The Blue Train Races were a series of record-breaking attempts between automobiles and trains in the late 1920s and early 1930s. It saw a number of motorists and their own or sponsored automobiles race against the Le Train Bleu, a train that ran between Calais and the French Riviera. The rationale to beat the train was to compare the contemporary automotive performance with locomotive dominance; to showcase recent progress achieved by cars regarding reliability, durability, speed and comfort; to promote the cars, their marques and the adventurous persona of the drivers; and to establish automobiles as a viable and aspirational mode of transport for the individual traveller.
Read more about Blue Train Races: The Blue Train, Rover Light Six, Bentley Speed Six, Top Gear Race 'Car Vs. Train', Gallery
Famous quotes containing the words blue, train and/or races:
“There is no blue without yellow and without orange.”
—Vincent Van Gogh (1853–1890)
“The beginning of reform is not so much to equalize property as to train the noble sort of natures not to desire more, and to prevent the lower from getting more.”
—Aristotle (384–322 B.C.)
“The so called white races are really pinko-grey.”
—E.M. (Edward Morgan)