Timeline of rail transport

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This is a timeline of rail transport.

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Time period Development summary
<18th century People have to use their own strength, and the power of animals, wind and water when they want to build, move anything, or transport themselves and their goods.[1]
18th century The steam engine -burning fuel to produce heat energy, is invented.2 By the end of the century, every mine in Great Britain already has its own simple railway network, with horses pulling carts from mines to factories.[2]
19th century The railway transport takes off during the century, with first lines built across Europe in the 1830s-1850s. However the second half of the century, local public transport is still primarily reliant on horses.[3]
20th century Diesel trains were introduced in the 1930s.[1] In the 1960s and early 1970s, a considerable interest is put on the possibility of building tracked passenger vehicles that could travel much faster than conventional trains. From the 1970s, interest in an alternative high-speed technology centers on magnetic levitation, or maglev, which rides on an air cushion created by the electromagnetic reaction between an onboard device and another embedded in its guideway.[4]

Full timeline

Year Event type Details Geographical location
600 B.C The earliest form of "railroads" is developed by the Greeks, who make grooves in paved limestone roads so that they could use wheeled vehicles to ease transport of boats across the Isthmus of Corinth. However, with the fall of Greece to Rome in 146 B.C., these early railways would fall into ruin and disappear for over 1,400 years.[4]
1515 Cardinal Matthäus Lang writes a description of the Reisszug, a funicular railway at the Hohensalzburg Castle in Austria. Austria
1550s Germany begins installing roads of rails called wagonways to make it easier for horse-drawn wagons or carts to cross the countryside. These primitive railed roads consist of wooden rails over which horse-drawn wagons or carts move with greater ease than over dirt roads.[4]
1764 The first railway in the United States is built in Lewiston, New York. United States
1769-1774 James Watt discovers the stationary steam engine.[2][1] United Kingdom
1770s Iron replaces the wood in the rails and wheels on the carts used on wagonways, which would then evolve into tramways that spread across Europe.[4]
1784 English ironmaster Henry Cort patents the puddling process, making iron cheaper to produce. United Kingdom
1787 John Curr, a Sheffield colliery manager, invents the flanged rail. United Kingdom
1789 Englishman William Jessup designs the first wagons with flanged wheels, which have grooves that allow the wheels to better grip the rail and is an important design that carry over to later locomotives. United Kingdom
1803 Samuel Homfray decides to fund the development of a steam-powered vehicle to replace the horse-drawn carts on the tramways.[4]
1803 William Jessop opens the Surrey Iron Railway, a double track plateway, erroneously sometimes cited as world's first public railway, in south London. United Kingdom
1804 British engineer Richard Trevithick successfully tests the first steam-powered locomotive to ride on rails. At seven tons, however, the locomotive is so heavy it would break its own rails.[5][2][6][7] United Kingdom
1809 The first railroad track in the United States is built in Chester County, Pennsylvania. The track is an experimental project, only 60 yards long.[8] United States
1811 John Blenkinsop invents a steam engine which has cogs on one of its wheels.[9]
1813 William Hedley builds his "Puffing Billy" to pull coal wagons at the Wylam Colliery in Northumberland. The transport is so reliable that it is used for fifty years.[9]
1814 Technology British engineer George Stephenson builds the very first steam engine for the locomotive.[4][6][7] United Kingdom
1820 John Birkinshaw invents wrought iron, a more durable material than cast iron. Wrought iron would then be used for rail systems until the advent of the Bessemer process.[4]
1821 Englishman Julius Griffiths was the first person to patent a passenger road locomotive.[4]
1825 The Stockton to Darlington rail line opens. Two locomotives are used (the "Experiment" and "No 1"), being able to pull 21 coal wagon 25 miles at 8 miles per hour. In many senses, 1825 is seen as the start of the age of the railways.[9][4] United Kingdom
1825-1830 Commercial appearance of train networks come late in the decade, with English inventor George Stephenson as pioneer in the field.[2]
1825-1835 The British Parliament agrees to the building of 54 new rail lines.[9] United Kingdom
1826 Colonel John Stevens -who is considered to be the father of railroads in the United States, demonstrates the feasibility of steam locomotion on a circular experimental track constructed on his estate in Hoboken, New Jersey. This happens three years before Stephenson perfected a practical steam locomotive in England.[4] United States
1829 The Rainhill trials take place. The "Rocket" built by George Stephenson becomes the winner of a £500 prize, after attaining about 30mph.[9] United Kingdom
1830 Line The Liverpool to Manchester railway opens.[9]
1833 Steam trains start operating on the line for passengers.[9]
1835 Line First railway line in Germany. Germany
1837 Line The first Cuban railway line opens, prior to Spain. The first line connects Havana with Bejucal.[10] Cuba
1837 The first train in India runs from Red Hills, Chennai to Chintadripet bridge in Madras. India
1838 Robert Stephenson, the son of George Stephenson, completes the London to Birmingham rail line.[9]
1839 Line First railway line in Italy. Italy
1841 Isambard Kingdom Brunel completes hos London to Bristol line - the Great Western Railway. This is considered such a stunning achievement that people use the rail line's initials (GWT) to call it "God's Womderful Railway".[9] United Kingdom
1842 Line First railway line in France. France
1851 Line First railway line in Russia. Russia
1852 Line The first railway in Africa opens, in Alexandria, Egypt. Egypt
1856 Englishman Henry Bessemer, who took out a patent on the later called Bessemer process, which would further enable cheaper production of steel in the late 1860s, sparking the rapid expansion of railways across America and other countries around the world.[4] United Kingdom
1863 The first section of the "London Underground" begins its work.[2] United Kingdom
1863 Line The construction of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States begins.[11] United States
1866 Scientific development German industrialist Werner von Siemens discovers the dynamo-electric principle.[3] Germany
1872 Line Japan develops its first railway line. Japan
1879 Technology Werner von Siemens demonstrates an electric railway with external power source at the Berlin Commercial Exposition.[3][1][12] Germany
1881 Technology The world's first electric tram line, Gross-Lichterfelde Tramway, openes in Lichterfelde near Berlin, Germany. It is built by Siemens.[3] Germany
1883 The Volk's Electric Railway opens in Brighton, England. United Kingdom
1890 Technology The entire London train fleet starts using electrical engines. This marks the beginning of the new era of urban rapid transit systems.[2] United Kingdom
1890s Steam powered passenger trains in England carry people living in the country to cities for work and for pleasure. City people travel by train to the countryside or the seaside. On some trains there are carriages with bedrooms, called sleeping cars, and restaurants and bathrooms have been added.[1] United Kingdom
1892 The diesel engine is invented by German engineer, Rudolf Diesel.[1] Germany
1901 The first electric monorail is built in Germany and is still running. It hangs from an overhead track.[1] Germany
1930s Diesel trains were introduced in the 1930s. These trains were faster, quieter and cleaner than steam trains, and meant passengers had a more comfortable ride and can carry much heavier loads than steam engines.
1964 Japan's Shinkansen high-speed train, often called 'bullet train', becomes the first high speed train in service.[1] Japan
1970-1975 Light rail vehicles come into use. These would replace trains in some places.[1]
2004 The Shanghai Transrapid Line in China becomes the first commercial high-speed maglev train line to run.[1] China

Meta information on the timeline

How the timeline was built

The initial version of the timeline was written by User:Sebastian.

Funding information for this timeline is available.

What the timeline is still missing

History of rail transport, [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]

Timeline update strategy

See also

External links

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 "Rail transportation: a timeline". kidcyber.com.au. Retrieved 7 February 2018. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "History of Rail Transport". trainhistory.net. Retrieved 7 February 2018. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "1879 – Siemens presents the world's first electric railway with an external power source". siemens.com. Retrieved 5 March 2018. 
  4. 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 "The History of the Railroad". thoughtco.com. Retrieved 7 February 2018. 
  5. "Biography of Richard Trevithick: Locomotive Pioneer". thoughtco.com. Retrieved 7 February 2018. 
  6. 6.0 6.1 "George Stephenson's First Steam Locomotive". historytoday.com. Retrieved 5 March 2018. 
  7. 7.0 7.1 Maksym Spiryagin; Colin Cole; Yan Quan Sun; Mitchell McClanachan; Valentyn Spiryagin; Tim McSweeney. Design and Simulation of Rail Vehicles. 
  8. Watson, William E.; Watson, J. Francis; Ahtes III, John H.; Schandelmeier, Earl H. The Ghosts of Duffy's Cut: The Irish Who Died Building America's Most Dangerous Stretch of Railroad. 
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 9.8 "Trains 1830 to 1900". historylearningsite.co.uk. Retrieved 7 February 2018. 
  10. Twigg, Alan. 101 Top Historical Sites of Cuba. 
  11. "The History of Train Travel". thecandidadiet.com. Retrieved 5 March 2018. 
  12. "1816 – Werner von Siemens is born in Lenthe, near Hanover". siemens.com. Retrieved 5 March 2018.