The History of the Railways

ß Contents

Tracks:

The first tracks came up in the New Stone Age, where they were used to lead the wheels of wagons into the right direction; the Romans and Greeks improved the track system and built it into their roads for the same use like in the New Stone Ages.
In the middle Ages wooden tracks were laid in the mines to transport the ores (Erze) faster and easier out of the mine. Later the wooden tracks were replaced by iron tracks, which didn’t foul as fast as wooden tracks.

Steam locomotive:

The first steam locomotive was constructed by Richard Trevithick in 1804. Several improvements followed: The locomotive became heavier and was then used for transport, before it was too light for transports.

Electro locomotive: 

The first electric locomotive was invented by Werner von Siemens in 1879. It could transport 18 people. The first electrolocs were built and used in the States as trams.

Development in Switzerland, United States and England

England

The first track of steam-locomotives opened in 1825 between Stockton and Darlington. After the end of the construction of a line between Manchester and Liverpool, whole companies grew out of the earth and placed tracks for railways between important cities. They were united in 1948 in one big company: the British Railways. 

Switzerland

In Switzerland the railway was in 1847: the “Spanische Brötlibahn” [1], which connected Baden with Zurich. The steam locomotives were imported from Germany. First the railways belonged to companies, later to the cantons, at last they were put under control of the Swiss Confederation (SBB-CFF) in the year 1902. Because coal was short in the world wars, Swiss changed locomotives to electrolocs. In 1960 Switzerland had set up almost all lines to electricity. Only in Schaffhausen there is still today a 15km long track whose locomotives, for tradition of tradition of course, run with petrol.

USA

The first railway in the USA was opened in 1829 between Baltimore and Allicots-mills. The Americans were fanatic railway builders, in 1925 they had built already 420580km tracks. One of the biggest challenges in American railway history was the connection from the East with the West. On both sides people begun to build and then they met each other in the middle. On the 10 of May, 1869, they came together. The governor of California hit in the famous golden last nail into the threshold made of laurel (Lorbeer) wood. In past days the train was used in America to transport people and goods, today the railway is more or less only important for the goods transport, people prefer the plane to cross the States.

Tobi and Hans

ß TOP