So America didn't invent rail transportation after all.

JonMyrlennBailey

Active member
The railway system in Great Britain is the oldest in the world: the world's first locomotive-hauled public railway opened in 1825. Most of the railway track is managed by Network Rail, which in 2015 had a network of 15,760 kilometres (9,790 mi) of standard-gauge lines, of which 5,272 kilometres (3,276 mi) were electrified. These lines range from single to quadruple track or more. In addition, some cities have separate rail-based mass transit systems (including the extensive and historic London Underground). There are also several private railways (some of them narrow-gauge), which are primarily short tourist lines. The British railway network is connected with that of continental Europe by an undersea rail link, the Channel Tunnel, opened in 1994.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSzWnbPF8yE

Americans view trains as something archaic, the thing of Abraham Lincoln.
 
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The railway system in Great Britain is the oldest in the world: the world's first locomotive-hauled public railway opened in 1825. Most of the railway track is managed by Network Rail, which in 2015 had a network of 15,760 kilometres (9,790 mi) of standard-gauge lines, of which 5,272 kilometres (3,276 mi) were electrified. These lines range from single to quadruple track or more. In addition, some cities have separate rail-based mass transit systems (including the extensive and historic London Underground). There are also several private railways (some of them narrow-gauge), which are primarily short tourist lines. The British railway network is connected with that of continental Europe by an undersea rail link, the Channel Tunnel, opened in 1994.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSzWnbPF8yE

Americans view trains as something archaic, the thing of Abraham Lincoln.
Anyone who has any form of interest in railways should know that very basic fact ,in fact the first steam operated railway is even earlier , 1804 when Trevithick ran steam operated locos in a coal mine in Wales . Of course , horse drawn railways operated even earlier . I think I knew that when I was about six years old, they used to teach it at school in the 1950s . I wonder why some folk presume the USA is first at everything ?
 
What would make you really think that the US invented railroads ?

1804 First steam locomotive railway known as Penydarren or "Pen-y-Darren" locomotive was built by Richard Trevithick, used to haul iron from Merthyr Tydfil to Abercynon, Wales. The first train carried a load of 10 tons of iron. On one occasion it successfully tried hauling 25 tons.

I'm sure that there were mule pulled carts, on crude rails in the very late 1700's.

Standard gauge, 4' 8 1/2", was originally the gauge of English horse drawn wagon wheel width.

Roman chariots were the first vehicles that had a standard width gauge.
 
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The use of railed vehicles was common in Europe circa the 1600s. These were simple mine carts pushed by the miners and the technology was brought to England during the reign of Elizabeth the First. The iron masters and mine engineers in the North of England and in Cornwall developed the use of steam to propel a locomotive with Richard Trevithick being the first to build a successful locomotive.
So no, America did not invent railways. The first materials for railways in America were imported from Britain.
 
The railway system in Great Britain is the oldest in the world: the world's first locomotive-hauled public railway opened in 1825. Most of the railway track is managed by Network Rail, which in 2015 had a network of 15,760 kilometres (9,790 mi) of standard-gauge lines, of which 5,272 kilometres (3,276 mi) were electrified. These lines range from single to quadruple track or more. In addition, some cities have separate rail-based mass transit systems (including the extensive and historic London Underground). There are also several private railways (some of them narrow-gauge), which are primarily short tourist lines. The British railway network is connected with that of continental Europe by an undersea rail link, the Channel Tunnel, opened in 1994.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSzWnbPF8yE

Americans view trains as something archaic, the thing of Abraham Lincoln.

I'm much amused how this potted railway summary of railways in the Uk completely ignores a 100 years of railway history and moves straight to the present privatised system which has proved itself over and over again to be a huge mistake and a really bad idea.
 
I'm much amused how this potted railway summary of railways in the Uk completely ignores a 100 years of railway history and moves straight to the present privatised system which has proved itself over and over again to be a huge mistake and a really bad idea.


yep, its useless.
 
Anyone who has any form of interest in railways should know that very basic fact ,in fact the first steam operated railway is even earlier , 1804 when Trevithick ran steam operated locos in a coal mine in Wales . Of course , horse drawn railways operated even earlier . I think I knew that when I was about six years old, they used to teach it at school in the 1950s . I wonder why some folk presume the USA is first at everything ?

The Tom Thumb was the first American steam locomotive, 1830. The first American railway was the B&O, 1827. We imported our rolling stock and rails from the Brits originally.
 
The use of railed vehicles was common in Europe circa the 1600s. These were simple mine carts pushed by the miners and the technology was brought to England during the reign of Elizabeth the First. The iron masters and mine engineers in the North of England and in Cornwall developed the use of steam to propel a locomotive with Richard Trevithick being the first to build a successful locomotive.
So no, America did not invent railways. The first materials for railways in America were imported from Britain.

I was in Germany, 1993-1995, with the army. A sergeant told me the Germans were nuts about their trains. I rode on their U-bahn.
 
The Tom Thumb was the first American steam locomotive, 1830. The first American railway was the B&O, 1827. We imported our rolling stock and rails from the Brits originally.

We sure did import our stuff from Great Britain.

One of the earliest railways in the US was the Quincy Granite RR built to haul granite blocks from the Quincy quarries. There's a preserved portion of the tracks, which dates back to 1826.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granite_Railway

The rails and locomotive were imported from Great Britain and the sleepers were fashioned from granite blocks.

A short time later in 1831, the Boston and Lowell, was built between the namesake cities and opened in 1835. They too used granite sleepers with iron rails imported Great Britain along with locomotives and wagons with the first Planet class 2-2-0 being built by Robert Stephenson, and subsequent locomotives being built locally in Lowell. The passengers loved they could make the 45 minute trip between Boston and the namesake city at speeds up to 60 mph. (That's the same time it takes to make the same commuter trip today!), however, the granite sleepers made for a very bouncy and uncomfortable ride. In 1838 the company double-tracked the line and gave in and used wooden sleepers just as other lines did including the connecting Andover and Wilmington (Boston and Maine), Providence and Worcester and Boston and Providence, among others.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_and_Lowell_Railroad

Some of the old granite sleepers were discovered a few years ago while doing some track work along the line between Wilmington and Billerica. I don't know what happened to them, but I think they have been preserved.

To add a bit to our British legacy, the loading gauge for our local railroads is quite narrow compared to other parts of the US with some areas as close as 4 meters if not closer as well as low bridge heights, and lower tunnels.

EDIT:

Design docs for local transit authority:

https://bc.mbta.com/uploadedfiles/B...rack and Roadway March 8 2008 Revision_O1.pdf

Note the loading gauge for double track... This isn't the 4.5 meters or wider found elsewhere. This presents a problem with double-tracked freight and passenger operations with wider the freight cars we now use. In some areas, such as Lawrence, MA, for example, the freight line is single tracked and away from the platform of the new station on a runaround passing loop.

This gives frog designs, etc. which might be useful.

https://bc.mbta.com/uploadedfiles/B...rack and Roadway March 8 2008 Revision_O2.pdf
 
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I think that in general rail has done a great deal more better in Gt Britain than in the USA. Okay America is a big country but there are other large countries where passenger rail IS a much more impressive thing than the US which is more heavily freight. Even allowing for cuts back decades ago during the time the government ran things far more people travel on rail than in then. Even allowing for the difference in size ratio the other large countries have advanced with passenger rail. My part of the UK has had several rail lines shut back in the Beeching days that have been brought back as well. Even here in Trainz an excellent sim there is an obvious leaning from Americans of freight majority whilst here the opposite. We are fortunate........!
 
On 21 February 1804, the world's first steam-powered
railway
journey took place when Trevithick's unnamed steam locomotive hauled a
train
along the tramway of the Penydarren ironworks, near Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales.
 
You know that Donald Trump invented the railway; To quote, "Some folks call it a railway, Teresa May calls it a railway, I call it a railroad, it was tremendous, the biggest, believe me some people are saying it was the greatest, the longest, the most beautiful railroad, the likes of which the world has never seen, I never get any credit for it, but that's OK, I never do, I never do, it goes all the way from Florida to Jai-na and you the best thing? Mexico paid for it".
 
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