luggage

First North Western service to Preston 2 June 2004 + Thames Turbo service to Surbiton 28 May 2004

traveller "...

A woman walks past, an overnight travel case in hand. It is banging, the wheels crash into the seats as she passes, narrowly missing a man's head. Why is she not using the handle on it, to trail it behind her? Are the gangways too narrow, or full of luggage? Those in seats by themselves all have their luggage next to them on a seat. As I do. There is no storage room in front, beneath the seat, to place my rucksack. Only coats and jackets seem to go overhead... I consider how, when [moving around] on a plane I leave my bags behind. On a train, I take them with me. [notebook: Virgin Trains London Euston service 10 March 2004 2pm]

...Besides [a man using a PDA] is a flight case on the seat. [notebook: First North Western service to Manchester 2 June 2004 6am]

I try and push my small rucksack onto the overhead rack - it barely fits. [notebook: Virgin Trains Pendolino service to London Euston 2 June 2004 10am]

The luggage rack overhead is full. A man passed through carrying a vast soft bag on his shoulder - I wonder where he stored it? [notebook: Virgin Trains service Euston to Lancaster 12 March 2004 6pm]

My bags are overhead. I worry about my laptop being snatched... security and tension... I have packed my bags so that they are easy to store on a train, and easy to run [for a train] with. A paperback novel is in the top, for those unexpected long moments of waiting... This notebook and my camera are similarly accessible, as are my tickets. [notebook: First North Western service to Manchester 2 June 2004 7am]

Despite the webbing on the back of seats, they are not used for personal items. People prefer the fold out trays or a table [to place their items on]. [notebook: Virgin Trains London Euston service 10 March 2004 5pm]

system "...

“Luggage may be carried on all our trains, however space is limited - especially at weekends and during holiday periods. For everyone’s safety, we recommend that you don’t travel with more luggage than you can carry…”

"You can store your luggage: underneath the seats, between the seats, luggage racks, overhead racks"

"Please don't store your luggage: in the aisles, in the vestibules, in the disabled area, outside or inside the toilet area, in the onboard shop, on the next seat..." [extracts: 'Travelling with Virgin Trains' leaflet collected Lancaster 25 March 2004]

ethnographic guide

Luggage is a part of the traveller, it is intrinsic to the traveller, not additional. The luggage makes the same journey. It must be able to interface with other actor’s demands, for example, the width of the carriage or the height of baggage storage. The conditions of possibility for luggage are therefore paramount: its flexibility as a container, accessibility of contents, how tightly it must attach to the traveller (is it too valuable to be left alone), and so on. A traveller is therefore always a traveller plus their attached luggage. This alters the possibilities for the journey: a traveller may be able to visit the buffet with ease, a traveller plus their attached luggage may not be able to.