A new way of traveling - by train with the car
02/21/2014
In the 1950s, it became popular to travel long distances by train instead of in your own car, but to take your car with you on the train. The SNCF, the French state railroad, launched a corresponding offer towards the end of the 1950s. In Germany, however, cars were checked in as luggage, so to speak, as early as 1930 and transported to their destination on separate trains. In Switzerland, transporting cars by train became popular, particularly in connection with the Alpine passes and the possibility of using the railroad tunnels to transport cars.
Especially in the period before the construction of the merged highways, you could save a lot of time by traveling by car train and also arrive at your destination feeling rested. In 1957, Automobil Revue published the following note under the title "A new form of travel - the car goes with you":
"In international travel, the railroad authorities have seized an opportunity offered to them by motorists who have grown tired of driving their cars themselves over long distances. They now travel with complete relaxation in a rail coupe and have the car driven on the same train so that it can be put back into operation at the long-distance destination."
The motorists were provided with sleeping and dining cars on the train. The cars were loaded onto special carriages, which were located on the same platform and could be used directly.
