History of rail transport

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Horse drawn railway coach, late 18th century

Main article: Rail transport

The history of rail transport dates back nearly 500 years, and includes systems with man or horse power and rails of wood or stone. Modern rail transport systems first appeared in England in the 1820s. These systems, which made use of the steam locomotive, were the first practical form of mechanized land transport, and they remained the primary form of mechanized land transport for the next 100 years.

1 Origins
2 References
3 See also
4 Bibliography
5 External links

[edit] Origins

[edit] Early railways

Wagonways were developed in Germany in the 1550s and the use of these tracks, consisting of wooden (usually edged) rails for horse-drawn wagons, spread across Europe. At first confined to mines, they were in use in Britain for surface transport by the early 1600s. The Wollaton Wagonway is the earliest, proven, surface railway. It is recorded as running from Strelley to Wollaton near Nottingham and was completed in 1604. Other early wagonways are recorded at Broseley in Shropshire from 1605 onwards. Huntingdon Beaumont (who was concerned with mining at Strelley) also laid down broad wooden rails near Newcastle upon Tyne, on which a single horse could haul fifty or sixty bushels of coal. Such railways existed in a number of areas, but the greatest numbers were in the coalfield near Newcastle upon Tyne, where they were known as wagonways. Their function in most cases was to facilitate the transport of coal from the pits to a staith on the river bank, whence coal could be taken by water. Because rails were smoother than roads, a greater quantity could be carried, and without damage to highways. The new device spread rapidly through the whole Tyneside coal-field.

In the late 1760s, the Coalbrookdale Company began to fix plates of cast iron to the wooden rails. These (and earlier railways) had flanged wheels as on modern railways, but another system was introduced, in which unflanged wheels ran on L-shaped metal plates - these became known as plateways. John Curr, a Sheffield colliery manager, invented this flanged rail, though the exact date of this is disputed. William Jessop, a civil engineer, used this (or something similar) on a scheme at Loughborough, Leicestershire in 1789. On July 26, 1803, Jessop opened the Surrey Iron Railway in south London - arguably, the world's first public railway, albeit a horse-drawn one. However, it was not until 1825 that the success of the Stockton and Darlington Railway proved that the railways could be made as useful to the general shipping public as to the colliery owner. At the outset this road was regarded as only a special sort of toll-road upon which any carrier might transport goods or passengers in his own vehicles, but experience showed that it was necessary for the railway company to transport the goods as well.

[edit] Steam power introduced

James Watt, a Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer, was responsible for improvements to the steam engine that caused this device to see wider use and encouraged wider experimentation, but Watt's engines were stationary engines, not locomotives. They operated by creating a vacuum by condensing steam.

The first steam locomotive was built by Richard Trevithick, an English engineer, in 1804. This used high pressure steam to drive the engine. His locomotive had no name, and was used at the Penydarren ironworks at Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales. It was not financially successful, because the engine was too heavy for the track and kept breaking down. Despite his inventive talents, Richard Trevithick died in poverty, with his achievement being largely unrecognized. <ref>Hamilton Ellis (1968). The Pictorial Encyclopedia of Railways. The Hamlyn Publishing Group, 12.</ref>

The first commercially successful steam locomotive was Matthew Murray's rack locomotive The Salamanca built for the narrow gauge Middleton Railway in 1812. This was followed in 1813 by the Puffing Billy built by Christopher Blackett and William Hedley for the Wylam Colliery Railway, the first successful locomotive running by adhesion only. Puffing Billy is now on display in the Science Museum in London, the oldest locomotive in existence.<ref>Hamilton Ellis (1968). The Pictorial Encyclopedia of Railways. The Hamlyn Publishing Group, 20-22.</ref>

In 1812 Oliver Evans, a United States engineer and inventor, published his vision of what steam railways could become, with cities and towns linked by a network of long distance railways plied by speedy locomotives, greatly reducing the time required for personal travel and for transport of goods. Evans specified that there should be separate sets of parallel tracks for trains going in different directions. Image:Planet replica.jpg In 1814 George Stephenson, inspired by the early locomotives of Trevithick and Hedley persuaded the manager of the Killingworth colliery where he worked to allow him to build a steam-powered machine. He built the Blucher, one of the first successful flanged-wheel adhesion locomotives. Stephenson played a pivotal role in the development and widespread adoption of the steam locomotive. His designs considerably improved on the work of the earlier pioneers. In 1825 he built the Locomotion for the Stockton and Darlington Railway which became the first public steam railway in the world. <ref>Hamilton Ellis (1968). The Pictorial Encyclopedia of Railways. The Hamlyn Publishing Group, 24-30.</ref>

The success of the Stockton and Darlington encouraged the rich investors of the rapidly industrialising North West of England to embark upon a project to link the rich cotton manufacturing town of Manchester with the thriving port of Liverpool via what was to become the worlds first mainline railway. Following a widely reported competition in 1829 called the Rainhill Trials to find the most suitable steam engine to haul the trains, Stephenson's Rocket was selected for the job of pulling the carriages along the Liverpool and Manchester Railway which opened in 1830, starting a transport revolution which spread around the globe.

Railways quickly became essential to the swift movement of goods and labour that was needed for industrialization. In the beginning, canals were in competition with the railroads, but the railroads quickly gained ground as steam and rail technology improved, and railroads were built in places where canals were not practical.

By the 1850s, many steam-powered railways had reached the fringes of built-up London. But the new lines were not permitted to demolish enough property to penetrate the City or the West End, so passengers had to disembark at Paddington, Euston, Kings Cross, Fenchurch Street, Charing Cross, Waterloo or Victoria and then make their own way via hackney carriage or on foot into the centre, thereby massively increasing congestion in the city. A Metropolitan Railway was built under the ground to connect several of these separate railway terminals, and thus became the world's first "Metro."

[edit] Railroad growth in the United States 1850-1890

Image:Gnome-globe.svg

This article or section deals primarily with the United States and may not present a worldwide view of the subject.
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<TD> 1860</TD><TD> 1870</TD><TD> 1880</TD><TD> 1890</TD> <TR> <TD> New England</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,2507"> 2,507</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,3660"> 3,660</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,4494"> 4,494</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,5982"> 5,982</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,6831"> 6,831</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD> Middle States</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,3202"> 3,202</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,6705"> 6,705</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,10964"> 10,964</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,15872"> 15,872</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,21536"> 21,536</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD> Southern States</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,2036"> 2,036</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,8838"> 8,838</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,11192"> 11,192</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,14778"> 14,778</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,29209"> 29,209</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD> Western States and Territories</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,1276"> 1,276</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,11400"> 11,400</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,24587"> 24,587</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,52589"> 52,589</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,62394"> 62,394</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD> Pacific States and Territories</TD><TD></TD> <TD> 23</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,1677"> 1,677</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,4080"> 4,080</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,9804"> 9,804</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD> TOTAL USA</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,@SUM(B5..B9)"> 9,021</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,@SUM(C5..C9)"> 30,626</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,@SUM(D5..D9)"> 52,914</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,@SUM(E5..E9)"> 93,301</TD><TD QP::NUMFORMAT:="96,-1,@SUM(F5..F9)"> 129,774</TD> </TR> </TABLE><ref>Depew, Chauncey M. (ed.). One Hundred Years of American Commerce 1795-1895, p.111.</ref> In 1869, the symbolically important trans-continental railroad was completed in the United States with the driving of a golden spike.

[edit] Electric railways revolutionalize urban transport

Prior to the development of electric railways, most overland transport aside from the railways had consisted primarily of horse powered vehicles. Placing a horse car on rails had enabled a horse to move twice as many people, and so street railways were born. In January of 1888, Richmond, Virginia served as a proving grounds for electric railways as Frank Sprague built the first working electric streetcar system there. By the 1890s, electric power became practical and more widespread, allowing extensive underground railways. Large cities such as London, New York, and Paris built subway systems. When electric propulsion became practical, most street railways were electrified. These then became known as "streetcars," "trolleys," "trams" and "Strassenbahn."

In many countries, these electric street railways grew beyond the metropolitan areas to connect with other urban centers. In the USA, "electric interurban" railroad networks connected most urban areas in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. In Southern California, the Pacific Electric Railway connected most cities in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, and the Inland Empire. There were similar systems in Europe. One of the more notable rail systems connected every town and city in Belgium.

The remnants of these systems still exist, and in many places they have been modernized to become part of the urban "rapid transit" system in their respective areas.

[edit] Diesel power

Diesel locomotives are electric locomotives with an on-board generator powered by a Diesel engine. The first Diesel locomotives were low-powered machines used in switching yards. Diesel and electric locomotives are cleaner, more efficient, and require less maintenance than steam locomotives. They also required less specialized skills in operation and maintenance and their introduction diminished the power of railway unions in the USA (one of the earliest countries to adopt Diesel power). By the 1950s, Diesel and electric power had replaced steam power on most of the world's railroads.

In the 20th century, highways and air travel replaced railroads for most long-distance passenger travel in the United States, but railroads remain important for hauling freight in the United States, and for passenger transport in many other countries.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

RAILROAD MILEAGE BY REGION
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Rail transport

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Timeline of railway history
Category:Timeline of rail transport
Historical sizes of railroads
History of rail transport by country
Oldest railroads in North America
Land speed record for railed vehicles
George Bradshaw, originator of the railway timetable

[edit] Bibliography

Skelton, Oscar D. (1916). The Railway Builders. Glasgow, Brook, & Company, Toronto.
Leland H. Jenks, "Railroads as an Economic Force in American Development," The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 4, No. 1 (May, 1944), 1-20.
Smith, R S. (1957), "Huntingdon Beaumont Adventurer in Coal Mines", Renaissance and Modern Studies, p. 115 to 153.
Smith, R S. (1960), "England's First Rails : A reconsideration", Renaissance and Modern Studies, p. 119 to 134.
Lewis, M J T (1970), Early Wooden Railways, London, England: Routledge Keegan Paul (out of print).
Rainer Fremdling, "Railways and German Economic Growth: A Leading Sector Analysis with a Comparison to the United States and Great Britain," The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 37, No. 3. (Sep., 1977), pp. 583-604.
O . S. Nock, ed. Encyclopedia of Railways (London, 1977), worldwide coverage, heavily illustrated
Hadfield, C. and Skempton, A. W. William Jessop, Engineer (Newton Abbot 1979)
Patrick O’Brien. Railways and the Economic Development of Western Europe, 1830-1914 (1983)
Smith, R S (1989), Early Coal Mining Around Nottingham 1500 - 1650, University of Nottingham (out of print.
John Stover, American Railways (2nd ed 1997)
Jack Simmons and Gordon Biddle, (editors). The Oxford Companion to British Railway History: From 1603 to the 1990s (2nd ed 1999)
John Stover, The Routledge Historical Atlas of the American Railroads (2001)
Riley, C. J. The Encyclopedia of Trains & Locomotives (2002).
M J T Lewis (2004). "Reflections on 1604". Early Railways 3 (Subscription print run issued in 2006), 8–22.
New, J R. (2004), "400 years of English railways - Huntingdon Beaumont and the early years", Backtrack, vol. 18, no. 11 (Nov), p. 660 to 665.