rarely
request a traveler to open his trunks, as they know very well he is
not likely to transport mutton-chops, cheese, or wine, at the high
rates charged for railway luggage. But they are sure to ask whether
you have anything liable to the octroi, and when you answer in the
negative you may depart. The porter mounts your impedimenta to the top
of the omnibus, and receives his fee--five cents for each heavy
parcel, and five or ten for all the light ones together--you take your
seat, and when all is ready you rattle away to the hotel. There are
plenty of cabs and two-horse carriages to be had at the stations, if
you do not wish an omnibus, but they are more troublesome than the
other vehicles in consequence of the acquisitive tendencies of the
drivers, and the stranger ignorant of the language had better reject
them. In some cities, notably in Berlin, you have no choice in the
selection of your carriage, but must take the first that is offered.
As the drivers come to the station before the arrival of the train
each of them hands to an official a metal check bearing his number.
These checks are strung on a cane or rod, and when the train arrives
the rod is reversed, and the numbers come off in the order in which
the cabbies presented themselves. The system is a fair one for the
drivers, but bad for the public, as it often happens that a party of
three or four persons will find themselves assigned to a two-seated
cab; in such case they must keep it, and if they cannot stow
themselves into it somehow they can take an additional vehicle.
In most of the large cities of Europe the railway companies have an
omnibus system not unlike that of the western cities of the United
States. On arriving at the station you can engage an omnibus, if you
happen to be three or more, and it is as much under your control as a
private cab would be. These vehicles are of all sizes, carrying from
four up to thirty-two persons, and there is a gallery on the top for
baggage. You can telegraph ahead if you want to make sure of having an
omnibus at the station; address your despatch to the _Chef de gare_,
and say for how many persons you desire the omnibus.
These omnibusses are specially useful for family and other parties of
three or more who are about leaving a city and are not stopping at a
large hotel. Go to one of the company's agencies the day before, and
say by what train you intend to leave and the number of your party,
and the omnibus will be at your door at the proper time. The cost of a
vehicle of this sort is less than for a carriage of the same capacity,
and the printed tariff leaves no chance for a mistake.