Question -

[BettyO]

Curious as to how long it would have taken Booth and Powell to travel from DC (Surratt House on the afternoon of March 17 or morning of March 18) to reach New York by Train?

Hours? A Day? Anyone want to take a guess?

Thanks!

[Bill Richter]

Try Larry Starkey, when Wilkes Booth Came to Washington. I am guessing less than 2 days, just off the cuff

[BettyO]

Thanks, Bill - I'll check that..... I would think it would be about a day or so -

[Jim Garrett]

The train trip from Boston to NYC was about a day. I believe it was a regular overnight trip. My guess is that the Boston-NYC run probably had fewer stops than Washington to NYC. Also, you still had the change over in Baltimore and then going through Philadelphia and probably a few stops in New Jersey.

[Sally]

About a year ago, I found an 1864 Boston almanac on Googlebooks. In it, there was an ad from the Boston and Worcester Railroad company hawking their Boston/NYC/ Washington route. I printed out the image, but did not make a screen shot. So, unfortunately, I can’t upload it from ImageShack. I will attempt to type out the basics of what it said:

WITHOUT CHANGE OF CARS
The only line between Boston and New York with double track and continuous rail.

Leave station at Albany Street (Boston)
For New York at 8:30 am, 2:30 pm, and 8:30 pm; reaching New York at 4:45 pm, 10:40 pm and 5:00 am; due in Washington at 6:30 am, 11:20 am, and 6:55 pm.”

If anyone can manage to interpret this timetable, I’d be much obliged. I find it pretty confusing.

In general, though, didn’t steam trains go about 15-30 miles per hour, depending on the condition and geography of the track? If Boston is approx. 250 miles from NYC, and NYC is approximately 250 miles from Washington, then dividing those distances by 10 MPH (to factor in stops and rough tracks) would be about a 25 hour trip between each of the cities.

Evidently, this particular line was faster because part of the route was on a double track. This would reduce the amount of time they’d have to wait for another train to pass. They also had no change of cars, which must have been an added plus. Sadly, they did not list any fares. That would have been interesting.

[John Stanton]

[quote='BettyO' pid='14149' dateline='1362079398']
Curious as to how long it would have taken Booth and Powell to travel from DC (Surratt House on the afternoon of March 17 or morning of March 18) to reach New York by Train?

Hours? A Day? Anyone want to take a guess?

Thanks!
[/q This is better than a guess. I have an 1860 timetable. A train left Washington at 7AM and arrived in Jersey City 7 20 PM. End of the line. Then they have to cross the Hudson. Say another hour. People rarely traved at night - No sleeping cars. If you are interested, the whole trip was- on the train-off the trail,on again off again.

[Tom Bogar]

But if another train was coming the opposite direction, and a hawk was flying back and forth between the two engines, with a 35 MPH headwind, how many 8th grade math students would expire trying to calculate the time spent? (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

[Laurie Verge]

OMG, Tom - you just brought back horrible memories of word problems on standardized tests!

If I'm reading Sally's timetable correctly, a train leaving Boston at 8:30 am would reach D.C. in twenty-two hours. It's cute the way they say no changing of cars. We all know that the cars were disengaged at Baltimore at least and pulled through the streets to another line's station. They also were put on ferries and taken across bodies of water at points.

[Art Loux]

[quote='BettyO' pid='14149' dateline='1362079398']
Curious as to how long it would have taken Booth and Powell to travel from DC (Surratt House on the afternoon of March 17 or morning of March 18) to reach New York by Train?

Hours? A Day? Anyone want to take a guess?

Thanks!
[/q This is better than a guess. I have an 1860 timetable. A train left Washington at 7AM and arrived in Jersey City 7 20 PM. End of the line. Then they have to cross the Hudson. Say another hour. People rarely traved at night - No sleeping cars. If you are interested, the whole trip was- on the train-off the trail,on again off again.

In addition to the long time to get from one place to another the conditions on the trains were unpleasant. This is from “A Nuisance,” Alexandria Gazette, May 15, 1875:

"The Richmond Compiler very properly exposes the offensive and disgusting practice of many passengers upon the Rail Road Cars, in spitting great streams of tobacco juice on the heated stoves, thereby rendering the confined atmosphere not only offensive, but sickening to those who have no taste for the “vile weed.” But this is not all. Every corner and space under the seats is also filled by the filthy saliva, so that, if by accident you drop your handkerchief, gloves or cloak, they are rendered unfit for decent hands ever after."

"A Nuisance – The evils and annoyances resulting from tobacco chewing have always been complained of, but just now a loud cry on the subject comes up from those who travel in railroad cars, and who, confined to close quarters, have to endure the “abominations” consequent upon the practice. It is proposed that the Railroad Companies charge tobacco chewers double price or furnish them with a car to themselves."

[Laurie Verge]

Can you ladies imagine dragging your skirt hems through that?? How do you spell GROSS, as the kids of today would say??

The description actually brought back memories from the 1950s, however. My uncle ran the old-time country store that my great-grandfather had started back in the 1860s. It still had the pot-belly stove in the middle. The old gents would sit around the stove, chewing and spitting tobacco, and usually eating sardines. You can imagine the smell. To this day, I want to throw up when I see a can of sardines or see a man spit!

[J. Beckert]

The same was said of the theaters at the time. One account described it as "a river" of tobacco juice that would be present in theaters of the day.

[Gene C]

I understand they also frequently ran out of paper towels in the restrooms.

[Jim Garrett]

I understand they also frequently ran out of paper towels in the restrooms.

And I don't think that they had the Sears and Robuck catalogues in 1865. But I guess they had plenty of corn cobs.