Chugging on the Railroads of the World

 

We all know about what railroads basically are. Railroads are guideways, usually made of iron or steel, that help a vehicle move from place to place as long as it can travel on it (usually with the help of flanged wheels made of steel) and the vehicle moves to the places where the guideways lead to.

 

Early History

Railroads have a very long history. The first "railway" was the Diolkos wagon way, which was used from 600 B.C.E. to the 1st century C.E.. It ran near Corinth in Greece. Its main purpose was to allow boats to avoid a dangerous circumnavigation of the Peloponnese Peninsula by reaching the Aegean Sea after they were loaded on the trackway wagons from the Ionian Sea. Also, it was used for transporting goods. However, (according to some historians) after the Roman emperor Nero started making canals in and around Corinth, the Diolkos fell out of use. Now, little remains of this innovative technical marvel of antiquity.

 

                   Reappearance

 Railroads reappeared in Europe after the Dark Ages. One of the earliest railways of this era were the Reisszug, a small funicular railway that transported goods to the Hohensalzburg Castle in Salzburg, Austria. Built in either 1495 C.E. or 1504 C.E.. it is the oldest functioning funicular railway in the world and possibly, the oldest surviving railway in the world.

 

By 1550 C.E., narrow gauge railways, using wooden rails, were commonplace in mines across Europe. The world's oldest regularly operating railway is the Middleton Railway in Leeds, England, which was built in 1758 C.E.. At first, it carried coal from nearby mines, but later on, after coal transport was stopped in the area by the 1960s, preservationists and unpaid volunteers from Leeds University saved and preserved the line. Now, it operates as a heritage railway, carrying passengers to show the once active coal mining area of Leeds.

 

The first passenger railway service was started in the Swansea and Mumbles Railway in Wales, England, started in 1807. It was among the first railways to use metal rails, albeit, made of brittle cast iron and flanged. It was later discontinued in 1960 and efforts are underway to resurrect the railway.

 

The Advent of the Steam Locomotive and a Revolution in Passenger Transport

Then came the steam locomotive. The steam locomotive was first designed by Richard Trevithick, a mining engineer from Cornwall, England. It ran in 1804 and carried 78 wagons of coal. It was a success and was soon touted to be an important technological marvel for the improvement of transportation.

 

However, the idea of running steam locomotives for regular use largely remained a concept until 1825, when George Stephenson built a reliable steam locomotive, The Locomotion, for the Stockton and Darlington Railway (the world's first long distance railway). In 1829. at the Rainhill Trials, his locomotive, The Rocket, won out against all the other locomotives present there and that helped him establish his very own locomotive making company, which exported large numbers of locomotives all across Europe and even to America.

 

In the following year, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway opened up in England, creating intercity train travel. It was the first such intercity railway, providing transportation to millions of people of all kinds, which it continues to do to this day. In the coming years and decades, rail transport spread like wildfire all across the world.

 

Innovations in Rail Transport through the Decades

Over the years, numerous innovations were made which made rail transport safer, faster, more reliable, and more comfortable.

 

One of the first innovations made after George Stephenson's success was the electric locomotive, built by Robert Davidson of Aberdeen, Scotland. It was powered by galvanic cells (batteries). He later built the Galvani, a larger electric locomotive that had electromagnets along with batteries. However, the limited amount of electric power meant that its use was very limited. It was later destroyed by railway workers for fear of their unemployment.

 

The first electric train was made by Werner von Siemens of Germany. Actually, it was a tram that operated on a 2.4 km(1.5mi) long tramway in the Lichterfielde suburb of Berlin, Germany. Nevertheless, it was the first type of electrically operated public transport on rails. Soon, electric trains would revolutionize rail transport in urban and suburban areas. It has even helped people from cities to travel from city to city at low prices.

 

Another stunning innovation was the diesel locomotive. It evolved from the diesel engine invented by Rudolph Diesel of France. Invented in the 1890s, it was at first unreliable due to numerous teething problems, such as its poor power-to-weight ratio. However, as time passed, these problems were solved by later inventors and now, it is a reliable type of locomotive for hauling freight and/or long passenger trains.

 

From the early 20th century, other innovations were made, such as the use of steel to replace iron for making rails. Steel rails are stronger than iron and rust less faster. Wooden-bodied coaches were replaced by more durable steel-bodied coaches, which required less maintenance and were stronger. Concrete sleepers (beds on which rails rest) supplanted wooden sleepers as they do not decompose and are tolerant to weather and temperature extremities. AC electric propulsion replaced DC type propulsion since it is more powerful and allows trains to move at higher speeds. Air conditioning has made train travel far more comfortable in hot regions. Electric train signals saved the lives of millions of commuters.

 

However, the most significant innovations probably have to do with making train travel fast. The first regular high speed intercity train service was made in Japan with the Shinkansen (New Trunk Line) service, commonly called the Bullet Train by the rest of the world. Started in 1964, it ushered in high speed train transport. The trains travel at speed up to 320 kph (200 mph) in regular service. It is one of the world's most frequently used high speed railway services with an annual ridership of over 353 million passengers. The trains are also one of the safest in the world- despite some accidents, there have been no fatalities in the 49 years of service.

 

The latest innovation made in train technology is the maglev propulsion system. In this system, the train has no wheels nor are steel rails present on the tracks. Instead, the tracks contain extremely powerful electromagnets. The train also contains electromagnets on its underside. Since both electromagnets have the same charge, they repel, causing the train to silently move at blistering speeds by just floating on a bed of air made between the electromagnets. So far, only Shanghai, China has such a system, the Shanghai Maglev. Made by Siemens, the train carries commuters from Pudong International Airport (in the city's outskirts) to the city's centre. The train travels at an average speed of 431 kph(268 mph).

 

Advantages and Disadvantages of Railroads

Like everything that we see in this world, railroads have their advantages and their disadvantages.

Advantages:

1. They can carry huge amounts of freight, mail, and people over short and long distances.

2. They have lower maintenance costs.

3. They (directly or indirectly) consume much less fuel than automobiles and airplanes .

4. They are one of the safest forms of transport.

5. They are (generally) more comfortable means of transport.

6. They are inexpensive to travel on compared to other forms of public transport.

Disadvantages:

1. Managing traffic running on railroads is a complicated task.

2. Initial costs (the costs of purchasing rolling stock, rails, signage, etc.) are very high.

3. They require more skill and control to operate than other forms of transport.

4. They require more years of training to operate than other forms of transport.

5. They require a large amount of labor for maintenance and operations.