Train

A train (from Old French trahiner, from Latin trahere, "to pull, to draw"[1]) is a series of
connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically
pulled or pushed by locomotives (often known simply as "engines"), though some are self-propelled,
such as multiple units. Passengers and cargo are carried in railroad cars, also known as wagons.
Trains are designed to a certain gauge, or distance between rails. Most trains operate
on steel tracks with steel wheels, the low friction of which makes them more efficient than other
forms of transport.
Trains have their roots in wagonways, which used railway tracks and were powered by
horses or pulled by cables. Following the invention of the steam locomotive in the United Kingdom in
1802, trains rapidly spread around the world, allowing freight and passengers to move over land
faster and cheaper than ever possible before. Rapid transit and trams were first built in the late
1800s to transport large numbers of people in and around cities. Beginning in the 1920s, and
accelerating following World War II, diesel and electric locomotives replaced steam as the means of
motive power. Following the development of cars, trucks, and extensive networks of highways which
offered greater mobility, as well as faster airplanes, trains declined in importance and market share,
and many rail lines were abandoned. The spread of buses led to the closure of many rapid transit
and tram systems during this time as well.
Since the 1970s, governments, environmentalists, and train advocates have promoted increased
use of trains due to their greater fuel efficiency and lower greenhouse gas emissions compared to
other modes of land transport. High-speed rail, first built in the 1960s, has proven competitive with
cars and planes over short to medium distances. Commuter rail has grown in importance since the
1970s as an alternative to congested highways and a means to promote development, as has light
rail in the 21st century. Freight trains remain important for the transport of bulk commodities such as
coal and grain, as well as being a means of reducing road traffic congestion by freight trucks.
While conventional trains operate on relatively flat tracks with two rails, a number of specialized
trains exist which are significantly different in their mode of operation. Monorails operate on a single
rail, while funiculars and rack railways are uniquely designed to traverse steep slopes. Experimental
trains such as high speed maglevs, which use magnetic levitation to float above a guideway, are
under development in the 2020s and offer higher speeds than even the fastest conventional trains.
Trains which use alternative fuels such as natural gas and hydrogen are another 21st-century
development.
History
Main article: History of rail transport
Early history
Stockton and Darlington special inaugural train 1825: six wagons of

coal, directors coach, then people in wagons
Trains are an evolution of wheeled wagons running on stone wagonways, the earliest of which were
built by Babylon circa 2,200 BCE.[2] Starting in the 1500s, wagonways were introduced to haul
material from mines; from the 1790s, stronger iron rails were introduced.[2] Following early
developments in the second half of the 1700s, in 1804 a steam locomotive built by British
inventor Richard Trevithick powered the first ever steam train.[3] Outside of coal mines, where fuel
was readily available, steam locomotives remained untried until the opening of the Stockton and
Darlington Railway in 1825. British engineer George Stephenson ran a steam locomotive
named Locomotion No. 1 on this 40-kilometer (25-mile) long line, hauling over 400 passengers at up
to 13 kilometers per hour (8 mph). The success of this locomotive, and Stephenson's Rocket in
1829, convinced many of the value in steam locomotives, and within a decade the stock market
bubble known as "Railway Mania" started across the United Kingdom.[4]
News of the success of steam locomotives quickly reached the United States, where the first steam
railroad opened in 1829.[5] American railroad pioneers soon started manufacturing their own
locomotives, designed to handle the sharper curves and rougher track typical of the country's
railroads.[6]
The Union Pacific Big Boy locomotives represented the pinnacle of

steam locomotive technology and power.
The other nations of Europe also took note of British railroad developments, and most countries on
the continent constructed and opened their first railroads in the 1830s and 1840s, following the first
run of a steam train in France in late 1829.[7] In the 1850s, trains continued to expand across Europe,
with many influenced by or purchases of American locomotive designs.[7] Other European countries
pursued their own distinct designs. Around the world, steam locomotives grew larger and more
powerful throughout the rest of the century as technology advanced.[8]
Trains first entered service in South America, Africa, and Asia through construction by imperial
powers, which starting in the 1840s built railroads to solidify control of their colonies and transport
cargo for export.[9] In Japan, which was never colonized, railroads first arrived in the early 1870s. By
1900, railroads were operating on every continent besides uninhabited Antarctica.[10]
New technologies
Electric train on Djursholmsbanan in Stockholm in the 1890s.

Even as steam locomotive technology continued to improve, inventors in Germany started work on
alternative methods for powering trains. Werner von Siemens built the first train powered by
electricity in 1879, and went on to pioneer electric trams.[8] Another German inventor, Rudolf Diesel,
constructed the first diesel engine in the 1890s, though the potential of his invention to power trains
was not realized until decades later.[8] Between 1897 and 1903, tests of experimental electric
locomotives on the Royal Prussian Military Railway in Germany demonstrated they were viable,
setting speed records in excess of 160 kilometers per hour (100 mph).[11]
The EMD FT set the stage for diesel locomotives to take over from
steam.
Early gas powered "doodlebug" self-propelled railcars entered service on railroads in the first decade
of the 1900s.[12] Experimentation with diesel and gas power continued, culminating in the German
"Flying Hamburger" in 1933, and the influential American EMD FT in 1939.[13] These successful
diesel locomotives showed that diesel power was superior to steam, due to lower costs, ease of
maintenance, and better reliability.[14] Meanwhile, Italy developed an extensive network of electric
trains during the first decades of the 20th century, driven by that country's lack of significant coal
reserves.

Train

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Train

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Train

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

A train (from Old French trahiner, from Latin trahere, "to pull, to draw"[1]) is a series of

Stockton and Darlington special inaugural train 1825: six wagons of

The Union Pacific Big Boy locomotives represented the pinnacle of

Electric train on Djursholmsbanan in Stockholm in the 1890s.

You might also like