The quest for the reason behind the name “Chemin de Fer”

The quest for the reason behind the name “Chemin de Fer” has taken me far and wide…

… and waisted a lot of my time, to be honest, but heh its been fun!

I found a cool site that got me lost down an alley for hours, it explains everything!  But what everything said is that the name Chemin de Fer may have come from the fact that the shoe of cards, or the “sabot” moves around the baccarat table in a loop… hence the name steel road or railroad.

I’m not that convinced though, sounds like a tall story.  Others say it is because the banker changes hands and moves position around the table.  So who knows?

Anyway I had a lot of fun searching for this, learnt more about European history and am more confused than ever…