The history of trains spans the last two hundred years of modern human civilization, when this incredible discovery was used to revolutionize industry, influence the spread of humanity, and influence travel patterns.

Ever since the first steam locomotive rolled along the railroads of industrial England in the early 1800s, trains have helped people advance civilization. Remote lands became accessible, industrial production was supplied with an endless supply of raw materials and transportation of finished products was ensured.

Today they are used in different ways: from small city trams, metro, long-distance trains to freight and high-speed trains that can reach speeds of 300-500 kilometers per hour. However, their story began with much simpler and slower projects. The ancient civilizations of Greece and Egypt, as well as industrial Europe (1600s-1800s), used horses as their primary source of driving to move simple carriages.

The advent of the first steam engines in the early 19th century allowed engineers to create a new form of transport that was capable of transporting far more materials than ever before.

Invention of railway technology

The history of trains begins with one of the most important moments in the history of human development.

The very first train in the world appeared in 1804. It was able to transport 25 tons of iron material and 70 men over a distance of 10 miles (16 kilometers).

Throughout history, trains have been powered by steam, electricity, and diesel (although one of the earliest trains in the United States was horse-powered). They currently transport about 40% of the world's cargo.

The first commercial train (Stephenson's The Rocket) was able to reach a speed of 96 km/h. Today's models can travel at speeds above 200 km/h, and special "bullet trains" - more than 500.

Rail transport is a set of trains and rail systems through which passengers and goods are transported using wheeled vehicles specifically designed for movement on a track. It is a fast, efficient, but capital-intensive method of mechanized land transport. It is part of the supply chain that facilitates international trade and economic growth in most countries.

Trains and rail systems consist of two components: those that move and those that are fixed. The components that move are called rolling stock - locomotives, passenger vehicles and freight vehicles. Fixed include railway tracks (with their supporting structures) and auxiliary buildings.

History of railways

The earliest prototype of a railway is the six-kilometer Diolkos road, which carried boats across the Isthmus of Corinth in Greece in the sixth century BC. e. The trucks, pushed by slaves, moved in grooves in the limestone that prevented the cars from leaving their intended route. This road existed for more than 1300 years until 900 AD. e.

Iron plate rails

The first railways in Britain were built in the early seventeenth century mainly to transport coal from the mines to the canal wharves, where it could be transferred to a boat for onward transport. The earliest recorded examples are the Wollaton Wagonway in Nottinghamshire and the Bourtreehill - Broomlands Wagonway in Irvine, Ayrshire. The rails were made of wood back then and had to be replaced frequently.

In 1768, the Coalbrookdale Iron Works laid cast iron plates over wooden rails, providing a stronger load-bearing surface. They were later used by Benjamin Urtham at his foundry in Ripley, Derbyshire, where standardized track elements were produced for the first time. The advantage was that the distance between the wheels could be varied significantly.

From the end of the eighteenth century, iron rails began to appear. British civil engineer William Jessop developed smooth analogues, placing them on the route between Loughborough and Nanpantan, Leicestershire, as an addition to the Charnwood Forest Canal in 1793–1794. In 1803, Jessop opened what may be the world's first horse-drawn railway to Surrey in south London.

First railway lines

The earliest trains consisted of horse-drawn carriages on wooden tracks, some dating back to the 16th century. The first rail track to operate with a steam locomotive was the tram line from the Ironworks at Penydarren in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. On February 21, 1804, the locomotive successfully carried 10 tons of iron and 70 passengers at a maximum speed of 5 miles (8 km) per hour along a 9-mile railroad (about 14.5 km). This early experiment with steam was considered a success, but the weight of the locomotive damaged the road.

The first steam locomotive

The first railway to use a steam locomotive was Middleton in Leeds, UK. It was originally built in 1758 to transport coal using horse-drawn vehicles on wooden tracks. Matthew Murray built a locomotive called Salamanca with four flanged and one geared wheels that were connected to an adjacent prop for propulsion. Steam coal trains began operating on August 12, 1812. Three additional locomotives were built and operated until 1834. The railroad was converted to standard gauge in 1881 and still operates as a tourist/historic railroad.

The world's first passenger railway

It became the Oystermouth Railway. She originally (1804-1806) used horse-drawn vehicles to transport limestone between Swansea and Oystermouth in South Wales. Passenger service began on March 25, 1807, making it the first passenger railroad in the world. Passenger transportation lasted almost 20 years and ended in 1826, when the owners of horse-drawn carriages lured away the passengers.

First passenger railway to use a steam locomotive

It became the Stockton-Darlington railway, which operated 25 miles from Darlington in the north-east of England. In September 1825, Robert Stevenson Co. completed the first steam locomotive for the railroad. It operated for 27 months, carrying both coal and passengers. Additional locomotives arrived the following year, but passenger service was primarily done by horse until the full conversion to steam power in 1833.

Russian Empire

The beginning of the history of Russian imperial trains is connected with St. Petersburg. For the first time, such a train was demonstrated simultaneously with the official opening of the first Russian railway, which stretched between Tsarskoe Selo, St. Petersburg and Pavlovsk. The train consisted of eight carriages, which, in addition to Nicholas I, could contain ministers, members of the State Council and diplomats. The first trip between St. Petersburg and Tsarskoye Selo took 35 minutes.

However, the imperial train is really a train, the creation of which was timed to coincide with the opening of the railway between St. Petersburg and Moscow. It was intended to transport the emperor and his escort and consisted of two imperial carriages, as well as separate ones for the retinue and servants. At various times, he transported Nicholas I, Alexander II, Alexander III, as well as members of their families.

In 1888, the imperial train crashed. After this, two new trains were built: for trips abroad and within Russia.

By 1917, Russia had the world's largest fleet of imperial trains, which included not only outdated, but also the newest trains.

History of trains: Russian Railways Museum

This museum complex is the main one in Russia and one of the largest in the world. It was opened in 2017, but its history began back in 1978. Then it was opened. The first exhibition told about the history of trains, the Tsarskoye Selo and Nikolaev railways, about transport during the revolution and civil war, the first five-year plans, about railway workers during the Great Patriotic War, and about development in the post-war years.

In 1991, the first Museum of Railway Equipment opened in Shushary near St. Petersburg. Ten years later, a new exhibition appeared at the Warsaw Station in St. Petersburg. Over time, the Museum of the October Railway was transformed into the Museum of Russian Railways.

Trains are one of the most important forms of transport around the world. Millions of passengers travel by rail every day, and no one is surprised that you can buy a train ticket on the website without leaving your home and board the train by simply presenting to the conductor an electronic ticket (boarding pass) on paper (A4 format) or a screen mobile device and passenger identification document (electronic check-in). Often just a passport is enough.

Although trains appeared much earlier than automobile and, even more so, air transport, in fact, the emergence of railway communication is, one might say, a recent thing. Even 200 years ago, no one could have imagined that soon people would be able to comfortably travel any distance without the help of horses. The same applies to cargo transportation and mail delivery: only railways were able to create a unified transport system in the vast territories of America, Europe, and Russia, which significantly influenced the development of the economy. So, when and where was the very first train in the world created, and what was its speed?

Prototype of a modern train

The prototype of the train, a very primitive one, can be called trolleys, which began to be used in the 18th century in Europe. Between certain points, for example, a mine and a village, wooden beams (beds) were laid, which served as modern rails. Trolleys, moved by horses or... people, ran back and forth along them. At the end of the 18th century, single trolleys began to be connected to each other with iron rings to increase the efficiency of transportation. These short trains of several loaded trolleys, transported on wooden rails with the help of horses, became the prototype of the trains that are used in our time.

Russia is not far behind England. The first freight train with locomotive traction was launched in 1834, and already in 1837 the Tsarskoye Selo Railway was built and opened, along which passenger trains ran at a speed of 33 km/h. The honor of creating the first Russian steam locomotive belongs to the Cherepanov brothers.

The first steam locomotive

In 1804, the English engineer-inventor Richard Traithwick demonstrated the first steam locomotive to curious spectators. This design was a cylindrical steam boiler, to which were attached a tender (a cart with coal and a place for a fireman) and one carriage in which anyone could ride. The first steam locomotive did not arouse much interest among the owners of mines and mines, which Treytvik wanted to interest. Perhaps his essentially brilliant invention was ahead of its time, as often happens. The high cost of materials for making rails, the need to create all the parts of a steam locomotive by hand, the lack of funds and qualified assistants - all these negative factors led to Treytwyk abandoning his work in 1811.

First freight train

Using Treitvik's drawings and developments, many European engineers began to actively create and improve various types of steam locomotives. Since 1814, several models have been designed (“Blücher”, “Puffing Billy”, “Killingworth”, etc.), which were successfully operated by the owners of large mines and mines. The first freight trains could carry about 30-40 tons of cargo and reached speeds of up to 6-8 km/h.

First mainline train

On 19 September 1825, the first public railway ran on the first public railway between Darlington and Stockton, driven by its creator, George Stephenson. The train consisted of the locomotive "Mobility", 12 freight cars with flour and coal and 22 cars with passengers. The weight of the train, including cargo and passengers, was 90 tons, its speed in various sections was from 10 to 24 km/h. For comparison: today the speed of passenger trains is on average 50 km/h, and high-speed trains such as Sapsan - 250 km/h. In 1830, the Liverpool-Manchester highway was opened in England. On the opening day, the first passenger train passed along it, which included a mail car - also the first in the world.

First railways

The first railways were created mainly for the needs of industry. The engineers who worked on steam engines did not keep in mind the possibility of passenger transportation. The point was to create a convenient, inexpensive and labor-intensive way to deliver goods. Primarily coal. That is why the first railways in human history began to appear in large and deep mines. These roads reached the surface of the earth only at the end of the 18th century, with one exception. At the beginning of the 17th century, the Wollaton carriage road operated in England. The railways connected the villages of Wollaton and Strelley, near Nottingham. The three-kilometer road is believed to have been built between 1602 and 1604. Coal was transported along it from one village to another. In 1620 the mines at Strelley were closed and the road fell into disrepair.

Former Wollaton Railway. (wikipedia.org)

By the way, the question of how exactly the coal was transported still remains open. Steam engines began to appear only in the second half of the 18th century. Watt's machine was first demonstrated in 1784. The first railway appeared in Russia in 1788. This, we repeat, was not a passenger road, but an industrial road. The cast iron wheel line, as it was called, was built at the Aleksandrovsky Cannon Factory in Petrozavodsk for the needs of this enterprise. The project was developed by the head of the Olonets Mining Plants, Charles Gascoigne. The road was intended for transporting coal and tools. By the way, the cast iron wheel line is considered the world's first factory-built railway.

Charles Gascoigne. (wikipedia.org)

Steam engines
Watt began work on his first steam engine back in 1773. A year later, he opened a company to produce such machines, but in the early years it was not particularly successful. The Shah's leaders bought the plant's products, but did so very reluctantly. Watt's car was considered expensive and slow. It was then that the engineer thought about creating a universal mechanism. The idea was to make the steam engine suitable for use in more than just coal mining.

Newcomen engine. (wikipedia.org)

In 1784, Watt built his first heat engine. The machine converted the energy of water vapor into mechanical work, driving a piston. Watt's project was based on the work of French mathematician Denny Papin. Papin designed a steam-powered machine a hundred years before Watt, but he was unlucky. His project did not receive support from the Paris Academy. As a result, the inventor never found the money to implement his ideas.

Denny Papin. (wikipedia.org)

How did Steam Locomotives appear?

For a long time, railways were used only for transporting heavy goods. They mainly transported coal, cast iron and artillery pieces. The first passenger railway was built only in 1801. It connected the towns of Wandsworth and Croydon. Horses were used for transportation, since the first steam locomotive appeared only three years later, in 1804.

The horse carries passengers. (wikipedia.org)

It was built by engineer and inventor Richard Trevithick. True, his locomotive turned out to be too expensive and heavy. The cast iron rails could not support the weight of Tretivick's machine. Another inventor, George Stephenson, was much more successful. He proposed a more economical model of steam locomotive and even convinced the management of several mines to jointly build a railway between Darlington and Stockton.

Railway between Darlington and Stockton. (wikipedia.org)

Its rails were strong enough to support the weight of the locomotive. Later, construction began on a public railway between Liverpool and Manchester. The only question that remained open was which locomotives would run between the cities. By that time, designs for steam-powered machines had already been proposed by several dozen inventors. There was a real struggle for patents. The railroad's leaders, at Stephenson's suggestion, came up with a decent way out of the situation. They organized a steam locomotive race, the winner of the competition received the right to become the main locomotive of the road. Steam locomotive competitions were held in 1829 in the city of Rainhill. The Raketa steam locomotive, designed by Stephenson, won the competition.

Stephenson's "Rocket". (wikipedia.org)

Only “Rocket” managed to pass all the tests, developing an average speed of up to 20 kilometers per hour (the weight of the cargo was 13 tons). The competitors of the Stefanson locomotive (4 cars) quickly left the race. The decisive moment was the explosion of the boiler of the Novelty steam locomotive, which reached speeds of up to 45 kilometers per hour and was considered the main contender for victory. By the way, the first models of the Raketa, like the first models of other steam locomotives, did not pull the cars behind them, as is the case now, but pushed them. However, it was the success of the Rocket that marked the beginning of the steam locomotive boom in Europe. Railways began to appear in England, France, Germany and Austria. Russia was not left out either. Emperor Nicholas I was a big fan of railway transport. In 1837, a 27-kilometer road was opened connecting Tsarskoe Selo and St. Petersburg. The locomotive that drove the train was purchased from George Stephenson. By the way, by that time Russia already had its own steam locomotive project. Father and son Cherepanovs designed a steam engine in the mid-1930s. She drove trains with ore and reached speeds of up to 15 kilometers per hour. However, the production of steam locomotives was established in Russia only in 1870. Before this, the Empire preferred to purchase cars abroad. And yet, Russia has made a significant contribution to the development of railway transport. It was Russian railway workers who proposed the concept of a sleeping car, where a passenger could live for several days or even a week. In 1924, a diesel locomotive was built for the first time in the Soviet Union. Over time, diesel locomotives replaced steam locomotives on railways around the world.

Opening of the Manchester - Liverpool railway. (wikipedia.org)

The construction of steam locomotives also developed at a rapid pace in the United States. It is known that railways came to some states even earlier than local authorities. In the USA, before the outbreak of the Civil War, the practice of locomotive racing was widely used. Such competitions helped inventors identify the shortcomings of their new models and, at the same time, attracted public interest in railways. In the 40s of the 19th century, about ten similar competitions took place in the USA.

Who is who in the world of discoveries and inventions Sitnikov Vitaly Pavlovich

Who invented the train?

Who invented the train?

In ancient times, during antiquity, man invented rails. Already in Assyria and Babylon 4000 years ago there were carts with two or four wheels that ran on rails. But they could only move in one direction. In order for such a cart to turn right or left, the rails had to be rearranged.

Only 1500 years later, at the beginning of a new era, a new type of rail appeared. These were long polished tree trunks mounted on sleepers located perpendicularly. They were used to move particularly heavy loads. Already in the 16th century, mine trolleys were invented that moved along a rail track.

The Englishman Richard Trevithick was the first to think of adapting a steam engine to travel on rails. This happened in 1804.

The car was called a locomotive and could pull 5 carriages with 70 passengers and transport 5 tons of coal. This train ran on cast iron rails, manufactured at a factory in Wales.

At first the rails were wooden. Then they began to be made from iron and cast iron. This increased the service life of the rails and ensured the safety of passengers.

Of course, the first locomotive was still very imperfect technically. Its speed reached only 8 kilometers per hour (4.9 mph). But in 1816, J. Stephenson created a more advanced locomotive.

In 1825 the first railway line connected Darlington with Stockton. It was used for transportation of coal. In 1830, a line was built between Manchester and Liverpool, which was intended to transport goods and passengers.

The Rocket locomotive, created by Stephenson, reached a speed of 47 kilometers (29 miles) per hour on this line!

In the 19th century, England began to intensively develop railway transport. Already in 1833, all coal mined in the country was transported by rail. Two years later, there were 720 railway lines in England equipped with steam locomotives. Note that in Europe the first line connected Brussels and Malins in 1835. The first Dutch train connected Amsterdam with Haarlem in 1839.

Since then, railway transport has developed intensively and now occupies a leading place in the world. Several times more cargo is transported by rail than by all other modes of transport.

This text is an introductory fragment. From the book 100 Great Wonders of Technology author Mussky Sergey Anatolievich

High-speed TGV train Recently, many countries around the world have seen a renaissance in the development of railway transport. It is associated with a sharp increase in the speed of passenger transportation. As a result of increased travel speeds and reduced travel times

From the book How to Travel author Shanin Valery

Train or bus? If you have a choice - train or bus, then you should prefer the first. The train is a more comfortable and safe means of transport than a bus or car. The difference is especially noticeable in poor countries in Asia and Africa. Even in cases where the inside

From the book Holidays without intermediaries author Romanovskaya Diana

Train The blue carriage is running, swaying... It has its own charm... You are sitting, the train is moving, and outside the window, as if on a TV screen, forests, fields, roads are passing by. Bridge supports, houses, and lonely pedestrians rush by. Roadside poles flash. Landscapes change each other to the rhythmic

From the book 100 Great Mysteries author Nepomnyashchiy Nikolai Nikolaevich

author Team of authors

Bunker-train Bunker-train is a loading and transport unit for loading, unloading and moving rock mass. The bunker train consists of narrow-gauge sections with high sides, hingedly connected to each other. These sections look like a continuous bunker-chute,

From the book Great Encyclopedia of Technology author Team of authors

Recovery train Recovery train is a railway train, intended for the restoration of the railway track, the contact electrical network of the railway, in case of natural disasters, in the event of a collision of rolling stock, to eliminate the consequences

From the book Great Encyclopedia of Technology author Team of authors

Freight train A freight train is a train consisting of freight railway cars. A freight car has the main elements: body, chassis, traction devices, brakes. Chassis are wheelsets, spring suspension axle boxes, connecting frames and beams. WITH

From the book Great Encyclopedia of Technology author Team of authors

Freight-passenger train A freight-passenger train is a railway train that simultaneously includes both passenger and freight cars, but for the transportation of certain goods - mail, luggage, containers, etc. As a rule, freight cars make up 1/3

From the book Great Encyclopedia of Technology author Team of authors

Passenger train A passenger train is a train consisting of passenger cars. A passenger car consists of a body, running parts, traction devices, and braking devices. Chassis – wheel pairs ensure traffic safety and smooth running. Brake

From the book Great Encyclopedia of Technology author Team of authors

Snowplow train A track machine designed to clear snow from railway tracks. A snowplow is a special car with snow clearing devices, control mechanisms, an engine, and lighting equipment placed on it.

From the book Great Encyclopedia of Technology author Team of authors

Snowblower train A track machine designed for removing snow from station tracks and turnouts, transporting and unloading it. The modifications are different: either it is a separate car (gondola car) with devices for cleaning, loading,

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Fire train A fire train is a railway train used to extinguish fires at railway facilities and nearby a right of way of at least 24 m. In Russia, fire trains are in service with fire department units created in 1934. As part of the fire brigade

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From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (AV) by the author TSB

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (PO) by the author TSB

On November 11, 1837 (October 30, old style), the grand opening of the first railway in Russia from St. Petersburg to Pavlovsk took place, marking the beginning of the construction of a railway network in Russia.

On that day, a note appeared in the Vedomosti newspaper: “It was Saturday, the townspeople flocked to the old regimental Church of the Introduction at the Semenovsky parade ground. They knew that an unusual railway was opening and “a steel horse carrying many, many carriages at once” would set off for the first time However, not everyone was able to see the first train. Commoners were not allowed into the station itself, which had only recently been built. At exactly 12:30 a.m. the tiny locomotive blew a piercing whistle, and eight carriages with the noble public set off on the route St. Petersburg - Tsarskoe Selo."

It was the first public railway in Russia (before the opening of the Nikolaev Railway in 1851), the only one in the country and the sixth in the world. It was built to provide railway communication between Tsarskoye Selo station in St. Petersburg, Tsarskoye Selo and Pavlovsk.

The construction of the road was led by the Czech engineer, professor at the Vienna Polytechnic Institute Franz von Gerstner. In the summer of 1835, he managed to convince the emperor of the benefits of railways, allowing for the rapid transfer of troops.
The decree of Emperor Nicholas I to the Senate approving the “Regulations on the establishment of the Society of Shareholders for the construction of a railway from St. Petersburg to Tsarskoe Selo with an extension to Pavlovsk” was published on April 16, 1836 (old style).

On May 1, 1836, construction of the railway from Pavlovsk began. In July, a platform under a canopy for visitors was ready and the foundation of the hotel building was laid. On September 10, a station and a locomotive depot with a turning circle were laid in Tsarskoe Selo. By September 30, the rails were laid at a distance of 22 versts from Pavlovsk. At the end of September, test rides (several carriages) were carried out on horse-drawn trains from the platform in Pavlovsk to Tsarskoe Selo.

On November 3, 1836, the first running-in of a steam locomotive took place. It was delivered disassembled by sea from England to Kronstadt, and from there along the bay, the Obvodny Canal and on horseback to Tsarskoye Selo, where it was assembled and tested.
The first train consisted of 8 cars and a three-axle locomotive, built at the Stephenson plant in England. The train consisted of four classes of carriages. The most comfortable carriages were called “Berlins”: these were carriages with covered bodies and soft seats for eight people. The capacity of carriages of other classes was 10 passengers. "Stagecoaches" were soft covered carriages with a larger capacity. The following classes were represented by open carts ("lines"): carts with roofs were called "sharabans", without a roof - "wagons". The carriages had no heating or lighting.
At Gerstner's request, the locomotives had to have a power of 40 horsepower and be able to transport several carriages with three hundred passengers at a speed of 40 versts per hour.
To increase the carrying capacity of the road, Gerstner decided to use rolling stock with a gauge of 1829 mm, rather than 1435 mm, which was adopted on railways in England.

On the very first voyage from St. Petersburg to Tsarskoe Selo, the locomotive was brought by Professor Franz von Gerstner himself. The length of the road was 27 kilometers; the trip took 35 minutes and the return trip took 27 minutes; Thus, the maximum speed reached 64 km/h, and the average was 51 km/h. At the time, this seemed like a fantastic achievement.

In the first six months of operation, horse traction was used on the road, and steam traction was used only on Sundays or holidays. The complete transition to "steam" occurred in April 1838, and in May train traffic was opened on the St. Petersburg - Pavlovsk section.

In the first years, the fare for first and second class passengers was 2.5 and 1.8 rubles, respectively, for third and fourth class passengers - 80 and 40 kopecks.

In 1837, a station was built for the first railway in Russia between St. Petersburg and Tsarskoe Selo. According to Gerstner's plan, the railway station in St. Petersburg was supposed to be located on the embankment of the Fontanka River, but the money allocated for construction was only enough for the construction of the railway itself and the construction of a station in Tsarskoe Selo. Then it was decided to build a temporary wooden station a little away from the site allocated for the station. This is how the oldest train station in Russia, Vitebsky, was built. In 1849-1852, according to the design of the architect Konstantin Ton, a stone building was built, which existed until the beginning of the 20th century.

The modern station building was built in 1904 in the Art Nouveau style (architects Stanislav Brzozovsky, Sima Minash).

The cost of building the first railway in Russia was estimated at 5 million rubles (almost 10% of this amount was spent on the purchase of rolling stock and rails). In 1838, the road carried 700 thousand passengers and began to generate income, which allowed it to recoup all costs of construction and operation of all vehicles in five years.

As an independent railway, the Tsarskoye Selo road existed until 1897, after which it was included in the Moscow-Vindavo-Rybinsk railway and was changed to Russian gauge (1524 mm). Only six locomotives were converted to the Russian gauge. In total, during its independent existence, 34 steam locomotives were delivered to the Tsarskoye Selo Railway.

In 1987, on one of the platforms of the Vitebsk station, in a special glass pavilion, a model of the train that made the first flight in Russia from St. Petersburg to Tsarskoe Selo was installed in 1837.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources