Just like bridges enable cars to cross rivers and lakes, raised tracks allow trains to travel over bodies of water.
Wei Xu, China, 2021
There’s nothing quite like taking a ride on a train. They tend to travel where few vehicles can journey, over mountains and in the woods, near scenic shores, through small towns with one-room train stations and even big cities, where stops are tourist destinations. Train travel is a distinct way to see the world as you’re lulled into relaxation by the calming chug of the engine and lovely landscapes whizzing by. Since the 1800s, locomotives have been transporting passengers across nations, and they continue to do so today. Would your next trip be made all the more special with a ride on the rails? Allow these photos to help you decide.
A young girl traveling with her parents spots a camera while looking through the window of a train car.
Md Utsab Ahamed Akash, Bangladesh, 2022
We’re usually on the inside looking out of trains, not hovering above, but this vantage point offers a unique view of the locomotives parked at a depot.
Jassen Todorov, Texas, 2015
A railway official signals to a worker aboard a steam train, a British invention first introduced in the early 1800s.
Diwakar Redhu, UK, 2022
As nearby plants begin to overgrow it, an abandoned track nearly vanishes into the scenic countryside.
Vladimir Karamazov, Bulgaria, 2022
Homeward bound, scores of people crowd onto the roof of a train to travel to their villages, ahead of the Eid-Al-Adha celebrations at Railway Station in Dhaka.
Jubair Ahmed Arnob, Bangladesh, 2022
Three model trains are photographed for an Independence Day celebration. The patriotic red, white and blue color scheme was popular in the mid 1970s in honor of the United States’ 200th birthday.
Craig Glass, South Carolina, 2022
A young traveler has already learned that some things are better when you share them with a friend. That includes train rides with new puppies.
Andrey Serdiuchenko, Russia, 2022
The term “hostler” originated with the people who took care of four-legged horses, and it got carried over to those who maintained iron horses.
Oren Helbok, Pennsylvania, 2017
In the early morning, a high-speed train slowly leaves its rest station to begin a new day.
Zelong Cao, China, 2022
What if the tracks went up instead of staying flat on the ground?
Craig Glass, South Carolina, 2021
A train speeds past riders as they wait on the subway platform.
Oleksandr Ivanov, New York, 2021
Could this freight train be following the path of the Polar Express on its way to Santa’s workshop at the North Pole?
Todd Halamka, Canada, 2024
Getting a train on the track is about more than just maintaining the engine. Many workers collaborate to ensure passengers experience a smooth and safe ride.
Sudipta Chakraborty, India, 2019
Like cathedrals rising over the vast farming landscape of central Illinois, a series of silos stand at attention at sunset as an eastbound freight train heads toward downtown Chicago.
Todd Halamka, Illinois, 2023
In similar hats and sitting back-to-back, two travelers create silhouettes that seem to mirror each other.
Jahid Apu, Bangladesh, 2021
A train whizzes through snowy hills with frosty peaks from the Stanovoy Ridge mountains in the distance.
Mikhail Markhinin, Russia, 2022
The Wilmington & Western Railroad in Delaware relies on volunteers to run all of its excursion trains. That work includes the task of building a fire for the steam engine.
Oren Helbok, Delaware, 2016
A woman in blue appears to be pulling the shadowy curtain on the scene, while a masked, digitally distracted traveler is seemingly unaware.
Jack Ross, Vietnam, 2022
This train was constructed for scenes in the 1962 Oscar-winning movie Lawrence of Arabia.
Kip Harris, Jordan, 2022
Tagged with graffiti, this train car is one of many rusted, old locomotives dotting this mountainous west landscape, where a processing center once stood.
George Pence, Idaho, 2022
Can you follow the tracks? Like some sort of riddle, the rails intersect and change direction, almost daring you to try to follow.
Martin Wacker, Germany, 2021
Tracy Scott Forson is a senior editor at Smithsonian magazine.
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