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Trains became a national medium for the modernization of backward regions and a leading advocate of this approach was the poet-politician Alphonse de Lamartine. One writer hoped that railways might improve the lot of "populations two or three centuries behind their fellows" and eliminate "the savage instincts born of isolation and misery."
Harry Turtledove's alternate history short story "The Iron Elephant" depicts a race between a newly invented steam engine and a mammoth-drawn train in 1782. A station master called George Stephenson features as a minor character alongside an American steam engineer called Richard Trevithick, likely indicating that they were analogous rather ...
According to his son Francis, Trevithick was the first to make high-pressure steam work in England in 1799, [11] although other sources say he had invented his first high-pressure engine by 1797. [12] [13] Not only would a high-pressure steam engine eliminate the condenser, but it would allow the use of a smaller cylinder, saving space and ...
A railway pioneer is someone who has made a significant contribution to the historical development of the railway (US: railroad). This definition includes locomotive engineers, railway construction engineers, operators of railway companies, major railway investors and politicians, of national and international importance for the development of rail transport.
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 or railcars.
Auto-Train Corporation begins running as independent line (1971), but fails in 1981; In 1983, Amtrak revives service and runs slightly renamed "Auto Train" as one of its more-heavily promoted lines. 1977: Amtrak carried 19.2 million passengers an average of 226 miles. [18] 1980: Railroads deregulated by Congress by Staggers Rail Act of 1980. [19]
Trains average speeds of 160 km/h (100 mph) due to congested shared urban tracks, with top speeds of 210 km/h. 1967 – Automatic train operation introduced. 1968 – British Rail ran its last final steam-driven mainline train, named the Fifteen Guinea Special, after of a programmed withdrawal of steam during 1962–68. It marked the end of 143 ...
Adding to injury, coaches were cramped with little leg room. Travel by train offered a new style. Locomotives proved themselves a smooth, headache free ride with plenty of room to move around. Some passenger trains offered meals in the spacious dining car followed by a good night sleep in the private sleeping quarters. [27] [dead link ]