George Francis TrainDied 19 Jan 1904 at age 74 (born 24 Mar 1829).American businessman who was a pioneer in street horse tramways in England, was involved in the formation of the Union-Pacific Railroad, and known as an eccentric reformer. In 1860, following the examples he had seen in America, he established horse tramways in London. Service began on 23 Mar 1860, but was ended within six months, due to opposition caused by his design of rails standing above the road surface sufficiently to cause damage to carriage wheels catching on them. He travelled internationally, and accomplished a speedy round the world trip in 67 days, and may have been the inspiration for Phileas Fogg in Jules Verne's book, Around the World in 80 Days. Train became wealthy from real estate associated with the building of the UP railroad. With age his eccentricity worsened. He died from smallpox. « |
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