Far more so than the aeroplane and, a fortiori, the hot air balloon, the railway is etched onto the collective memory of all Europeans. In the 19th century, the steam train was, at one and the same time, the product, the multiplier and the symbol of the Industrial Revolution. Across the Continent, the first passenger transport began in 1835; very soon, lines were opened in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Russia… Rail was for everybody: underground, it helped people to get across vast cities...