6 Rail Transportation
Ashley Abel
6.1 Introduction
Keywords
- Tramway Locomotive – A steam locomotive that is specially designed, or modified, to run on a street, or roadside, tramway track
- Steam Locomotive – A locomotive using as motive power steam that is usually self-generated in the locomotive’s own boiler by the combustion of fuel (such as coal or oil)
- Subway – A railway system that is used to transport people in urban and suburban areas underground
- Freight Train – A train that is used to transport products and goods
- Passenger Train – A train that people use for traveling
- Maglev Train – A train that is supported by either electromagnetic attraction or repulsion
- Bullet Train – A high-speed passenger train
Learning Objectives
By the end of this chapter students should be able to:
- Understand the importance of rail transportation, specifically trains
- Describe the role of trains had on society
- Discuss past and present innovations made in the transportation industry
- Illustrate the future of rail transportation
Of the different modes of transportation, rail transportation and its innovations have greatly improved the way of life. Before modern trains, rail transportation was just wheelbarrows or carts on railroad tracks. But we have come a long way from that to these powerful machines that can go at different speeds and give us relaxing rides. Additionally, trains are not just used for transportation. They are used for the shipment of goods which include: cars, produce, weapons, animals, etc. This multi-use gives trains an important part of society. Without them, life as we know today would be different.
6.2 Origins of Trains
Key Takeaway
In this section, we will discuss the origins of rail transportation and the modern train.
The first recorded history of rail transportation was in Ancient Greece. The Greeks did this by creating grooves in limestone roads and using wheeled vehicles on them. This technology was then lost due to the Romans conquering the Greeks until the 16th century where wooden rails were put in roads and horse-drawn wagons were driven on them. During the 1770’s, wooden rails were switched to iron rails and the wheels of wagons were grooved allowing a better grip to the track. This design was an important feature that was later incorporated into locomotive designs.
The first steam tramway locomotive was seen in 1804. It was funded by Samuel Homfray who then commissioned the project to Richard Trevithick. It was able to haul 10 tons of iron, 70 men and five extra wagons in 9 miles. The trip took two hours to complete. Then in 1814, George Stephenson, an English inventor and colliery engineer, built the first steam engine locomotive. During the 1820’s, Julius Griffiths, an Englishman, was able to patent the first passenger steam locomotive and Stephenson’s locomotives were being used for both goods and passenger travel. The trains were able to pull six loaded coal cars and 21 passenger cars filled up to 450 passe