What Were Early Railway Carriages Made Of?

Early railway carriages were mostly made of wood. Some had papier mache bodies for lightness. Obviously there were safety issues in case of accident as such structures were not robust. Isambard Kingdom Brunel pioneered the use of iron in carriage construction in his designs for the Great Western Railway. For along time only first calss passengers enjoyed upholstered seating. Muhc of the problems of carriage coinstruction were linked to weight. By 1860 a typical carriage was around 27 ft long and weighed 8 tons. Most ran on four wheels until the bogie system with independently swivelling sets of wheels was introduced as a means of improving suspension from 1871. These eight wheeled carriages were far more comfortable than their predecessors and twelve wheeled carriages followed to enhance the smoothness of the ride.

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