Günter Dinhobl (Hrsg.): Sonderband 7. Eisenbahn/Kultur – Railway/Culture (2004)
I. Für eine Kulturgeschichte der Eisenbahn / Towards a cultural history of railways - Michael Cotte: Railways and Culture: An Introduction
Michael Cotte centred upon micro and local history or it may be large, exploring, for instance, the network concepts and the dynamics of the industrial revolution through transportation changes. The railway historiography also bears crucial examples supporting different ways for interpretation, frequently at the core of debates between historians. Was the history of railways primarily determined by an autonomous development of technical questions? Consequently, the history of technology and especially the history of railways basically may serve as a foundation of the Occidental development, involving both technical facts and cultural values. For instance, it was the philosophical purpose of French “Saint-Simonien” entrepreneurs from the I9lh century to change society and the human being by the creation of an international network of railways. But is technology a social construction mainly determined by the human culture and the social organisation? Consequently, technology and especially railways remained a contextual and cultural choice among a range of different technical solutions for transportation. The economic studies and the Business School have also many elements to propose to us: gathering enormous funds and managing the new railway companies were crucial steps toward the modem liberal and capitalist society. This kind of general approach opens more complexities and interdependent questions than it offers clear and simple answers. For our reflection upon the subject, it means more global landmarks and general perspectives than a general interpretation. 2. The Introduction of Railways within the European Culture: Preparatory Phases To move forward, I suggest continuing with the second meaning of the expression “introduction”. It asks the question of culture at the time of the introduction of the early railways in the European societies. So we may perceive two reciprocate groups of features, deeply linked. The first is the emerging of railways as a new technical system within the cultural and social context of the 1820s and 1830s. Great Britain was quickly followed by France and others countries. Reciprocally, the second meaning deals with the new human representations among people issued from the first railways. For such an “introduction”, the French Saint-Etienne & Lyon Railway offers an outstanding case study. It was a very early example out of the original British pool, with a very early chronology of design and construction (1825-1833), at the same period as the famous Liverpool Manchester. It intended high performance for industrial transportation, which was achieved during its first years of use. Marc Seguin (1786-1875) had to define a technical standard specifically for the middle mountain lines (1827). Trac46
