10. Baltimore was a brief period of rest before the western sojourn began
Some of the problems of 19th century travel were revealed in Dickens’s activities during his short stay in Baltimore. He reduced the amount of luggage being carried by himself and his party, after being advised that they would be a hindrance on conveyances to the west. What could be done without was shipped to New York to await his further instructions. Visits to banks were necessary, though Dickens of course carried some money in gold and silver. Letters of credit were issued to replenish funds along the way, at the banking institutions to be encountered in faraway Cincinnati, Louisville, and St. Louis.
The route itself had already been selected. In 1842 most of the railroads in the United States ran east of the Alleghenies, or west of the range. The mountains themselves had not yet been breached. There was a way through them which combined the use of canals and steam engines, which Dickens used to cross the mountains and reach Pittsburgh. To avail himself of the system, he next traveled to York, Pennsylvania by train, where he transferred to stagecoach for the journey to Harrisburg. Another feature of travel of the day was his arrival at York in time for dinner at the hotel, which served as the stage stop. Dinner was covered by his fare for the journey to Harrisburg.