History Of Trains
At one
time trains were the most convenient mode of travel across our vast
land and the best way of transporting our mechanisms from one end of
the country to the other. Trains started in the early days being wood
fired steam engines. But it was hard carrying enough wood to travel
far, and in some places in the midwest there was very little timber to
be found, so the wood fired steam engines were replaced with coal fired
engines.
Coal burned much slower and hotter, thus the train could expand its
mileage. Also more coal could be dug and transported to places where
the storage behind the engine could be replenished. This created more
jobs for the working class of people. Coal yards became a vast and
major business throughout our land. Coal was not only for the trains to
use, but also became a way to heat our homes and factories. And almost
all the coal was hauled by the train itself.
Later the engines were converted to oil fired engines, thus increasing
the work load and also increasing the distance travelled before filling
the tender (short car at the end of the engine that holds the fuel.)
The train opened a way of travel for us. Soon trolley cars were
installed to transport citizens throughout the cities. "Street Cars"
were so named because they carried passengers from street to street.
Short distance travel became possible from outlying towns to the city.
This type of travel was called Interurban and was mostly electric
powered by overhead trolley type lines. But soon most electric train
type travel gave way to diesel engines. In later years, street cars
were replaced with a mode of train-like transportation called subways
which are still widely used in big cities all over the world.
The First Steam Powered Train
The invention of the steam engine was critical to the invention of the
modern railroad and trains. In 1803, a man named Samuel Homfray decided
to fund the developement of a steam-powered vehicle to replace the
horse-drawn carts on the tramways. Richard Trevithick (1771-1833) built
that vehicle, the first steam engine tramway locomotive. On February
22, 1804, the locomotive hauled a load of 10 tons of iron, 70 men and
five extra wagons the 9 miles between the ironworks at Pen-y-Darron and
the town of Merthyr Tydfil in Wales. It took about two hours.
The First Transcontinental Railroad
In spite of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad
Act of 1862 giving permission to begin the first transcontinental
railroad. One of the central routes was chosen; from Omaha, Nebraska to
Sacramento, California. The Union Pacific Railroad (1,038 miles long)
began constructing a line west of Omaha while the Central Pacific (742
miles long) started east from Sacramento. After incredible hardships
the two railroads were joined together at Promontory, Utah, on May 10,
1869. The last spike driven into the rail ties was made of gold.
 Check out my favorite railway stations:
The Strasburg
Rail Road in Strasburg, PA
Boothbay
Railway Village in Boothbay, Maine
Wiscasset,
Waterville and Farmington Railway Museum in Alna, Maine
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