Puppies and Traveling via Railroad in the 1850s

I don't think that's a sillly question at all.

Be careful how you designate "first class" in U.S. History though. The kind of segregation the European railroads and ships had, didn't seem to be as prevalent with our passenger rails out side of drawing room comparments and private cars.

Is your MC and her husband in a compartment or a private Pullman (these could be rented for those wealthy travelers who did not want to keep their own)? If so, I would imagine a small animal would have been allowed to travel with them.

This Wikipedia article doesn't address your question exactly but it may help you get started on your research.

They might need to buy a ticket for the dog. I saw a Punch (the magazine) cartoon from 1869, where the ticket master was telling a lady that the cat, the dog, the parrot, the rabbit all counted as dogs and needed tickets, but the turtle was an insect and didn't need one.

Elizabeth Peters in her Amelia series set in the late 19th century had her characters take their cat on a leash in the compartment with them on trains in England and Egypt. Of course she may have been relying on her character's temperament and money to overcome any objections.

Stlight said:

Elizabeth Peters in her Amelia series set in the late 19th century had her characters take their cat on a leash in the compartment with them on trains in England and Egypt. Of course she may have been relying on her character's temperament and money to overcome any objections.

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Amelia's cat would eat any conductor that tried to make it have a ticket.

MM

Belle_91 said:

At the end of my story, my MC sets off with her new husband to Philadelphia via a train in Boston or perhaps Concord.

Anyways, before she got married, she recieved--or at least I'm going to have her recieve--a lapdog from her parents.

Could lapdogs travel with their masters in first class railroad compartments?

I hope this doesn't sound silly. Thanks

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Belle, most of what I've read about is Southern railroads, but they were pretty primitive in the antebellum era (and worse during Reconstruction). From what I understand, trains were little more than boxes on rails with some seats. Not fancy at all. Are you certain there was "first class" and are you sure what exactly that constituted? You might want to see if you can find some descriptions of train travel in the era. As I said, any examples I have are from the South and a little earlier.

But, to answer: I don't think a lady would think twice about bringing along her lap dog. I can see other passengers possibly being irritated by the dog, but I don't think anyone would have tried to stop her from bringing it with her.

ETA: Who is she traveling with? Husband? Family? That might make a difference.

Belle_91 said:

My WIP takes place in the North about 1857-1859ish. They will be getting on the train in 1859, so it's before the Civil War and not in the South. They leave from Boston to Philadelphia.

I haven't begun researching railroads in the North, but were they different from the ones in the South? I would think so.

I was picturing something like a Pullman car where it wasn't so fancy.

She is a newly-wed--but I'm not giving her a honeymoon--and is traveling with her husband who just got a job in Philadelphia as a lawyer.

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Yes, they would be different. The northern railroad system was more developed. Just chiming in with what I know of railroad service at the time! It was more utilitarian and arduous for the average passenger than people might realize.