History of the Railway

1803: British engineer Richard Trevithick creates the first steam engine capable of moving while towing a load.

1804: Richard Trevithick wins a bet when his machine "Tram Waggon" tows a convoy weighing over 25 tonnes, traveling at a speed of four kilometers per hour.

1808: Richard Trevithick presents in London his machine called "Catch me who can"; his intention is to make a business out of his machine in a sort of steam circus installed by him, but the project fails in this regard.

1813: British engineer John Blenkinsop creates a gear and rack railway in the attempt to solve the problems related to adherence on the rails.

1814: British manufacturer William Hedley finishes a locomotive which solves the problems of adherence by setting an appropriate relation between the weight of the locomotive and that of the load which it tows; weighing eight tonnes, she is capable of towing a load of 50 tonnes at a speed of eight kilometers per hour. // British engineer George Stephenson builds his first steam locomotive, which weighing six tonnes is capable of towing a convoy of 30 wagons at a speed of 6.5 kilometers per hour.

1825: The first railway line made on purpose for passenger transport is inaugurated in England, with a locomotive (called "Locomotion") built by engineer George Stephenson, connecting Darlington with Stockton. // The French Marc Seguin and the British George Stephenson create the first tubular boilers.

1826: In United States, engineer Gridley Bryant carries out a project for a railway connecting the Neponset River with Quincy City but, unlike in England, the traction is effectuated by horses, the rails are still made of wood with a metallic cover and granite is transported instead of passengers.

1828: The first railway line built in France and continental Europe starts service, transporting coal from the mines in Saint-Étienne to Andrézieux in the Loire River by means of animal traction.

1829: In January it arrives to United States the first steam locomotive of America, built by George Stephenson and called precisely "America".

1830: First public railway in United States, the Baltimore-Ohio line, carried out by the locomotive "Tom Pouce". The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad starts operating as the first scheduled line for transporting passengers and freight. // The locomotive "Tom Thumb" races against a horse along the Baltimore-Relay line in Maryland... and loses. // The locomotive "Best Friend of Charleston" tows the first passenger convoy in United States. // The locomotive "Rocket" built by George and Robert Stephenson wins a contest against other manufacturers in occasion of the opening of the railway line Liverpool-Manchester, which starts postal service that same year. // French engineer Marc Seguin finishes the railway line between Saint Étienne and Lyon.

1832: First railway lines in France operating with steam locomotives.

1835: Belgium inaugurates its first railway line, connecting Brussels with Mechelen. // Germany inaugurates its first railway line, connecting Nuremberg with Furth; this line operates with a locomotive built by Stephenson, called "Eagle", and a machinist imported from England as well.

1836: Canada inaugurates its first railway line, connecting La Prairie with Saint Johns. // The first sleeping cars are introduced in Pennsylvania. // Russia inaugurates its first railway line, connecting Paulovsk with Konzimin.

1837: The company established by Matthias W. Baldwille in Philadelphia produces 80 locomotives in just one year. // Inauguration of the railway line connecting Paris with Saint Germain. // Austria inaugurates its first railway line, connecting Florisdorf with Wagram.

1838: The first "postal office on wheels" enters service in the railway line connecting London with Liverpool.

1839: Netherlands inaugurates its first railway line, connecting Haarlem with Amsterdam. // Italy inaugurates its first railway line, connecting Naples with Portici; for this occasion three locomotives are imported from England, one of them named "Bayard" after the French company which built the railroad.

1840: Improvement of the performance of steam engines thanks to the Clapeyron system. // Italy inaugurates its second railway line, connecting Milan with Monza.

1841: Thomas Cook organizes the first railway excursion.

1842: The locomotive "Papin", devised by engineer Tourasse, enters service in the line between Saint-Étienne and Lyon.

1843: Thomas Russell Crampton builds the first locomotive fitted with rear driving wheels of large diameter. // France completes the railway line between Paris and Rouen.

1844: William Turner paints "Rain, steam and speed", the first painting of railway theme.

1846: The railroad gauge adopted by George Stephenson (1435 millimeters) is officially accepted in Great Britain.

1847: France completes the railway line between Rouen and Le Havre. // The locomotive "Sézanne" fitted with external cylinders, devised by Hallete, enters service. // Switzerland inaugurates its first railway line, connecting Zurich with Basilea. // Denmark inaugurates its first railway line, connecting Copenhagen with Roskilde.

1848: Spain inaugurates its first railway line, connecting Barcelona with Mataró; this line is operated with materials imported from England.

1850: Polonceau builds the first locomotives for the railway line between Paris and Orleans.

1851: Peru inaugurates its first railway line, connecting Callao with Lima. // Spain inaugurates its second railway line, connecting Madrid with Aranjuez. // First connection between a train and a ferry boat, in the Firth of Forth, between Scotland and England. // Russia inaugurates the railway line connecting Saint Petersbourg with Moscow.

1852: Chile inaugurates its first railway line, connecting Caldera with Copiapó.

1853: India inaugurates its first railway line for passenger service, connecting Bombay with Thane.

1854: Brazil inaugurates its first railway line, connecting Mauá with Fragoso. // The workshops Ansaldo di Sampierdarena build the first locomotives of Italian manufacture. // Austria inaugurates the first mountain railway in the world, connecting Villach, Lubiana, Graz and Vienna. // Egypt inaugurates its first railway line, connecting Alexandria with Kafr el-Zayyat. // Australia inaugurates its first railway line, connecting Melbourne with Sandridge.

1855: Inauguration of the New York Central Great Western, a suspension bridge with a span of 256 meters and a height of 76 meters, which connects United States with Canada upon Niagara Falls.

1856: Portugal inaugurates its first railway line, connecting Lisbon with Cintra. // Sweden inaugurates its first steam-operated railway line, connecting Nora, Ervalla and Orebro. // The railway is used for military purposes for the first time: transportation of troops in occasion of the Crimean War.

1857: Argentina inaugurates its first railway line, connecting El Parque with La Floresta.

1858: George M. Pullman starts to build in United States the luxury cars which are named after him.

1859: The first sleeping car built by Pullman travels from Bloomington to Chicago. // In the very year of his decease, Robert Stephenson delivers a luxury train to the viceroy of Egypt. // French engineer Henri Giffard devises an injector which renders unnecessary the utilization of pumps.

1860: In this year the abundant investments in the North American railways had taken 28000 acres of land east of the Mississippi. // South Africa inaugurates its first railway line, connecting Durban with Harbour Point. // Australia inaugurates the railway line between Sidney and Parramatta.

1862: The railway in United States reaches its maturity with the constitution of the companies Union Pacific and Central Pacific. // Swiss engineer Niklaus Riggenbach patents the system known as rack railway, obtaining the authorization for a line in the Gotthard Pass.

1863: During the American Civil War, 25000 yankee soldiers are transported by 30 convoys, covering a distance of 930 kilometers in twelve days. // The first dining car enters service in the railway line connecting Philadelphia with Baltimore. // London inaugurates the first subterranean railway line in the world, operating with steam engines whose smoke would become a health problem.

1864: French engineer Alfred Belpaire introduces the firebox of square section.

1866: The first operational rack railway, devised by North American engineer Sylvester Marsh, is inaugurated in the slopes of Mount Washington.

1868: Scottish engineer Scott Russell establishes a service of railway ferry boats in Lake Constance, Switzerland.

1869: After seven years of merciless work carried by military veterans as well as Irish and Chinese immigrants, the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railway lines are linked by a golden spike in Promontory Point, Utah. // Argentina inaugurates the railway line connecting Córdoba with Tucumán. // First railway lines in Uruguay. // Scottish engineer Robert F. Fairlie builds the first articulated locomotive named after him, in which the driving wheels are installed in pivoting bogies; sometimes, these articulated locomotives would be built with a symmetrical design to facilitate the driving in both directions. // Romania inaugurates its first railway line, connecting Bucharest with Giurgiu.

1870: Niklaus Riggenbach builds the first operational rack railway in Europe, in the slopes of Mount Rigi, in Switzerland.

1871: North American inventor George Westinghouse perfects the automatic air-compressed brake. // New York inaugurates the first elevated railway line in the world, which operates with steam trains. // Nagelmackers signs his first international contract for the transportation of passengers in the Indian Mail. // Excavation of the first Trans-Alpine tunnel in the Mont-Cenis Pass.

1872: Japan inaugurates its first railway line, connecting Tokyo with Yokohama.

1873: Mexico inaugurates its first railway line, connecting Mexico City with Veracruz. // First railway line in Bolivia, with traction power provided by mules.

1876: Creation of the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits (Sleeping Car Company) or CIWL. // China inaugurates its first railway line, connecting Shangai with Wusung.

1878: By adapting an old steam ship, a regular ferry boat line for trains is established on a route of 15 miles between New York and Cape Charles, in Maryland.

1881: A ferry boat capable of carrying four trains enters service on a route of 145 kilometers between San Francisco and Sacramento, in California. // First Pullman car fitted with electric lighting in England. // The Brighton Belle, completely fitted with Pullman cars, enters service as the first luxury train in Europe. // First restaurant wagon in the Blue Coast line.

1882: Inauguration of the Gotthard railway line in Switzerland, which involved the perforation of spiral tunnels beneath the Saint-Gotthard masif.

1883: The viaduct of Tarbes (73.65 meters), built by Gustave Eiffel, is opened to traffic. // Inauguration of the Rome-Express, which connects Calais and Paris with Rome. // Inauguration of the Orient Express, the first international railway line of great importance.

1884: European countries establish an international railroad gauge, whose value is a tolerance term between 1435 and 1445 millimeters; however Russia, Spain and Ireland do not adhere to this standard. // Swiss engineer Anatole Mallet builds for the Biarritz railway his first articulated locomotive; he uses a "compound" design in which the fore part is supported by an articulated bogie whose wheels are actuated by low-pressure cylinders, whereas the main driving wheels are actuated by high-pressure cylinders.

1885: Canada inaugurates its transcontinental railway line connecting Quebec with Vancouver. // Inauguration of the Garabit railway viaduct built by French architect Gustave Eiffel; this structure entirely made of iron reaches a height of 122 meters above the Truyère River.

1886: Alfred George de Glehn builds the first four-cylinder "compound" locomotive for the Nord Railway.

1887: Inauguration of the Sud-Express railway line connecting Paris, Madrid and Lisbon.

1889: Inauguration of the Moctezuma Special railway line, a luxury train connecting New Orleans with Mexico City. // Inauguration of the iron bridge of 1500 meters in length which connects Poughkeepsie with Highland upon the Hudson River, in New York.

1891: The first locomotive of the Manitou and Pike's Peak Railway reaches the summit of the Pikes Peak mountain in Colorado, after climbing slopes with an average gradient of 16 degrees. // The Nord Railway puts into service the innovative locomotives designed by Du Bousquet and Glehn. // Russia starts the works for the Trans-Siberian railway line.

1893: Inauguration of the 20th Century Limited railway line connecting New York with Chicago, during the Universal Exposition of Chicago.

1894: A labor strike in the Pullman workshops causes several deaths. // A maritime line operated by powerful ferry boats, which displace about 1000 tonnes, renders possible for the first time to transfer trains across Lake Michigan; the route of 56 miles is covered in five or six hours.

1896: One of the first movies exhibited by the Lumière brothers shows a PLM locomotive while entering a station.

1897: The North American company Phoenix builds a steam-powered locomotive adapted for snowy and icy conditions. // Ethiopia starts the construction of a railway line connecting Addis Abeba with Djibouti, but only a minor part of the route would be completed.

1898: The Republic of the Congo inaugurates its first railway line, connecting Matadi with Leopoldville.

1904: Italian manufacturer Ansaldo builds for the Adriatic railway new locomotives fitted with Zara bogies, whose axles can move sideways relative to the frame to facilitate cornering. // Russia inaugurates the Trans-Siberian railway line, the longest one in the world, which connects Moscow with Vladivostok.

1905: The locomotive M 7002 of the Pennsylvania Railroad, while towing the Broadway Limited, reaches a speed of 205 kilometers per hour (not homologated).

1906: Inauguration of the Simplon Tunnel, the longest one in the world, which connects Italy with Switzerland.

1907: British engineer Herbert W. Garratt patents his system for articulated locomotives; the chassis is divided into three parts, with the fore part supporting a water tank, the central part supporting the steam engine and the rear part supporting the tender.

1909: Inauguration of the Fades railway viaduct, a steel bridge supported by huge piers made of quarried granite, which reaches a height of 132 meters above the valley of the Sioule River.

1910: Inauguration of the Argentine Transandino Railway, a mountain railway partly using the Abt rack system, which connects Los Andes in Chile with Mendoza in Argentina.

1914: General mobilization in the European railways for transporting massive amounts of troops in occasion of the First World War.

1916: The Baldwin Company builds a gigantic Mallet locomotive (2-8-8-8-4, six cylinders and 75500 kilograms of traction power) for the Virginia Railroad. // Italian engineer Arturo Caprotti patents his flap valve system for steam engines; it is more expensive and complex than piston valve systems but it substantially improves performance.

1917: With a single stretch of 548.60 meters, the bridge crossing the San Lorenzo River is opened to railway traffic. // Inauguration of the first stretch of the Trans-Australian railway line, connecting Port Augusta with Kalgoorlie.

1918: The armistice of the First World War between the Allies and Germany is signed inside a dining car reallocated outside its regular route, in the forest of Compiégne.

1919: The French railway workers achieve an eight-hour workday. // The Simplon Orient Express luxury train effectuates its first sortie; this new line which goes through the Simplon Tunnel was created as an alternative to the original Orient Express. // Foundation of the Deutsche Reichsbahn.

1922: Inauguration of the Calais Mediterranean Express luxury train, generally known as "Le Train Bleu".

1924: John Ford finishes his ambitious film "The Iron Horse", an epic vision about the construction of the first transcontinental railroad, which had united the West and the East of the United States in 1869.

1925: The first panoramic car fitted with wireless telegraphy enters service in the Pioneer Limited railway with destination Milwaukee.

1926: Inauguration of the "Fleche d'Or" railway line, which connects Paris with London, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. // French engineer André Chapelon perfects Kylala's system and creates the Kylchap exhaust system, which improves the performance of a steam engine.

1927: Premiere of the film "The General" by Buster Keaton, who bought 50 kilometers of tracks, six locomotives and twenty cars for its realization.

1928: Inauguration of the Rheingold railway, which connects Amsterdam with Basilea. // Inauguration of the Edelweiss railway, which connects Amsterdam with Lucerne.

1929: Introduction of the LX sleeping cars, the most luxurious ones in the world, decorated by René Prou. // Egypt inaugurates the Sunshine Express luxury train, connecting Alexandria, Cairo and Asswan.

1930: Canada inaugurates The Dominion, a passenger train which covers a route of 4650 kilometers connecting the Atlantic with the Pacific in 87 hours.

1931: The first air-conditioned Pullman car enters service in the Washington-New York line. // The Soviet Union inaugurates the Turkestan-Siberia railway (Turksib), connecting Alma-Ata with Novosibirsk.

1935: A Borsig streamlined steam locomotive beats the speed record for steam locomotives, when reaching 191.7 kilometers per hour in the route between Berlin and Hamburg.

1936: Inauguration of the Night Ferry, a direct sleeping-car service between Paris and London.

1937: In England a streamlined steam locomotive is inaugurated in honor of the coronation of King George VI; this train can cover the route between London and Edinburg in six hours.

1938: The locomotive "Mallard" built by Nigel Gresley achieves a speed record for steam locomotives (not yet broken) when reaching 203 kilometers per hour. // Nationalization of the French railway and creation of the Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français (SNCF). // Construction of the "Blue Streamliner", which is regarded as "the best Soviet locomotive ever"; fitted with two cylinders and driving wheels of large diameter in three axles, she is capable of reaching a speed of 180 kilometers per hour.

1939: The color film "Union Pacific" by Cecil B. de Mille narrates the epic enterprise of the North American transcontinental railway. // General mobilization in the European railways for transporting massive amounts of troops and vehicles in occasion of the Second World War. // South Africa inaugurates the Blue Train, a luxury train service between Pretoria and Cape Town.

1940: The Paris-Orléans Company introduces a 4-8-0 locomotive designed by André Chapelon; despite her modest dimensions (a length of 20 meters and a weight of 110 tonnes) this locomotive develops a power equivalent to more than two thirds of that produced by the North American counterpart "Big Boy", achieving an efficiency which would be never matched by another steam locomotive.

1941: The American Locomotive Company builds the first units of the powerful 4-8-8-4 locomotive "Big Boy", which has four cylinders and a service weight of 410 tonnes.

1942: The Pennsylvania Railroad puts into service the powerful 4-4-4-4 "Duplex-Drive" locomotives of the T1 class, fitted with four cylinders and driving wheels of large diameter in four axles; this is a controversial decision, for these machines are complex and expensive to maintain.

1954: The 4-8-2+2-8-4 Garratt articulated locomotives of the GMA/GMAM class enter service in the South African railways; with 120 exemplars produced, they would become the most numerous class of Garratt locomotives in the world.