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Today, it is hard to imagine our
lives without trains and railways.
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The invention of the steam locomotive has been a
major turning point in the history of humanity.
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The first railway lines appeared in England
at the beginning of the nineteenth century,
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during the industrial revolution. In
that moment, there was a huge need for
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transportation of goods and materials from one
city to another. As a result, from that point on,
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many people were hired to build new railways
tracks and operate them all over the world.
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Over time, travel conditions began to
improve, and trains became faster and safer.
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The first rudimentary form of railway was the
Diolkos, a paved trackway built by ancient Greeks
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where today is the Corinth Canal. This about 7
km long trackway was operated from around 600 BC
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until the middle of the 1st century AD.
Wheeled vehicles pulled by men and animals
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ran in grooves in limestone,
which provided the track element,
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preventing the wagons from leaving the
intended route.
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The Diolkos saved ships sailing from the Ionian Sea to the Aegean Sea
a dangerous sea journey round the Peloponnese.
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The oldest operational railway is the Reisszug,
a funicular railway at the Hohensalzburg Fortress
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in Austria, documented for the first time in
1515. The line originally used wooden rails
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and a hemp haulage rope and was operated by
human or animal power, through a treadwheel.
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Around the year 1550 began the use of wagonways
with wooden rails and horse-drawn traffic to
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facilitate transportation of ore tubs to and
from mines. Minecarts became popular in Europe,
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and miners called the wagons Hunde ("dogs")
from the noise they made on the tracks.
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In 1726 was built the Causey Arch, the world's
first large masonry railway bridge in the world,
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for the Tanfield Wagonway, in northern England.
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It is also the oldest surviving
single-arch railway bridge in the world.
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In the late 1760s plates of cast iron began to
be fixed to the upper surface of wooden rails,
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which increased their durability
and load-bearing ability,
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marking the beginning of the era of metal rails.
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In 1793 was built in England the Fritchley Tunnel,
considered the first railway tunnel in the world.
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It remained in use until 1933 when the
railway closed, and was sealed up in 1977.
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In 1784 William Murdoch, an employee of
the famous Scottish inventor James Watt,
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built a steam carriage.
The first full-scale
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working railway steam locomotive was built in
the United Kingdom in 1804 by Richard Trevithick,
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a neighbor of William Murdoch.
On the 21st of February 1804,
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the world's first steam-powered railway journey
took place when Trevithick's steam locomotive
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hauled a train along a tramway in South Wales.
Trevithick's locomotive never got beyond the
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experimental stage , because it was too heavy
for the cast iron track in use at that time.
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The first commercially successful steam locomotive
was Matthew Murray's rack locomotive Salamanca
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built in 1812. This was followed in
1813 by the locomotive Puffing Billy,
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the first successful locomotive
running by adhesion only,
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and the oldest locomotive still in existence,
now on display in the Science Museum in London.
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In the following years, the design of
the locomotives continue to improve,
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although it was used both horse power
and steam power on different runs.
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In 1829, George Stephenson built the locomotive
Rocket, which won the Rainhill Trials,
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also setting a speed record of 47 km/h. In 1830
was opened the Liverpool and Manchester Railway,
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the first public railway which used only steam
locomotives all the time, without animal power.
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It marked the beginning of the
first steam passenger service.
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The line had the first timetables
for passengers and proper stations,
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with ticketing offices and platforms, and went
on to prove the viability of rail transport.
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In 1837 Robert Davidson built the
first known electric locomotive,
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powered by batteries. However, the limited
power from batteries prevented its general use,
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and it was destroyed by railway workers, who
saw it as a threat to their job security.
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The world' first urban underground railway
was the Metropolitan Railway in London,
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which began operations on the 10th of January
1863. It was worked by steam trains and despite
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the creation of numerous vents, was unhealthy and
uncomfortable for passengers and operating staff.
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In the late 1860s began to appear the first
steel rails, replacing the iron rails. Steel
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rails were lasting several times longer than the
iron ones, and made heavier locomotives possible.
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Before dining cars in passenger trains were
common, a rail passenger's option for meal service
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in transit was to eat at one of the roadhouses
often located near the railroad's "water stops".
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The first dinning car was
introduced in England in 1879,
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and by the mid-1880s, dedicated dining cars
were a normal part of long-distance trains.
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Werner von Siemens constructed in
1881 in Lichterfelde near Berlin,
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the first electric tram line,
supplied by running rails.
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In 1891 the track was equipped with an overhead
wire and the line was extended.
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In 1891, the first practical
AC electric locomotive
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was designed by Charles Brown, using three-phase
AC for long-distance power transmission.
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In 1912 was operated the first Diesel
locomotive in Switzerland,
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and during the 1920s they were improved,
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beginning to be used more and more often in several countries.
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In 1938 was set the world speed record for a
steam locomotive by the Mallard,
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which reached a speed of 203 km/h.
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However, in the first 20 years after the war, the steam locomotives
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were replaced on the main routes in Europe and
North America by diesel and electric engines.
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The first electrified high-speed rail, Shinkansen,
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was introduced in 1964 between Tokyo and Osaka
in Japan. Since then high-speed rail transport,
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functioning at speeds up and above 300 km/h,
has been built in more developed countries.
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In 1984 was opened the first commercial
maglev system between the Birmingham
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International Airport and the nearby
Birmingham International railway station,
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but was closed after only 11 years because
of the problems with the electronic systems.
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In 2007 was set the speed world record for a
conventional wheeled passenger train, by the
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France's TGV, of 575 km/h. A new record was set
in 2015, when Japan's experimental maglev train
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L0 Series achieved a top speed of 603
km/h on a magnetic levitation track.
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In September 2018, the world's first
commercial hydrogen-powered passenger train
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entered service in Lower Saxony, Germany.
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The trains developed by Alstom are using a
hydrogen fuel cell which emits no carbon dioxide.
