How was freight handled in the early days and how has that changed over time?

[Jorge Da Silva]

Hi so i am doing a realistic map with someone else on Openttd JGR based-off the uk. I wanted to know how freight worked in the 1840’s and how that changed over time just so i can get an idea of how it worked.

 

[Bald Rick]

What do you mean by “worked”?

Routes? Commodities? How it was manhandled to/from the train?

 

[Flying Phil]

Hi so i am doing a realistic map with someone else on Openttd JGR based-off the uk. I wanted to know how freight worked in the 1840’s and how that changed over time just so i can get an idea of how it worked.

This really is a huge question! Some freight was in the form of goods taken to the local station where it was put onto suitable railway wagons which were "picked up" on a stopping goods train then taken to a central or local distribution point where it was either off loaded and put into another wagon going to where the goods were destined or the whole wagon shunted onto another train going to the destination. The Railway was a "Common user" so had an obligation to carry freight whatever to wherever I believe. There were also whole trains going from A to B. eg coal, oil, cattle, milk etc.

 

[krus_aragon]

Until the 1890s it was commonplace for branch lines to be worked by mixed trains which conveyed both goods wagons and passengers. The single engine might be expected to shunt at every station: shunting arriving goods wagons to the station's sidings, and picking up wagons to be taken elsewhere. (The engine might also be expected to shunt the station's yard, and rearrange the wagons to help station staff load/unload them.) The practice died out due to requirements for continuous brakes on passenger trains, which wasn't a common feature on goods wagons.

This approach was more cost-effective for the railway, especially independent companies who might be operating on a shoestring. (Consider the post-mania depression of the late 1840s and the aftermath of the financial panic of 1866, for example.) It did, however, make for a very slow journey for passengers. Long-distance railways would be more likely to operate a separate all-stops freight service, with first and second class passengers (at least) conveyed by a faster train.

Until the Railway Regulation Act of 1844, open wagons could be used for third class passenger accommodation - and they might have just been used for conveying any sort of freight, not very pleasant conditions for the passengers. Post 1844, every railway having to offer a "parliamentary" 3rd class service for every station each day, with covered carriages and an average speed of at least 12mph.

For a general background on the operation of trains (including goods trains) in the 1840s and subsequent decades, I suggest picking up a cheap copy of "Red for Danger": the early chapters are particularly good at illustrating how things were operated in the early days. Some working practices appear ludicrous to our modern eyes!