Nowadays, traveling is not only a favored hobby, but a necessity, too, for some people, who can probably no longer remember their life without it. But whether it’s vacation time or a business trip, they have plenty of options to choose from to get themselves from point A to point B. Even if the destination is on the other end of the world, they can get there in roughly a day, which was once a thing difficult to imagine.
Clearly, many things seemed impossible at a certain point in time; but, thanks to the development in technology and engineering, quite a few have become reality. If you’re curious to take a step back in time and see what travel looked like back in the 19-20th centuries, you’re in luck, as today we’re focusing on the period between 1830-1955.
On the list below you will find some fascinating pictures, as shared by the ‘Golden Age Of Travel 1830-1955’ Facebook group that depict everything from the first subway ride in New York, to German monorails, and much more. You will also find Bored Panda’s interview with the founder of the group, Bill, who was kind enough to answer a few of our questions about it. So wait no longer, scroll down to browse the pictures and make sure to upvote your favorites!
#1 1905 Woods Electric Car
Image credits: See Twise
#2 Jefferson County Mobile Library, Texas' First Mobile Library
Image credits: Elisa Elena Jiménez Emán
#3 200-Year-Old Wooden Bridge In Dagestan, Built Without The Use Of A Single Nail
Image credits: Story Cafe
#4 Bmw Isetta Bubble Car Custom Conversion, 1950s. And, Of Course, A Picnic Basket
Image credits: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙍𝙚𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙪𝙩
#5 Native Americans In 1908
Image credits: Changling Mandrake
#6 New York Central “Mercury” 1936
Image credits: Story Cafe
#7 A Bicycle For The Whole Family, 1949
Image credits: Joyce Ward
#8 London In The 1920s. A Policeman In A London Street Giving Directions To The Three Children On A Bicycle. The Bicycle Is Specially Made For Three Persons
Image credits: Endri Logos
#9 The First Subway Ride In New York City History, 120 Years Ago. Original, 1904
Image credits: Hussein Saleh
#10 Alweg Monorail Train In Cologne, Germany, 1952
Image credits: The Historian's Denn
#11 1931 The German Schienenzeppelin Hits Max Speed Of 120 Mph (230 Kmh)
Image credits: Kenny Callei
#12 Baby Strollers Strapped To The Front Of The Bus In Opawa, New Zealand (1950s)
Image credits: Joyce Ward
#13 Car Seats Were Not Equipped With Any Straps To Keep Baby Seat On The Seat. Instead, These Seats Depended On The Mother Extending Her Arm To Prevent The Baby From Toppling Forward. 1958
Image credits: ShutterBulky
#14 Boat Ride, 1920s
Image credits: Elisa Elena Jiménez Emán
#15 A Victorian Home Being Moved Via Horse Power In San Francisco, 1908
Image credits: Ciarra Tavares-Girsback
#16 An Amazing Capture Of Changing Times In Transportation By Photographer O. Winston Link
Image credits: Troy C. Werner
#17 A Sleeping Berth On An Imperial Airways Aircraft In 1937
Image credits: Elisa Elena Jiménez Emán
#18 Chief Iron Tail, Cranking An Early Automobile, 1915
Image credits: Royal World
#19 1950s, “Flying Cars” Amusement Park Ride. The Drum Rotated And You Controlled A Brake In The Car. The Cars Would Go Completely Up And Over The Loop
Image credits: Duck & Cover, Growing Up in the Atomic Age
#20 Salvador Héctor Sarida, Little 6-Year-Old Motorcyclist. Buenos Aires, 1936
Image credits: Endri Logos
#21 Titanic Launch Into Belfast Harbour (1911)
Image credits: Ciarra Tavares-Girsback
#22 Food Delivery In The Future
Image credits: Rosa Hemming
#23 1949 Nash Airflyte. First Sleeper Car
Image credits: Walter Hasler
#24 Traditional Cod Fishing In Lofoten ( Nordland, Norway) In 1928
hese "åttring" boats with four (sometimes five) pairs of oars represent a continuous boat building tradition from the pre-Viking Age. My restoration and digital hand colorization of Anders Beer Wilse´s photo in the Norsk Folkemuseum archive.
Image credits: Frank Hellsten
#25 New York, USA - 1960: French Cellist Maurice Baquet Trying To Open His Car Covered With Snow During A Snow Storm
#26 Berlin, Circa 1905
Image credits: George Derenburger
#27 Georges Tairraz II ( 1900 - 1975 ). Two Climbers Traversing The Aiguille Du Midi And Aiguille Du Plan, Chamonix, France 1932
Image credits: Gren Nation
#28 A Family Getting Ready To Cruise In Their 1903 Cadillac Model A Tonneau
Image credits: ShutterBulky
#29 Old Train. 1940s
Image credits: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙍𝙚𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙪𝙩
#30 Interior Of Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation
Image credits: Elisa Elena Jiménez Emán
#31 Man Standing On Lap Of Colossal Figure Of Ramses, 1856
Image credits: Machine Lord
#32 Golden Gate Bridge Painter Walking To Work
Image credits: Craig Meador
#33 An Austin 7 Driven By B. Sparrow Loses Control At Donington Park On May 13, 1933
Image credits: Endri Logos
#34 A Coca Cola Delivery Van In Oslo In 1938
Norway was, in addition to Australia, Austria and South Africa, one of the countries where Coca Cola was introduced in that year. (Neighboring country Sweden had to wait until 1953.) My partial colorization of Anders B. Wilse´s photo in the Norsk Folkemuseum archive
Image credits: Frank Hellsten
#35 A Barge Maneuvering Under The Michigan Ave Bridge, Chicago In 1953
Image credits: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙍𝙚𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙪𝙩
#36 New York City After A Snowstorm In 1888
Image credits: Vellore Eruthukattu
#37 Frozen Niagara Falls, 1911
Image credits: History Defined
#38 Titanic Compared To A Modern Cruise Ship
Image credits: Elisa Elena Jiménez Emán
#39 1946 Hey Mister, I Can Fix That Tire For A Coke,a Cap Gun,five Army Men And A Hula Hoop
Image credits: Craig Meador
#40 A Photograph Taken Infront Of Rome's Colosseum, Circa 1897
Image credits: Monique Genoud
#41 Passengers On Board The Staten Island Ferry In 1895
Image credits: Joyce Ward
#42 Times Square, New York City 1936
Image credits: Royal World
#43 1951 Airline Ad By Harold Anderson
Image credits: Elisa Elena Jiménez Emán
#44 A Train Passes Through Densely Packed Housing Along Kensal Rise, London, England. March 1921
Image credits: Monique Genoud
#45 Subway Car In Manhattan In The 1950s
Image credits: Joyce Ward
#46 Passengers On Eastern Airlines In 1935
Planes were so loud back in the day that the cabin crew had to use megaphones so the passengers could hear them. Flights from the UK to Australia took 11 days. The plane could drop 100's of feet randomly thus motion sickness bowls were placed beneath the seats.
Image credits: Elisa Elena Jiménez Emán
#47 Cycle Engineer Riding The World’s Smallest Bicycle Through The City, London, August 1937
Image credits: Royal World
#48 1920s Passengers Waiting For A Thrill Of A Lifetime!
Image credits: Craig Meador
#49 Camp Of Scientists In The Sands Of The Karakum Desert. Turkmen Ssr, 1953
Image credits: Tomi Vaalisto
#50 Queensboro Bridge (Aka 59th Street Bridge) Under Construction In 1905
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Image credits: Joyce Ward
