Transportation in 1920

[Cleb]

Could anyone point me in the right direction of a site or tool that could help me determine how long it takes to get from Point A to Point B in 1920 for various modes of transportation? I've done my best with vehicles; obviously travel times varied greatly depending on road conditions. But I'd like to start figuring out how long it's going to take to get from New England to say...Indochina by sea? Or...how long it might take to get from Chicago to Cairo? Anyway...I'd appreciate any help available on that one!

Thanks, all!

[Selv]

Well, you could try this site: NoFly travel. This will give you ideas about travel times today, discounting the option of punching the sky in the big banana.

It seems to me that flying is the big difference- in 1920 the trains are a little less extensive (worldwide, that is: they are far more extensive in Western Europe, not sure about America). Ships and trains are probably about as fast then as now- maybe faster- and they were much easier to find, back then.

My eco-hippy carbon-consciousness doesn't allow me to fly anymore, and I bemoan the decline of Steerage class.

EDIT: I knew I got that "punch the sky" line somewhere. Also, apparently going arouind the world by sea takes 15 to 18 weeks.

[Indon]

My eco-hippy carbon-consciousness doesn't allow me to fly anymore, and I bemoan the decline of Steerage class.

Jet fuel produces carbon emissions? I had the impression it produced other byproducts entirely and would thus be not that bad, carbon-wise (the effects on planetary albedo of jet trails not being discussed in this point, anyway).

[TheThan]

What I’d do is simple, don’t worry about how long it takes (move at the speed of plot!). I’d pull out a map and a red pen. Then draw a line from location to location. Oh and don’t forget to hum the theme song to Indiana Jones.

[Selv]

Yeah, unfortunately. We've yet to come up with a decent aviation fuel that isn't the tried and true "tank of burning fossils". Richard Branson is putting up a fair bit of money to biofuels which have a very small lifecycle carbon cost, and there's been talk about "offsetting", but there are problems with those as well.

This image sums up the difference. Note the logarithmic axis.

Actually, what was the state of aviation in 1920? Jets aren't around, but the old propeller models were used in WWI.

After some Wikipedia'ing, it seems Earhart and other long-distance pioneers were active i nthe 30s. So, probably off-limits. Well, maybe- Lindberg took the Spirit of St Louis across the Atlantic in 33 hours in 1927.

EDIT: Red lines tracking from Prestwick to the Azones, to Saint John... yes!

[Telonius]

They had dirigibles. Wikipedia puts the Hindenburg's top speed at 84mph. A transatlantic crossing was feasible in 4 days:

On July 2, 1919 R34 began the first double crossing of the Atlantic by an aircraft. It landed at Mineola, Long Island on July 6, 1919 after 108 hours in the air. The return crossing commenced on July 8 because of concerns about mooring the ship in the open, and took 75 hours. Impressed, British leaders began to contemplate a fleet of airships that would link Britain to its far-flung colonies, but unfortunately post-war economic conditions lead to most airships being scrapped and trained personnel dispersed, until the R-100 and R-101 commenced construction in 1929.

Don't know how legit this is; but it's a baseline.

[Selv]

Of course, the forgotten Zeppelins... man, why did we stick with Heavier-than-air devices?

[Quietus]

Of course, the forgotten Zeppelins... man, why did we stick with Heavier-than-air devices?

Faster, louder, and shinier.

[Selv]

Faster, louder, and shinier.

Pretentious... Indie... Instincts activated!

Desire... to travel by airship.... growing!

monocles... top hats... Pimm's...

NNNNNNNGGGG

[Telonius]

::hands him a cane and pitch helmet:: Don't fight it, man. Just accept it.

[Cleb]

I thought about the zeppelins, but it just doesn't quite feel right. I'm gonna force 'em to cross by sea.

Selv, appreciate the link. I'm just going to use those times and, to compensate, just tack on an additional 30% of the time. I might be off, but it'll work fine and if the PC's question me, the Great Old Ones will awaken and destroy them for their dissention. ;) I kid, of course...partially.

Love the Indy red-line bit. I might actually have to use that just for some laughs. I always move at the speed of plot, but when the PC's screw up, I like them to remember that help is just a 45 day transatlantic trip away.

[Jayabalard]

In the 20s, travel would be primarily by train and boat.

There were automobiles as well, but they weren't really a way to do long distance travel; fuel stations weren't all that available and the roads were not in place to really make long distance travel by auto possible.

Oceanliners: ships like the SS Bismarck

Speed: 23.5 knots = 27.043317 mph

You can estimate the distance between two places and get the distance ( Time = Distance / Speed ). Keep in mind that most passages wouldn't be straight lines, and there would probably be additional stops.

Also, you can check around at the wikipedia articles for specific ships; just as an example, SS Bremen, launched in 1929, had "a cruising speed of 27.5 knots, allowing a crossing time of 5 days."

lastly, keep in mind that you couldn't necessarily get a ticket from point A to point B; it's a good chance that unless it was a major travel line you'd have to make the trip in several stages.

[Selv]

Out of curiosity, how are you planning to treat communication?

Marconi transmitted across the Atlantic using Radio Waves in 1901, and Telegraph cables had already been laid between Britain and her empire by that point. So, are the PCs able to go to the post-office and have a telegram back at home base by tea-time tomorrow?

I seem to recall a big deal being made when some criminal sliped onto an express steam liner across the Atlantic, and being caught completely off guard when a New York policeman collared him stepping off the boat and said "So you're the chap I heard about on the radio".

(Do they say "You're nicked, me old son" in turn-of-the-century America?)

[Cleb]

In the 20s, travel would be primarily by train and boat.

There were automobiles as well, but they weren't really a way to do long distance travel; fuel stations weren't all that available and the roads were not in place to really make long distance travel by auto possible.

Oceanliners: ships like the SS Bismarck

Speed: 23.5 knots = 27.043317 mph

You can estimate the distance between two places and get the distance ( Time = Distance / Speed ). Keep in mind that most passages wouldn't be straight lines, and there would probably be additional stops.

Also, you can check around at the wikipedia articles for specific ships; just as an example, SS Bremen, launched in 1929, had "a cruising speed of 27.5 knots, allowing a crossing time of 5 days."

lastly, keep in mind that you couldn't necessarily get a ticket from point A to point B; it's a good chance that unless it was a major travel line you'd have to make the trip in several stages.

Aside from in the city, vehicles are only used for "regional" travel, so to speak. Obviously in a 1920 Call of Cthulhu game, I'm basing the crew in Massachussets (Boston specifically). A little research into the railroad system and automotive history was ample information to give realistic travel time estimates and conditions to the PC's. Obviously, in 1920, they like having the old Model T around for transportation, but if it's going to take weeks to get where you need to go by car (we're pre-highway days here, of course), the train is the obvious option. I tend to keep the game very fluid for my PC's and like to keep the timetable and options up to them. For instance, if they don't know they've only got five days to intervene and they waste that time driving there instead of hopping on a train, then when they show up it's all gone to hell in a handbasket already. Anyway...I digress.

As for travel by sea, I'm relatively familiar with the process, but was having trouble locating ports and whatnot from the 20's. I also wasn't positive about speeds in the 20's. I think what I'll probably end up doing is just randomly assigning or assuming the location of some ports to various areas and then figuring out what the timeline will look like from there based on the speed. Maybe add in a few die rolls for good measure to determine when a ship takes off from a particular location.

Out of curiosity, how are you planning to treat communication?

Marconi transmitted across the Atlantic using Radio Waves in 1901, and Telegraph cables had already been laid between Britain and her empire by that point. So, are the PCs able to go to the post-office and have a telegram back at home base by tea-time tomorrow?

I seem to recall a big deal being made when some criminal sliped onto an express steam liner across the Atlantic, and being caught completely off guard when a New York policeman collared him stepping off the boat and said "So you're the chap I heard about on the radio".

(Do they say "You're nicked, me old son" in turn-of-the-century America?)

Communication was another big issue. But, since Britain and India were connected for telegram service about 50 years before the time they'll be arriving (circa 1870, if my memory serves me correctly), it'll be easy but not incredibly fast. I'm thinking it'll take a day to get it through India into England and another day from there to get it to the States. My goal with Burma is to force them away from those they normally turn to for advice (the characters I've used to help introduce them to the Cthulhu Mythos without throwing them in the deep end right off the bat) and keep 'em on their own or force them to waste precious time to wait for a communication from home.

Back in the states, they've basically purchased a telephone and insured that all of their lackeys have phones as well for quick communication. It doesn't always work, but it means we utilize telegraphs a lot less in our game (well...the PC's do...I use them all the time for communications from NPC's).

Think I've gone on enough. Thanks for the info, folks! Keep it coming if there's more!

[SpikeFightwicky]

I'm pretty sure either the Chaosium CoC book, or the d20 one has a table listing transportation modes and speeds, and time to destination. I'll take a look when I get home.

[Dhavaer]

d20 Past has a few trains: the Rocket was built in 1829 and had a speed of 29mph, the Canadian National #9000 in 1928 had a speed of 63mph. Zeppelins are listed as being around in 1900, but none of the planes carry more than the pilot. There were several cars and a motorbike. It doesn't give anything about ships past the age of sail.