Today, almost a million kilometers of railway lines have been laid on the territory of the leading countries of the world. A lot of developments have been invented to improve railway transport: from trains moving from electricity to trains that move on a magnetic cushion without touching the rails.
Some inventions have firmly entered our lives, while others have remained at the level of plans. For example, the development of locomotives that would run on nuclear energy, but because of the high environmental hazard and high financial costs, they were never built.
The world's first railroad is currently being developed for a gravity train that will move due to its inertia and gravity.
Rail transport has great potential. More and more new ways of traveling by rail are being invented, despite the fact that everything in this area seems to have been invented a long time ago.
The birth of rail transport
The very first railways began to appear in the middle of the 16th century throughout Europe. It could not be called rail transport in fullmeasure. Trolleys pulled by horses drove along the tracks.
Basically, these roads were used in the development of stone, in mines and mines. They were made of wood, and horses could carry a lot more weight on them than on a regular road.
But such rail tracks had a significant drawback: they quickly wore out, and the wagons went off the tracks. In order to reduce the wear and tear of wood, they began to use cast-iron or iron strips for reinforcement.
The first all-cast iron railroads only came into use in the 18th century.
First public railroad
The world's first passenger railway was built in England on October 27, 1825. It connected the cities of Stockton and Darlington, and was originally supposed to carry coal from the mines to the port of Stockon.
The railway project was carried out by engineer George Stephenson, who already had experience in operating and managing railways in Keelingworth. To begin construction of the road, had to wait for the approval of Parliament for four years. The innovation had many opponents. Horse owners did not want to lose their income.
The very first train that carried passengers was converted from coal trolleys. And in 1833, for the rapid transport of coal, the road was completed to Middlesbrough.
In 1863, the road became part of the North Eastern Railway, which to this dayday is in operation.
Underground railway
The world's first underground railway was a breakthrough in public transport. The British built it first. The need for the subway appeared at a time when Londoners were fully acquainted with traffic jams.
In the first half of the 19th century, clusters of various carts arose on the central streets of the city. Therefore, we decided to “unload” traffic flows by creating a tunnel underground.
The London underground tunnel project was invented by the Frenchman Marc Izambard Brunel, who lived in the UK.
The construction of the tunnel was completed in 1843. At first it was used only as a pedestrian crossing, but later the idea of the subway was born. And on January 10, 1893, the grand opening of the first underground railway took place.
It used locomotive traction, and the length of the tracks was only 3.6 kilometers. The average number of passengers carried was 26,000.
In 1890, the trains were modified, and they began to move not on steam, but on electricity.
Magnetic Railroad
The world's first railway, on which trains moved on an air cushion, was patented in 1902 by the German Alfred Seiden. Construction attempts were made in many countries, but the first one was presented at the International Transport Exhibition in Berlin in 1979. She worked allonly three months.
Magnetic railway trains move without touching the rails, and the only braking force for the train is the aerodynamic drag force.
Today, maglev trains cannot compete with railways and the subway, because, despite the high speed of movement and noiselessness (some trains can reach speeds of up to 500 km/h), they have a number of significant drawbacks.
Firstly, large financial investments will be required for the creation and maintenance of magnetic roads. Second, maglev trains. Thirdly, the electromagnetic field causes great harm to the environment. And fourthly, the magnetic railway has a very complex track infrastructure.
Many countries, including the Soviet Union, planned the creation of such roads, but later abandoned this idea.
Railways in Russia
For the first time in Russia, the predecessors of full-fledged railways were used in Altai in 1755 - these were wooden rails in the mines.
In 1788, the first railway for factory needs was built in Petrozavodsk. And for passenger traffic in 1837, the railway St. Petersburg - Tsarskoye Selo appeared. Steam-powered trains walked along it.
Later, in 1909, the Tsarskoye Selo Railway became part of the Imperial Line, which connected Tsarskoye Selo with all lines of St. Petersburg Railway.
