So, when and by whom was the train invented?
Railways have existed for a long time. Of course, they are not as advanced as they are now. Like other things, they develop slowly.
/kloc-in the 6th century, in the mine at the junction of Germany and France, workers laid two wooden tracks to transport the mined ore out of the mine, extending from the deep roadway of the mine, and the harvesters slid along the wooden tracks to transport the ore out. The wooden track at this time can be said to be an early "railway".
1784, the British Watt invented the general steam engine and applied for the invention patent, which triggered the industrial revolution and the rapid development of industrial production. In industrial production, steam engines are often used to help, but the manufacture of steam engines requires a lot of iron, and the work of steam engines requires a lot of coal, so it is necessary to mine a large number of coal mines and iron mines. After the ore is mined, it must be shipped out. Therefore, people have built many roads, especially a kind of rail wrapped in iron sheets on wooden rails in mines, which extends to the outside and coal and iron are transported out along it. This kind of railway is much better than the early wooden rails. It is mainly horse-drawn carriages that drive on this kind of railway.
But there are only two tracks, which are easy to be crushed after a long time and the car is easy to slip; In addition, often exposed to the sun and rain, wood is easy to crack and rot. So, later people changed them into rails, which were really made of cast iron. Sleepers were laid horizontally between the rails to make the rails more firm and not easy to crush, thus forming the earliest veritable railway.
Trevithick is a technician in a coal mine in England. At that time, the speed of horse-drawn rail cars used to transport ore in mines was relatively slow. In the end, only a part of the ore can be shipped out, which is far from meeting the transportation needs of the mine. Trevithick saw this kind of situation, and envisaged replacing horsepower with a steam engine, developing new means of transportation and manufacturing steam locomotives. From 178 1, he began to study hard. A few years later, Trevithick has been trying to solve one problem after another, such as how to make the steam engine smaller and install it on the locomotive, how to ventilate the boiler when the locomotive is running, how to exhaust the cylinder and so on. Finally, the world's first steam locomotive was built in 1804.
This is a steam locomotive with only one cylinder, which can pull five cars at a speed of 5 km to 6 km per hour.
Interestingly, the cab of this kind of locomotive in Trevithick is not designed and manufactured, so how can the driver drive it? He walked beside the locomotive when it was running. It is conceivable that the speed of the early trains was not fast, otherwise how could the drivers keep up after the start?
After the locomotive was built, Trevithick once conducted a test drive at Euston Square in London, England. There is a paddock. He laid a track in this circular paddock. A Trevithick train pulls a bus on it, showing people its majestic posture. Some citizens still ride bicycles in the trunk and take a few laps! This situation makes the onlookers itch and want to sit and watch the scenery.
However, the good times did not last long. Shortly after the locomotive was tried several times, accidents such as parts damage, rail overturning and railway track breaking often occurred. Trevithick has carried out several repairs and reforms, but accidents still cannot be avoided. Even Trevithick himself lost confidence. He doesn't want to do more research. He turned his attention to other aspects and gave up the exploration of trains. On the whole, Trevithick's attempt failed.
Soon, many engineers found the cause of the steam locomotive accident in Trevithick, which was caused by the skid of the rails. So many people have improved it. First, in 18 12, two Englishmen first added a toothed rail between two rails, and then installed a rotating gear on the locomotive belly, hoping that the gear could match the toothed rail, but the result failed. Later, in 18 13, another Englishman tried to fix two feet behind the locomotive so that they could walk alternately like human feet to push the cart forward, but failed.
At this time, Stephenson began to explore steam locomotives.
178 1 year, Stephenson was born in a family of coal miners in England. He was born in a poor family, and only his father's meager salary supported a family of eight. In order to make a living, Stephenson went to herd cattle at the age of 8, and 14 went to work in the coal mine with his father. Seeing that he was still young, the foreman asked him to do some chores of cleaning machines and keeping steam engine parts. Dealing with the steam engine every day makes him very familiar with the steam engine.
The transportation in the coal mine can't keep up, and the workers have to push their own carts or even carry heavy coal from the mine. The workers bent down, panting with fatigue, and sweat dripped from their faces covered with pulverized coal. Seeing that his father and the workers were so tired and so hard, and the transportation capacity in the coal mine was so low, Stephenson made up his ambition to change the present situation of coal mine transportation, reduce the labor of workers, and invent a better and more practical means of transportation than Trevithick locomotive.
However, Stephenson had no education, and he didn't know a few words at the age of 17, so he joined the night school for miners' children in the mine, which specially recruited children aged seven or eight, and studied cultural and scientific knowledge seriously.
Stephenson not only eagerly studied scientific and cultural knowledge, but also paid special attention to learning knowledge in practice. As soon as he had time, he went to observe all kinds of cars made by people at that time, and their advantages and disadvantages were clear in his mind. In order to master the performance of the steam engine better and more completely, he once worked and studied in Watt's hometown of Scotland for more than a year, not far from Wan Li. During this year, he deeply studied the structural principle of Watt steam engine and learned a lot of experience in trial-manufacturing steam locomotives.
At this time, the opportunity has quietly come to Stephenson. One day, the steam engine in the mine broke down and the technician didn't fix it for a long time. The boss and the workers were so anxious that the steam engine couldn't start. Stephenson came over and said confidently, "Let me try!" "Looking back, the boss turned out to be a handyman who cleaned the machine. He looked at him doubtfully. Because it was too late, he just nodded like a letter: "All right! "Stephenson was calm under the gaze of a pair of eyes and soon repaired the steam engine. Everyone was shocked, and the boss patted Stephenson on the shoulder happily and said, "Well done, young man! Starting today, you will be promoted to engineer. " Stephenson smiled. He won people's trust with his real skills, and finally stood out, rising from a computer room handyman to a mechanical engineer.
After the success of the initial test, Stephenson's inventions became more dynamic. 18 14 years, at the age of 33, he finally designed and manufactured the first new steam locomotive. This kind of locomotive can pull 30 tons of goods and travel 7 kilometers per hour. It is true that Stephenson's motorcycle is much faster than the previous one, but there are still many places that are not perfect. It was during the trial operation of this train that a nut on the train was shaken loose, the carriage overturned, and the British MP and the chairman of the British transport company were also injured.
This is in trouble. People who are opposed to the train, but also seize this matter, have accused, insisting that the train is not as safe as the carriage, and said that the noise generated by the steam engine when spraying steam scared all the cattle and horses near the railway. They came to the conclusion that it is impossible to use trains as a means of transportation. Under the strong momentum of the opposition, the coal mine owner also flinched, and Stephenson's first locomotive was put aside in obscurity like a train in Trevithick.
However, Stephenson did not flinch, and he began to improve the train. He thought of many ways to reduce the noise of the locomotive; Introduce the waste steam in the steam drum into the chimney with a small tube. This kind of steam has a great upward power, and smoke is also emitted faster. The air circulation in the furnace is accelerated, the coal combustion is more intense, and the locomotive traction is increased several times. At the same time, he also improved the railway, laying many pebbles under the sleepers to prevent the rails from breaking due to train vibration, and the modern railway began to take shape.
Just then, a good opportunity came to him again. 1823, the British government hired Stephenson as the chief engineer of railway construction to build the world's first 40-kilometer-long railway between stockton, a port city on the Raz River, and Darlington, which is famous for its rich coal. This railway is mainly used for transportation. However, this railway was not laid for address unknown, but for carriage transportation. Therefore, after the railway is paved, only carriages are allowed to travel. Stephenson, as the chief engineer, seized this opportunity, tried to persuade one government official after another, and finally made the British government agree to let the train run on it.
On September 27th, the opening ceremony of 1825 train was officially held in Stockton. The steam train "Yuanhang" dragged 33 carriages and carried 450 passengers, lying on the tracks like an iron dragon, waiting for the departure. Its main part is a horizontal drum made of iron and wood. There are two vertical cylinders on the boiler, which drive the four wheels under the boiler to rotate through the shaft. There is no cab on the locomotive, and the driver stands on the locomotive to operate; There is also an iron basket full of coal hanging next to the locomotive. When driving at night, igniting the coal in the basket is a bright lamp to illuminate the train.
Look, Stephenson is going to drive the train he built himself. "Drive!" I saw that the "Travel" started slowly, faster and faster, and the train was heading for Darlington City at a speed of 24 kilometers per hour.
Suddenly, people watching on both sides of the railway cheered. Some people run with the train excitedly, while others gallop with the train on horseback. Not to mention people, horses can't run the train. They have long been left behind by the train.
It worked! It worked! Stephenson successfully reached the finish line in the voyage. The passengers got out of the car excitedly one by one, surrounded Stephenson with the welcoming people and warmly congratulated him on his success.
From then on, the train was truly recognized by the world and boarded the historical stage of transportation.
Stephenson is recognized as the inventor of the train.