The railways

Including systems with man or horse power, and tracks or guides made of stone or wood, the history of rail transport dates back as far as the ancient Greeks.

Modern transportation of passengers and goods could not be imagined without trains, transport devices that revolutionised our industry, human expansion, and the way we can move from one place to another. Such important presence in our history appeared little over 200 years ago, but even then it was apparent that this new transportation paradigm could become one of the mankind’s greatest fights if the technical hurdles of early industrial revolution could be overcame.

It all began in over 2000 years ago in ancient civilisations of Egypt, Babylon and Greece. Transport of people and goods in those time was done with carts that were pulled by animals (horses or bulls), and their engineers quickly noticed that animals will spend much less energy if the cart was travelling on predetermined path, without possibility for steering or travelling over uneven terrain. To enable this new way of transport, they build roads with pre-built constraints for wheels. These were the world’s first railway tracks, and archaeological remains of them can still be found in Italy and Greece. The most famous example of these ancient stone etched “wagon-ways” can be found in the Isthmus of Corinth, Greece

First steam engines started running along primitive rail tracks in 1804. Matthew Murray managed to showcase his simple locomotive first, but Richard Trevithick received more attention with his “Penydarren” locomotive that pulled weight of 25 tons and 70 people during its first ride. This event proved to the engineer community, that pressurised steam engines indeed have enough power to become useful for transport of goods and people.

Commercial appearance of train networks came in late 1820's, and the pioneer in that field was English inventor George Stephenson who entered into competition that wanted to find out which steam locomotive design was easiest to use, most reliable and powerful. His “Rocket” won him that competition, showcasing to the entire world that steam trains are indeed destined for bright future. Designs of such locomotives soon travelled to United States, where they began their rapid expansion across newly acquired lands and American long push to “civilise” the west frontiers.