1. What is the origin of railway tracks?
The origin of railway track width. There is a term in economics called "path dependence". It is similar to "inertia" in physics. Once Choosing to enter a certain path (whether it is "good" or "bad") may lead to dependence on this path. The following story about American railroads may help us understand this concept and deepen our impression of its possible consequences.
The standard distance between two U.S. railroad tracks is 4.85 feet. This is a very strange standard. Where does it come from?
It turns out that this is the British railway standard, because the American railways were first designed and built by the British. So, why do the British use this standard?
It turns out that the British railways were designed by the people who built the tram tracks, and this 4.85 feet was the standard used by trams. Where did the tram rail standards come from?
It turns out that the people who first built the tram used to build horse-drawn carriages. And they use the width of the carriage's wheelbase as the standard. Okay, so why do carriages use such a wheelbase standard?
Because if the carriages at that time had used any other wheelbase, the wheels of the carriage would have been quickly damaged on the old British roads. Why? Because the width of the tracks on these roads is 4.85 feet. So where do these track widths come from?
The answer was determined by the ancient Romans, and 4.85 feet was exactly the width of a Roman chariot. Anyone driving on these roads with different wheel widths will not have long life on their wheels. Let us ask again: Why did the Romans use 4.85 feet as the wheelbase width of their chariots? The reason is simple, this is the width of the *** of two horses pulling a chariot! The story should have ended here, but in fact it is not.
Next time you see the majestic appearance of the American space shuttle standing on the launch pad on TV, please pay attention. There are two rocket thrusters on both sides of its fuel tank. These thrusters are Supplied from our factory in Utah. If possible, the engineers at this factory would like to make these thrusters fatter so that the capacity would be greater, but they can't. Why?
Because after these propellers are built, they need to be transported from the factory to the launch point by train. They have to pass through some tunnels on the way, and the width of these tunnels is only a little wider than the width of the train tracks. However, we don’t want Forget that the width of a train track is determined by the width of a horse's ***.
Therefore, it can be concluded that the design of perhaps the most advanced transportation system in the world today was determined by the *** width of two horses two thousand years ago. This is "path dependence". Although it seems a little paradoxical and humorous, it is a fact. 2. A brief history of railways in the world
A brief history of railways in the world
Greece was the first country to have rail transportation. Horse-drawn carriages were running along the rails at least 2,000 years ago. .
In 1804, Richard Terveywick invented the first steam locomotive that could move on rails in Wales, England, but he did not make much money.
The first successful steam locomotive was the "Rocket" built by George Stephenson in 1829.
In the 1820s, England's Stoughton and Darlington Railway became the first successful steam train railway. The later Liverpool and Manchester Railway showed the huge development potential of railways.
Railways soon became available in Britain and around the world, and became the world's leader in transportation for nearly a century, until the invention of the airplane and the automobile reduced their importance.
After the invention of overhead cables in 1888, the first electrified railway using overhead cables opened in 1892.
After World War II, diesel and electric trains gradually replaced steam-driven trains. Since the 1960s, many countries have built high-speed railways.
Freight railways are also connected to ports and cooperate with shipping to transport large quantities of goods in containers to greatly reduce costs.
Currently, 144 of the 236 countries and regions in the world have railway transportation (including the Vatican City, the smallest country in the world), and about 90 of them provide passenger rail services. Railways are still the most popular means of transportation in the world by passenger volume and have an irreplaceable status.
China's first railway was built in Shanghai by the British and later bought back and demolished by local officials of the Qing Dynasty. The first railway and steam locomotive officially used were built by the Kailuan Company Coal Mine founded by Li Hongzhang.
History of World Railway Development
In 1688, the British bourgeoisie launched the "Glorious Revolution" and announced the birth of the capitalist system. New production relations liberated productive forces. The increasingly sophisticated technical division of labor in manual workshops has simplified each production process to the point where machines can replace manual labor, making the skills of manual workers more specialized, which has created good conditions for the invention and application of machines. The industrial revolution began.
The industrial revolution first started with the textile industry. In the textile industry, large machine production gradually gained dominance. With the invention and application of machines, the steam engine came into being, and then the principles of the steam engine were used to create steam cars that ran on the road, which were later cars. A few decades later, steam locomotives that could run on rails were introduced.
On September 27, 1825, the world's first permanent public transportation facility running steam locomotives, the Stockton-Darlington Railway in England, was officially opened to traffic. At the unprecedented opening ceremony, the "Traveler" train with a carrying capacity of about 90 tons, consisting of a locomotive, a tender, 32 freight cars and 1 passenger car, was driven by the designer Stephenson himself and departed from Iku at 9 a.m. Departing from Laine Station and arriving at Stockton at 3:47 pm, the route traveled 31.8 kilometers.
The official opening of the Stockton-Darlington Railway marked the beginning of the modern railway transportation industry. Railways are highly valued by people for their advantages such as speed, convenience and economy. Needless to say, in Britain, its birthplace, railway construction has become the hottest and most fashionable thing. The 1850s was the peak period of British railway construction. In 1880, the main lines were basically completed. In 1890, a national railway network was formed, with a total length of 32,000 kilometers. 3. How the birth and development of railways are recorded in history
Railways are tracks for trains and other means of transportation.
As a land transportation method, railways use locomotives to pull trains on two parallel rails. However, railway transportation in a broad sense also includes non-steel wheel travel methods such as maglev trains, cable cars, and ropeways, or rail transportation.
Railway rails can provide an extremely smooth and hard medium for train wheels to roll on with minimal friction, making people on them more comfortable, and it can also save energy. If properly configured, rail transportation can save 50 to 70% of energy compared to road transportation when carrying the same weight.
Moreover, the rails can evenly distribute the weight of the train, greatly increasing the load capacity of the train. Ancient Greece was the first country to have rail transportation, and horse-drawn carriages were running along the rails at least 2,000 years ago.
In 1804, Richard Turveywick invented the first steam locomotive that could move on rails in Wales, England. In 1814, Stephenson successfully built the first steam-powered train locomotive.
The first successful steam locomotive was the "Rocket" built by George Stephenson in 1829. In the 1820s, England's Stoughton and Darlington Railway became the first successful steam train railway.
The later Liverpool and Manchester Railway showed the huge development potential of railways. Railways were soon running throughout Britain and around the world, and became the world's leader in transport for nearly a century, until the invention of the airplane and automobile reduced their importance.
After the invention of overhead cables in 1888, the first electrified railway using overhead cables opened in 1892. After World War II, diesel and electric trains gradually replaced steam-driven trains.
Since the 1960s, many countries have built high-speed railways. The freight railway is also connected to the port and cooperates with shipping to transport large quantities of goods in containers, which greatly reduces costs.
Currently, 144 of the 236 countries and regions in the world have railway transportation (including the Vatican City, the smallest country in the world), and about 90 of them provide passenger railway services. Railways are still the most popular means of transportation in the world and have an irreplaceable status.
China's first railway was built in Shanghai by the British and later bought back and demolished by local officials of the Qing Dynasty. The first railway and steam locomotive officially used were built by the Kailuan Company Coal Mine founded by Li Hongzhang. 4. The first railway in Chinese history was built in that era
The first opinion is that in 1865, the British businessman Durand laid a 500-meter-long railway outside Xuanwumen in Beijing for people to watch. This model railway with small steam locomotives is the first railway in my country.
The basis is that although this railway is advertised, it is paved with small rails, "long and long", and uses steam locomotives, "cars can drive on it, as fast as flying" . This already has the main characteristics of a railway, so it is appropriate to regard it as the first railway in our country.
The second opinion is that the railway built without authorization by the British Jardine Matheson Company between Wusong and Shanghai in 1876 was the first railway in my country for the public transportation of passengers and goods. In 1866, in order to expand their invasion of my country, the British colonialists did not hesitate to resort to deceptive means. On the pretext that the river between Wusong and Shanghai was difficult to dredge, they requested the construction of a railway so that goods shipped to Wusong by sea could be transported to Shanghai by rail.
This request has not been approved by ***. The British invaders were unwilling to give up. In 1875, they smuggled railway equipment from the UK to Shanghai through the British businessman Jardine Matheson and laid tracks and roads without authorization.
On December 1, 1876, the entire line from Shanghai to Wusong was completed and opened to traffic. The aggressive actions of British imperialism aroused strong resistance. During the road construction period, the people along the route launched a spontaneous mass struggle against foreign aggression.
In September 1877, the Qing Dynasty paid a heavy sum of money to redeem the railway, but instead of using it, they dismantled the 15-kilometer-long railway line. 5. The origin and development of railways
Trains and Rails Today we are accustomed to seeing railways as the oldest mode of transportation.
However, few people know that the two inventions on which the appearance of the train is based have been known and utilized by people very early on. As early as the ancient Greek and Roman times, people at that time had begun to build roads and use rails and human or horse-drawn vehicles to transport items.
However, this brilliant invention was forgotten by people in the Middle Ages. It was not until the end of the 16th century that vehicles traveling along tracks were again used to transport coal in coal mines.
At that time, the wheels and tracks of these vehicles were made of wood covered with iron sheets. By the 18th century, steam engines appeared and were widely used in industry.
However, in transportation, steam engines and railroad tracks were still used separately for many years. When the two finally came together one day, railroads emerged.
Steam Locomotive The emergence of steam locomotive has a long history, which is full of genius ideas and failed applications. At the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, many outstanding figures tried to use steam engines in vehicles (the originator was Nicolas, a French artillery officer in 1763.
Joseph Quignot), and others tried to Let steam locomotives run on the rails (Englishman Richard in 1801 and 1803.
Trevitchik did such an experiment), but in the end it was Englishman George.
Stephenson was the first to invent a truly practical steam locomotive.
George. Stephenson was born in Newcastle in 1781.
In 1814, he built a steam locomotive called the "half-boot", which was the prototype of all subsequent steam locomotives. The Extension of Railroads After the invention of the first steam locomotive, the history of trains became primarily a history of railroad expansion.
For many years, the carriages powered by steam locomotives lacked tracks on which to run. The first railway to carry passengers was built by Stephenson in Bishop's Crane, England, with a total length of only 17 kilometers.
However, the railroad did not immediately enter its era of expansion. Against Stephenson's invention the anti-progressive old guard launched their characteristic attack.
They criticized that this huge evil machine would bring death to humans and animals and destroy the beautiful pastoral scenery. However, the railways eventually prevailed.
On September 15, 1830, the railway from Manchester to Liverpool was opened to traffic. This is considered the first true railway in history.
Since then, railroads have been developing rapidly and continuously. Huge projects such as bridges, viaducts and tunnels brought rails to various parts of the world.
Electric trains It was the German engineer and industrialist Werner who first came up with this idea. Feng.
Siemens, who built the first electric railway in 1881. In initial trials, the electric current used by the locomotives was transmitted directly through the rails.
Overhead cables were later invented to provide power, which was much safer and allowed fewer substations to be used to provide sufficient power to locomotives. This system was later also applied to subways and urban light rail trains.
In 1870, the first city train (also known as the Underground) officially started running in London, using steam locomotives. Twenty years later, the first electric subway was finally built.
Subsequently, almost all surface and underground railways were gradually electrified, and steam locomotives gradually withdrew from the stage of history. The legendary "rocket" In 1826, after overcoming huge resistance, the proposal to build a railway from Manchester to Liverpool was finally passed by the British Parliament.
In order to select the train locomotives used by this railway, the British *** launched a public tender to the society. The tender turned out to be a contest with enthusiastic public attention.
In October 1829, locomotives from four locomotive manufacturers held an open competition on the tracks near Linehill. Finally, George.
Stephenson's "Rocket" locomotive beat the competition. The "rocket train" successfully completed operations under various conditions and reached a record speed of 57 kilometers per hour.
Since then, the Rocket has become the most widely used train locomotive in the world. Brakes Invented around 1767, the brakes needed no reason at all.
Slowing down the speed of high-speed vehicles is the most natural requirement of modern society. From the day it was invented, the braking system has been a device that applies friction to the wheel to slow it down, but it has been gradually improved over time.
The most important invention of the brake device came from the Englishman George. Westinghouse, who invented the compressed air brake.
Prior to this, brakes were operated by hand. With this invention, the power of cylinders and pistons replaced human power.
More effective brakes allow trains to move faster because they provide greater safety. Maglev trains can reach speeds of 550 kilometers per hour and travel a few centimeters above the rails.
Its secret lies in the superconducting magnets installed on the rails and carriages. Since the 1970s, Germany and Japan have been studying this system and are close to putting it into practice. This kind of train is expected to replace the high-speed trains currently running in Europe.
Unlike conventional trains where the power comes from the locomotive, maglev trains are powered by the rails. The power plant of the maglev train is partly on the rails.
The magnets on the train body float the car body above the rails, while the magnets on the rails give the magnets on the car body a repulsive force to push the car body forward. By adjusting the intensity of the current passing through the magnet, the speed of the train can be easily changed.
It is expected that practical maglev trains in the future will have 130 to 220 seats per train and run at a speed of 300 to 500 kilometers per hour. The current maglev train speed record is set by Japan's MLX01.
In 1998, the operating speed of this train reached 550 kilometers per hour. Prior to this, the speed record for maglev trains was set by France's TGV train, which reached a speed of 515 kilometers per hour.
The MLX01 train uses a hydraulically operated aerodynamic braking system. There are three carriages, each with 30 to 41 seats.
The two ends are two streamlined heads carefully designed to reduce air resistance. This kind of train initially runs on wheels, and only starts to "float" on the track when the speed reaches more than 100 kilometers per hour, driven forward by magnets.
Underwater Train In 1994, people have always had the idea of ????connecting Britain and France through the seabed. 6. The first railway in Chinese history was built in that era
China’s first railway-Songhu Railway. 1872, the emerging Westernization Era. Representatives of American forces in Shanghai formed a "road company" in Wusong, the northern suburbs of Shanghai. They claimed to build an "ordinary road" between Wusong and Shanghai. They deliberately concealed their intention to build a railway because 10 years ago , when the American and British foreign gun teams assisted the Qing army in defeating the Taiping Army in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, they took the opportunity to propose to Li Hongzhang the construction of a Suzhou-Shanghai railway from Suzhou to Shanghai. Li Hongzhang did not dare to make the decision, so he petitioned with Shanghai Daotai Huang Fang Emperor Tongzhi, when the emperor heard this, Long Yan was furious and issued an imperial edict: "Building railways is a strange skill and is not in line with the Qing ancestors!"
This time they deceived Shanghai Daotai and The emperor started from Zhabei along Henan Road Bridge, Baotong Road, and Tiantong Temple, and surveyed and planned it for a year. However, because the cost was too high and he could not raise a large amount of money, he transferred the project to a powerful man who was based in Shanghai through the opium business. The upstart-British businessman Jardine Matheson.
After Jardine Matheson received the project information of the Songhu Railway, it immediately contacted some other British businessmen to establish the "Songhu Railway Company" and appointed the American Morrison as the chief engineer. A group of engineering and technical personnel, materials, locomotives and carriages were transported. After four years, on July 3, 1876, the 16.1KM Songhu Railway was opened to traffic. At this moment, Qing Dynasty woke up from a dream, but it was already The British were helpless because the British envoy Witoma only said one sentence: "British businessmen acquired land and built roads on their own and had nothing to do with China." One month after it was opened to traffic, the first train accident occurred on China's first commercial railway. It was a human accident. The deceased was a soldier. As the train rattled out of the platform at Tiantong'an Road, he fought against the train and died. This ordinary traffic accident shocked the Qing court. The newly appointed Emperor Guangxu sent the supervising minister Sheng Xuanhuai and the British envoy Mei Huili to sign the "Articles for the Purchase of the Songhu Railway" in Nanjing on October 24, buying it for 285,000 taels of silver. To get off this railway, the silver should be paid in three installments within one year from the date of signing the contract.
One year after it opened to traffic, on August 25, 1877, the Qing Dynasty paid all the money and the Songhu Railway was returned to China. Guangxu, who had the same hatred as Emperor Tongzhi, in order to vent his hatred The foreigners were angry and followed the "ancestral law" and ordered the Songhu Railway to be dismantled, and all the dismantled rails and railway equipment were shipped to Taiwan.
Europe's advanced technology encountered stubborn resistance from feudal China.
Of course, it later became famous because of the "Songhu Battle" that broke out around this abandoned railway from August 13 to November 13, 1937, when the Japs invaded China.
As for the self-built railway, as mentioned on the fourth floor, it is the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway built by Mr. Zhan Tianyou.
All the above are original creations based on the information I have read, and are only intended to be shared with friends who have the same hobbies. 7. What historical positive significance does the emergence of railways in China have?
The first railway in Chinese history - the Beijing-suburban Railway
In 1865, British businessmen built it outside Beijing. A small railway about 0.5 kilometers long was built to try out small trains. Unexpectedly, the people in Beijing regarded it as a "monster" and made such an uproar that Cixi hurriedly ordered the infantry yamen to be dismantled, which became a big joke in the history of railways. This matter is recorded in Li Yuerui's "Chun Bing Shi Ye Cheng": "In July of the fourth year of Tongzhi, the British man Durand built a small railway line, which was as long as 10 kilometers, and laid it on the ground outside the Yongding Gate of the capital, and drove it with a small car. It was as fast as flying. The people in the capital were astonished, and the whole country was in a state of madness. The commander of the Xuanjing Infantry Army ordered it to be dismantled, and the matter began to subside before he drove to Shanghai. It can import the power of our country for the railway."
The earliest operating railway in Chinese history - Wusong Railway
In December 1874, the British ignored the opposition of the Qing Dynasty. , built the Wusong Railway in Shanghai without authorization, which was the first railway for operation in China. The Wusong Railway runs from Shanghai to Wusong Town, with a length of 14.5 kilometers, a track gauge of 762 mm, and a track weight of 13 kilograms per meter. However, after all, this railway was forcibly built by Westerners without the consent of the Qing government in advance. Some farmers along the way who felt that their land rights had been harmed had conflicts with the railway company from time to time. In 1876, a train was allowed to pass through. Soon after, a Chinese was run over and killed. People were outraged and forcibly stopped the train from moving. In October, the Qing Dynasty signed the "Articles for the Redemption of the Wusong Railway" with the United Kingdom, redeeming the railway for 285,000 taels of silver, and completely demolished it in October 1877, throwing the rails into the sea.
The first railway built by the Chinese themselves - Taiwan Keelung Mining Area Railway
In 1877, Ding Richang, the governor of Fujian Province and a member of the Westernization Party, traveled from the Laoliaokeng mine in Keelung Coal Mine to Binhai in Taiwan. At the ship berth, we built the Taiwan Keelung Mining Area Railway by ourselves, setting the precedent for my country to build its own railways. Tang Tingshu said: "If coal and iron are transported simultaneously, we will have to build our own railways to see great benefits. This is the Taipei Mining Department. Before the coal mines are opened, the railways have been built first. This is what it means."
The first railway company run by the Chinese - Kaiping Railway Company
In 1881, the Chinese built another railway built by themselves - the Tangxu Railway. The railway started from Tangshan and ended at Xugezhuang (now Fengnan County), with a total length of 9.7 kilometers. Using 1.435 mm gauge and 15 kg per meter rail. This railway was built to develop the Kaiping Coal Mine. Under the auspices of the Qing Dynasty's Westernization faction, the Kaiping Mining Bureau was responsible for raising funds for construction. In 1886, the Kaiping Railway Company was established. After acquiring the Tangxu Railway, it began construction and independently operated the railway business. Kaiping Railway Company is the first self-operated railway company in China. In 1887, the Tangxu Railway was built to Lutai, and in 1888 it was built to Tianjin. In 1894, it was opened to traffic from Tianjin to Shanhaiguan and was renamed Jinyu Railway.
The first passenger railway in Chinese history - Taiwan Ji-Xin Railway
Liu Mingchuan approved the construction of the Taiwan Provincial Railway in 1887. The line takes Taipei as the center, goes east to Keelung Port, and goes southwest to Hsinchu. It was completed in 1891 and 1893 respectively. The two sections are about 107 kilometers long, with a track gauge of 1,067 millimeters and a track weight of 18 kilograms per meter. This is China's first government-run railway carrying passengers.
China's first self-designed and built railway - Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway
The Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway is a railway connecting Beijing and Zhangjiakou that was presided over by Zhan Tianyou and successfully built. It is a completely The railway, which was financed, surveyed, designed and constructed by China itself, is more than 200 kilometers long. Construction of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway started in September 1905 and was completed in August 1909. The Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway is the first railway trunk line designed and constructed by the Chinese themselves. It is a pioneering work in China's railway engineering technology.
8. About the history of trains or trains
The history of the development of trains - the invention of trains. Trains, like all other inventions, were created to meet social needs.
At the beginning of the 18th century, with the development of social productivity, people were in urgent need of a new type of vehicle that could carry more cargo and run faster than horse-drawn carriages. In this case, the Englishman Watt invented the steam engine.
This kind of machine is much stronger than a horse, and it attracted people's attention as soon as it came out. Some people want to install the "Hercules" steam engine on the vehicle to replace human or animal power to move the vehicle forward.
Interestingly enough, this bold idea was first realized in the military. At that time, in order to meet combat needs, the armies of various European countries adopted cannons with increasingly larger calibers and ranges.
As the weight of the cannon continues to increase, it is difficult to ensure that the cannon can follow the troops in time by pushing and pulling it. In response to this problem, a French artillery officer named Cignaud developed a "steam car" driven by a steam engine to pull, thus opening up the road to the vigorous development of modern vehicles powered by machines, and also paved the way for the development of trains. The foundation was laid for the birth.
How does this kind of mechanical vehicle with a steam engine mounted on the vehicle push the vehicle forward? We can see from its appearance that the steam engine has a large boiler installed on the front end of the frame. There is a coal fire burning under the boiler, which is used to heat the water in the boiler into steam.
Steam is introduced from a pipe on the boiler into the cylinder above the front wheel of the car. The steam is so powerful that it pushes the piston in the cylinder forward, and the piston passes through the connecting rod and crankshaft. It is connected to the front wheel, so as the crankshaft rotates, the wheel will rotate accordingly, thus making the car move forward. Shortly thereafter, this kind of black-smoking, panting vehicle appeared in Britain and Germany, such as the British steam locomotive made in 1804.
However, its appearance is different from before: some moved the boiler to the middle of the car, covered it with a cover, and installed several rows of seats on both ends; some moved the boiler to the back of the car. Department, and a carriage was installed in the front where people can sit, etc. The steam car looks a bit like a modern car.
Like most new things that suffered when they appeared, steam vehicles were criticized and excluded everywhere in European countries where horse-drawn carriages dominated at that time. Let's take Britain as an example. At that time, postal offices in various cities used a large number of horse-drawn carriages to transport mail.
In order to protect their own interests, the Post Office joined forces with carriage owners of all sizes to jointly deal with the newly born steam cars, and asked the government to impose various restrictions on steam cars. Later, the British Communist Party also sided with carriage owners to oppose steam vehicles and stipulated many regulations.
For example, the following order was issued to steam cars: when the steam car is driving, a person holding a small red flag must run forward 55 meters in front of the car to signal pedestrians to avoid it; where there are horses , the boiler of the steam vehicle is not allowed to deflate; the steam vehicle is not allowed to blow the whistle on the street; the speed of the steam vehicle when driving on the rural road must not exceed 6 kilometers per hour, and the speed cannot exceed 3 kilometers per hour in the city... This is simply worse than an old ox cart. Slow! It does look laughable now. Later, although people improved the steam car, it had inherent weaknesses. For example, the large and heavy steam engine installed on the car required frequent stops to add coal and water, which was very inconvenient to operate and also emitted a large amount of thick smoke. It also took up a lot of space in the car and could not carry much cargo, so people gradually became disappointed with it.
Just when people were worried about the future of steam cars, someone thought of using wood to make tracks in mines in the mid-16th century, and proposed laying tracks for steam cars ( Wooden tracks obviously won't work, and rails are needed), and the idea is to let it drag several carriages on the rails. This is a good idea. Not only can a lot of goods and people be loaded in the carriage, but it can also take advantage of the powerful steam engine to make the car run faster.
On September 27, 1825, the world's first railway from Stockton to Darlington in England was officially opened to traffic.
Steam locomotives (what we usually call locomotives) transformed from steam cars began to show their talents, and steam engines have come in handy since then.
This also announced the official launch of the world's first train. That morning, the "Sports" steam locomotive built and driven by Stephenson set out from Stockton, hauling 33 carriages.
The carriages were loaded with coal and passengers, while onlookers lined both sides of the railway. Some people were walking, some were riding horses, chasing and running around, surrounded by this huge snake-like monster that was driving slowly.
In 1828, Stephenson and his son *** jointly built the "Rocket" steam locomotive and participated in a competition. There were three locomotives participating in the competition. One of them had a boiler joint that burst shortly after the start of the competition. The other locomotive stopped running after traveling more than 40 kilometers due to a broken cylinder. Only the "Rocket" locomotive was running at an hourly speed of With an average speed of 22 kilometers, he towed more than 10 tons of cargo, ran a distance of 112.6 kilometers, successfully reached the finish line, and won the championship.
Since then, trains have attracted people's attention and have been developed in various countries around the world. When trains were just born, they ran relatively slowly. Some carriage owners who had always treated trains indifferently became even more arrogant and often compared themselves with trains to show how fast their carriages ran.
However, carriages did sometimes triumphantly run ahead of trains, which further prompted people to continue to improve trains. Early steam locomotives had various shapes: some were like steam rollers, some were similar to horse-drawn carriages (such as the British "No. 1 Steam Locomotive"), and some were similar to primitive cars... The carrying capacity of these locomotives They're not very big yet, and they can't run much faster than a horse-drawn carriage.
Because they all use coal or wood as fuel, the flames in the boiler are blazing and the smoke is rising into the sky when they are running, so people are accustomed to calling them "trains". Although it "eats" "coarse grain" - coal, it is very powerful, and the cost of coal is low and the source is abundant, so the steam engine has been used for a long time.
As a product of the development of industrial production, steam locomotives naturally attract the attention of some industrially developed countries. They built railways and trains one after another, and soon steam locomotives became popular all over the world.
By the middle of the 19th century, this trend of building roads and rolling stock had set off a craze. In addition to manufacturing their own steam locomotives, countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, and Germany also felt that building railways was profitable, so they sent trains to all over the world. Promote and promote, contract road construction and vehicle construction projects, and thus. 9. The World Development History of Railways
Railways are track lines for trains and other means of transportation.
"Cihai" explains the railway as: a traffic line that uses locomotive-tracted vehicles to form trains (or vehicles with its own power device) and runs according to regulations. Railway transportation is a land transportation method in which locomotives pull trains and vehicles on two parallel rails.
The traditional method is steel wheel travel, but railway transportation in a broad sense also includes non-steel wheel travel methods such as maglev trains, cable cars, and ropeways, or rail transportation. Railway rails can provide an extremely smooth and hard medium for train wheels to roll on with minimal friction, making people on them more comfortable, and it can also save energy.
If properly configured, rail transportation can save 50 to 70% of energy compared to road transportation when carrying the same weight. Moreover, the rails can evenly distribute the weight of the train, greatly improving the load-carrying capacity of the train.