L' expérience primitive du voyage ferroviaire au Québec. Univers social et sensoriel des « chars » (1836-1867)

Abstract

Little is known about the history of railways in Quebec. Often dominated by material history and intended for the general public when they do not emanate from the English-speaking branch of the academics, most of the works on Quebec railways say almost nothing about the complex railway life of the 19^th century. By adopting the perspectives of social and cultural history, this article reconstructs the physical, social and sensory “landscape” of the first railway stations and trains of Lower Canada between 1836 and 1867, the second third of the 19^th century being marked by the emergence of railroads as well as by its first appropriation by the local populations.