History of the Railway

Source: Sopena Universal Encyclopedia, year 1978

The railway was properly born with the invention of the steam boiler, capable of providing traction power. The idea is due to Isaac Newton, who built in 1680 the first device of this type, albeit it had to be discarded because of not being practical. Other attempts followed with relative success, until George Stephenson finally solved the problem in 1815, when he built a locomotive intended for the transportation of coal. Later it was adapted for the transportation of passengers, which gave way to the rapid development of railroads and locomotives. One of the difficulties that the railway found on its expansion was the laying of railroads, especially in the countries of rough terrain, where the labor was complicated because of the necessity of flattening the terrain, widening passes and excavating tunnels in mountains. However, the problems were overcome because the results compensated the initial inconveniences.

The first proper railway, with mechanical traction and intended for the transportation of freight and passengers, was inaugurated in Great Britain the 27th September 1825 and it covered the route between Stockton and Darlington. The first European countries which adopted this useful invention were: France in 1832, Belgium in 1835 and Germany in 1835. The first railway in Spain was inaugurated the 28th October 1848 and it covered the route between Barcelona and Mataró. After Great Britain, United States was the first country in the world which adopted and improved this invention, the 29th August 1829. Among the American countries followed: Canada in 1840, Mexico in 1850, Chile in 1850, Peru in 1851, Brazil in 1854, Argentina in 1857, Uruguay in 1869 and Bolivia in 1873. The first Asian and African countries which adopted the railway were respectively India in 1853 and Egypt in 1856. In Australia it was introduced in 1854.

In the beginning the railway used only the power of steam but already in the late 19th century the electric energy began to be applied. The 20th century witnessed the almost total electrification of railroads and the introduction of the Diesel engine. Electricity has a great number of small and big advantages over steam, ranging from a much greater cleanliness to a greater traction uniformity and power, without forgetting the speed factor which is so important nowadays.

The railway has evolved so much since its earliest times that nothing on it recalls the primitive models. Locomotives, being able to dispense with the burden posed by coal and water, have adopted more rational shapes regarding their dynamical needs. The wheel set has been perfected to increase stability and the coupling between the different elements (wagons or cars) has been progressively tightened to the point of forming the whole train an almost compact unit. On the other hand, the increase of the traction power has multiplied its load capacity, rendering it irreplaceable in the transportation of cargo and passengers. Regarding the speed, the 25 kilometers/hour developed by the first locomotive can be comfronted with the 200 kilometers covered in the same timespan by the electric train of the Tokio-Osaka line, which besides is automatized and remotely controlled. Also the rails, which in the beginning did not exceed a length of 12 meters, because it was believed to be very important to leave space between them to avoid deformations caused by the effects of dilation and contraction, are nowadays welded to the point of reaching lengths of up to 4 kilometers whilst the most common rail has a length of no less than 15 meters.

Another aspect is the railroad gauge, which is of capital importance for the direct linkage between the railroads of different countries. This was solved by resorting to a railroad gauge of international validity (1435 millimeters), to which a large part of the European countries adhered. In contrast with this, Spain kept a railroad gauge of 1668 millimeters imposed by a law of 1885. This discrepancy caused the evident nuisance of transfer with the French railway. The viable solution to this problem was put into practice in 1968, when it was introduced a Talgo train with wheels arranged in such a way that it was possible to adapt them automatically to either the Spanish and the international gauge. Thanks to this system Spain could link directly with the European railroads.

Railways have suffered modifications also in their structure. In this regard it is noteworthy the system which uses a single rail (monorail train) which, by decreasing friction, increases the speed. The most recent novelty is constituted by the so called airtrain and tubular train, both in experimental stage. The first one is a monorail train which, propelled by a turbopropeller engine, slides above an "air cushion" at speeds of up to 400 kilometers/hour. The second one uses the "air cushion" as well but in this case the air absorbed by an entry turbine pushes the train at speeds above 800 kilometers/hour.

Railway: 1. First train which operated in Spain (1848). 2. Steam locomotive. 3. Electric locomotive. 4. Diesel locomotive. 5. Covered freight wagon. 6. Passenger car. 7. Railcar. 8. Monorail train.

Locomotives: A. Trevithick (1808). B. Rocket by George Stephenson (1829). C. American (1829). D. German (1861). E. French (1925). F. French tender (1882). G. British from the Midland Railway. H. For express trains (1937). I. American for the large transcontinental trains (1942). J. Electric (1899). K. Electric (1910). L. Electric (1950). M. Diesel. N. Scheme of a steam locomotive: 1. Smoke box. 2. Exhaust. 3. Reheater. 4. Collector. 5. Reheating elements. 6. Cold water inlet. 7. Sand box. 8. Regulator. 9. Safety valve. 10. Whistle. 11. Startup lever. 12. Speed shifting wheel. 13. Tender's coal storage. 14. Fireplace. 15. Ashtray. 16. Firebox cup. 17. Combustion chamber. 18. Tubular boiler. 19. Inner connecting rod. 20. Coupling connecting rod. 21. Feeding pump. 22. High pressure cylinder. 23. Outer connecting rod. 24. Low pressure cylinder. O. Scheme of an electric locomotive: 25. Whistle. 26. Ventilator. 27. Compressor. 28. Pantograph and electricity intake. 29. Ventilation duct for motors. 30. Commutator switches. 31. Ventilator for oil radiator. 32. Oil cooler. 33. Oil pump with impulsion motor. 34. Transformer. 35. Sand box. 36. Accumulator box. 37. Driving pinion. 38. Elastic cogwheel. 39. Traction motor. 40. Axle box. P. Scheme of an atomic locomotive: 41. Control panel. 42. Auxiliary generator. 43, 45 and 47. Traction motors. 44. Ventilators. 46. Boiler. 48. Reactor's protective envelope. 49. Command levers. 50. Reactor. 51. Main generator. 52. Turbine. 53. Air-cooled water. 54. Cooling element. 55. Ventilators.