User:G-Man/works in progress
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Rail transport has a long history.
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Early history
The idea of using some form of tracks to guide a wheeled vehicle is not a new one, the first recorded use was in ancient Babylon in around 2245BC. These tracks were formed of parallel lines of stone blocks with grooves in the centre.
The advantages of pulling wagons over a raised guided track as opposed to rough ground were obvious, it allowed a number of wagons to be hauled at the same with minimum friction.
In Europe in the 16th century, simple horse-drawn wagonways (also called Tramways) became popular. These usually consisted of parallel wooden tracks on which a train of wagons could be hauled by a horse, sometimes the wooden rails would have iron plates fastened on top to strengthen them, these were usually known as plateways.
Typically wagonways were used to transport material from a mine to a river or canal port where the cargo could be loaded onto boats. Wagonoways were usually only a few kilometres long.
The first all iron rails were used at Bath, England in 1761
The arrival of steam
The next major step in the evolution of rail transport was the replacement of animal propulsion with mechanical propulsion. Modern rail transport evolved almost entirely in Great Britain.
The steam engine had been invented in England in the 18th century by amongst others, Thomas Newcomen and James Watt and had been key to the begining of the industrial revolution. However early steam engines were too large and inneficient to be anthing other than stationary engines used for pumping water out of mines or powering factory machinery.
By the early 19th century, steam technology had improved to the point where engines which were both small and powerful could be built.
Although a few earlier attempts had been made, Englishman Richard Trevithick was the first man to sucessfully apply steam power to vehicle propulsion. After building several steam propelled road vehicles, in 1804 he produced the worlds first railway steam locomotive, which ran at the penn-y-darren ironworks in Wales. Although Trevithick's engine worked, it was too heavy for the cast-iron tracks which were designed for horse-drawn trains.
The design of steam locomotives improved gradually aver the following decades, gradually improving speed and efficiency. The first railway line to use steam traction succesfully was the Stockton and Darlington Railway which opened in 1825, and was innitiated by the first ever steam hauled passenger train.
A breakthrough in design was achieved by Robert and George Stephenson's Rocket in 1829 at the Rainhill Trials. The main innovations being a multi-tubular boiler, and exaust steam updraft through the chiminey to draw air into the fire.
In 1830 the world's first purpose built steam railway, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway began operating, and the era of modern rail transport began. Soon a national network of railways was being built throughout Britain. And soon began to spread throughout the world.
By the 1840s rail transport had spread to North America and continental Europe. It then spread to Asia, Africa, and South America, in the former two usually as a result of colonial imposition.
The effects of rail transport
Rail transport revolutionised many aspects of life during the 19th century. Before the arrival of rail transport, no transport mode was faster than either walking pace or the walking pace of a horse, rail transport enabled large numbers of people and goods to travel over long distances quickly, prior to this most people rarely ventured more than a few kilometres beyond their homes.
It also had a major economic effect, as rail transport enabled the efficient transport of goods, it enabled greater economy of scale in manufacturing as centralised production displaced many local or craft industries. It also enabled industrialisation on a scale not before seen.
Rail transport also revolutionised warfare during the 19th century, as it enabled the transport of large numbers of troops and supplies to be transported to the battlefield quickly and without days or weeks of marching. In the American Civil War of the 1860s it is generally considered that the superior rail network of the northern states was a factor in the eventual victory over the south.
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History
The idea of building a railway line from London to Birmingham had been mooted as early as 1823 when a company was formed by John Rennie to build such a line. Rennie proposed to build a line between the two cities via Oxford and Banbury (the route later used by the Great Western Railway).
Soon afterwards another rival company was formed by Francis Giles who proposed to build a line via Coventry. The two companies were unsuccesful in achieving backing for their schemes, and in the autumn of 1830 the two companies decided to combine their efforts.
The joint company appointed Robert Stephenson as chief engineer, and he soon decided in favour of the route through Coventry, largely because he feared flooding from the River Thames at Oxford.
The prospectus for the London and Birmingham Railway offered the following inducements to potential investors:
- First, the opening of new and distant sources of supply of provisions to the metropolis; Second, Easy, cheap and expeditious travelling; Third; The rapid and economical interchange of the great articles of consumption and of commerce, both internal and external; and Lastly, the connexion by railways, of London with Liverpool, the rich pastures of the centre of England, and the greatest manufacturing districts; and, through the port of Liverpool, to afford a most expeditious communication with Ireland.
The first act
Warwickshire came into existence in the 11th century but the area was inhabited for centuries before. In Roman times, for the first few decades following the Roman invasion of Britain in AD 43, the Warwickshire area was at the frontier of Roman rule. As a result the area was heavilly militarised