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The Nord Express Special Train: Between Peace and War (1884–1914)

2015; Ural Federal University; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.15826/qr.2015.1.082

2313-6871

Andrei Keller,

Central European and Russian historical studies

In the 19th century, the railway was a symbol of progress par excellence and, as of the 1870s, it served as the driving force of industrialization in Russia. At the turn of the 20th century, Saint Petersburg developed into the country’s largest industrial centre thanks to the railway system. The Nord Express connected the city with Warsaw, Berlin, Cologne and Paris, it facilitated and intensified the transfer of ideas between Western and Central Europe and Russia. The experience of G. Nagelmackers and A. von Vendrich shows the inconsistency in the development of railways as they were both a messenger of peace and an engine of war. The article introduces a number of previously unstudied archival materials.