first train travel

A Mapped History of Taking a Train Across the United States

The first steam engine railway travel took place 209 years ago today. Here, the story of how the Civil War impeded, and then accelerated, the progress of America's trains.

That progress you see in the above three maps was because of the steam engine. 1830 gave us Tom Thumb , the first U.S. steam locomotive, in Baltimore. And from there these machines took off.

But before we could build the transcontinental railroad, the Civil War broke out, which temporarily stalled things. Ultimately, however, the war accelerated the ubiquity of trains. Railway and bridges were destroyed, and Americans learned to rebuild them better and faster.

According to William Thomas, in The Iron Way , "The South possessed some of the most beautiful depots and railroad facilities in the nation in 1861. Sherman's campaigns sought to dismantle the Confederate railroad system and in so doing deny any claim to modernity and progress."

Meanwhile, guerrilla Confederates would attack trains, so the Union soldiers braced their bridges for attack and put up these block houses for bridge defenders. Sherman, knowing that his supply lines would be under attack, is said to have trained 10,000 troops in railroad repair before he marched on Atlanta. That his men were so adept at repairing their lines contributed to his success during the March to the Sea.

This bridge was destroyed and rebuilt several times. In May 1862 it was rebuilt in nine days. By 1864, they could rebuild it in 40 hours. Thomas notes that bridges like this contributed to the sense that railroad were "thought to defy nature."

After the war, many of these men put their railroad-construction skills and experience to use for non-military lines, and by 1930 the travel time from Manhattan to LA was down to three days.

By 1930, three days brought us 2,500 miles. In 1800, three days would have taken us just 250 miles. Three weeks in 1857 was three days by 1930.

But comparing that 1930 map with Amtrak options today , despite the lack of any civil war to impede our growth since then, we're still at about the same travel times.

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InTrans / Aug 16, 2016

Trains: A history

Go magazine.

Over 200 years ago, when locomotives were first being developed, people worried their speed would make passengers “unable to breath” or that “they would be shaken unconscious by the vibrations.”

But today we’re all the wiser. In fact, did you know that there are trains traveling at speeds well over 300 miles per hour (mph)?

Clearly, trains have changed dramatically since they first took to the rails. Like any other mode of transportation, trains, as we know them today, have been centuries in the making!

So, where did it all begin?

Today, it’s relatively simple to purchase a train ticket and travel freely—depending on what part of the world you’re in. But where did it all start? Is it possible to imagine how far we’ve come since then? Let’s try.

Railways existed as early as 1550, in Germany. These pathways of wooden rails called “wagonways” were the beginning of modern rail transport, making it easier for horse-drawn wagons or carts to move along dirt roads.

By the late 1700s, iron replaced the wooden rails and wheels as wagonways evolved into “tramways” and became popular throughout Europe. Horses still provided the “horsepower” for cargo until the steam-powered locomotive came into play in the early 1800s.

So, what’s a steam-powered locomotive?

The first steam locomotives originated in Great Britain at the dawn of the 19th century. Though the earliest steam-powered locomotives first pulled wagons full of coal, they would soon be engineered to accommodate their first passengers.

The steam-powered locomotive gets its fuel from burning combustible materials—like coal, wood, and oil—to produce steam. Then that steam moves different pieces of machinery that work together to drive the train forward!

The Golden Age

Did you know that in the United States, railroads have been around (almost) as long as the first European settlers? Americans have been using railroads since the 1820s!

Most of the early locomotives in America were imported from Great Britain, although the United States was quick to form a locomotive manufacturing industry of its own. American production of locomotives got off the ground in the early 1830s.

Railroads took off in the United States because cars and airplanes hadn’t been invented yet! Trains served as the most important mode of transportation during a period of time called “The Golden Age” of railroads, which lasted from the 1880s until the 1920s.

So, what happened? In the early 1900s, cars and airplanes were invented, and their popularity grew quickly within the United States. After the 1920s, cars and planes would supersede trains as the primary means of transportation.

The end of an era

But you see trains all the time, right?

As you probably could have guessed, trains didn’t disappear altogether, although steam-powered locomotives were gradually replaced with electric and diesel-powered locomotives beginning in the early 1900s.

Most steam-powered locomotives were retired from regular service routes by the 1980s, but a few are still in service as tourist or heritage lines. Heritage railways operate with the intention to recreate or preserve railways of the past, keeping their history alive.

Trains of today

So, the real question is, what types of trains are available today?

In our next article, we’ll take a closer look at the electric and diesel-powered locomotives that gradually replaced the steam-powered ones. But wait, there’s more! In the last 100 years of rail transport—just like the first 100—there have been major developments!

We’ll also take a look at high-speed trains riding at 100, 200, and even over 300 mph!

Are you up for the ride? Let’s go!

Related links

More about trains: http://www.dkfindout.com/uk/transport/history-trains/

By Hannah Postlethwait, Go! Staff Writer

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• Early Passenger Trains

First Passenger Trains In America: History, Facts, Photos

Last revised: March 6, 2024

By:  Adam Burns

When where trains invented? In this article we will present a two-part piece covering that subject as well as the topic of early passenger trains. 

Far before rail travel was ever conceived in the United States, and the rest of the world, there was few other means to move people and goods. 

For centuries the long proven method of land-based transportation was via four-legged animals (horse, donkey, mule, camel, etc.) while wind or man-powered watercraft were used on rivers, lakes, and oceans.  It was not until the steam engine's invention did everything chance. 

This device, which came about in the early 18th century, would not find its way to America until the early 1800's, some sixty years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. 

This was essentially the way things always were throughout human history and changed little until the 19th century.

Perhaps the first to recognize the extreme advantages of steam power, at least in the U.S., was inventor Oliver Evans who was quoted in 1819 as saying, “ I do verily believe that carriages propelled by steam will come into general use, and travel at the rate of 300 miles a day. ”

However, all of this changed after 1804 when the first steam locomotive was built by Richard Trevithick and Andrew Vivian for the narrow gauge Penydarren tramway in Wales.

Later, the first American-built example tested on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in 1829, now known famously as the Tom Thumb (while the locomotive, built by Peter Cooper, actually lost the race with the horse [just barely!], it more than proved its ability as a reliable source of mechanical transportation).

Other early steam locomotives that gained fame include the Stourbridge Lion , America , John Bull (all of which came to the U.S. from English builders), and Best Friend of Charleston (more information about these machines can be found in the steam locomotive section).

Thus began the age of steam and a better, more efficient, means of transportation. Not only that but the steam locomotive was also a major driving force in settling America west of the Appalachian Mountains.

In general early passenger trains, especially during the railroad industry's early years, were relatively dangerous. While steam allowed for faster, and a more efficient means of transportation, this did not necessarily translate into a safer way of travel.

Our country’s first railroads like the B&O, Mohawk & Hudson, Albany & Schenectady, South Carolina Canal & Railroad, and others used mostly trial and error in learning what worked and what did not which, unfortunately, sometimes resulted in injuries or deaths. 

To make matters worse, shoddy construction practices and lack of government oversight, as railroads raced to build new rail lines and rapidly expand their networks, caused numerous deaths and injuries in the 19th century. 

For instance, early railroad roadbed practices involved using simple large stones to support the track structure, which quickly sank into the soil. 

This caused tracks to go out of alignment causing derailments.

Also, the early rail designs of iron strap rails on wooden track caused deadly “snake heads” when they worked loose, disintegrating the wooden floors of passenger cars, sometimes killing the occupants inside.

Early passenger trains also suffered from cut-throat businessmen. 

As the industry greatly expanded during the 1850s railroad tycoon with endless bank accounts were more interested in earning more money for themselves than concern for public safety (this lack of safety foresight helped bring stiff, arguably overbearing government regulation, which later in the 1960s and 1970s resulted in the near collapse of the industry).

These businessmen included names like Jim Fisk, Daniel Drew, Jay and George Gould, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and others. 

Additional problems for early passenger trains included Indian sabotage and attack, particularly an issue in Western states where Native Americans fought for control of their land.

After years of bitter fighting, for better or worse a truce finally came in the way of Native Americans ceding defeat and settling for peace (which resulted in today’s many Indian reservations).

When Were Trains Invented?

When were trains invented?  The answer to that question is not as straightforward as it might first seem. 

The railroad's creation required more than two centuries of development before George Stephenson is credited with engineering and developing Britain's Stockton & Darlington Railway. 

Also a master builder of early steam locomotives, Stephenson designed and constructed its first, the 0-4-0 named  Active ( later renamed  Locomotion No. 1 ). 

After chugging down the tracks on  September 27, 1825 it soon found its way stateside where the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company tested Foster, Rastrick & Company's 0-4-0 Stourbridge Lion less than 4 years later.  

The very first operation which could be described as a railroad was also found in England when a contraption with wooden rails, utilizing wooden ties for later support, was opened in 1630. 

It was used solely to handle coal.  During the 18th century a number of devices were invented which later found their way into railroad applications, such as iron rails, the flanged wheel, and the steam engine.

Officially, trains were invented when Englishmen Richard Trevithick and Andrew Vivian received a patent for the world's first steam locomotive in 1802. 

The little unnamed machine was placed into service on the Penydarren Ironworks' tramway in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales on February 21, 1804. 

It hauled 10 tons of iron that day to nearby Abercynon and the railroad officially was born.  Once again, however, George Stephenson is credited with placing the first modern railroad into service nearly two decades later, perhaps partially due to the publicity he is given more widespread recognition. 

It was also along the Stockton & Darlington Railway is also credited with hauling the first trainload of passengers.  That morning in September of 1825 the railroad hauled 12 waggons of coal and a waggon of flour bags across the Gaunless Bridge to the bottom of Brusselton West Bank. 

After the train arrived at Shildon Lane End, Locomotive # and a rather significant train of 21 additional coal waggons, specially fitted with seats, welcomed nearly 600 patrons! 

This was nearly double what officials had planned for as some folks simply rode atop waggons of coal.  The Stockton & Darlington proved a grand success and paved the way for the railroad's application in America, as well as around the world!

As the years progressed so too did the track structure and equipment. In 1831, Robert L. Stevens, of the Camden & Amboy Railroad developed the common “T-rail,” which is the design still used exclusively today as railroad rail.

First made of iron it was later produced using much stronger steel. Railroads also found that stone gravel (known as ballast) acted as stronger support base that did not give way like the large stone blocks (as it was much more forgiving). 

Other important inventions for early passenger trains (as well as freight transportation) included the knuckle-coupler from Major Eli H. Janney in 1868 - it replaced the deadly link-and-pin system that often times resulted in the maiming of limbs and fingers - and the air-brake from George Westinghouse, introduced a year later in 1869.  

This new device allowed for a constant stream of pressured air that could automatically apply brakes throughout the train instantly, rather than having the brakeman do the dangerous task of walking across car rooftops on a moving train to manually apply brakes to each car. 

All of these early inventions are still widely used throughout the industry, more than a century later.   The early equipment railroads employed was, naturally, quite primitive with passenger cars comprised mostly of simple horse-drawn stagecoaches with iron wheel axles simply attached to the bottoms.

Technological Improvements

Technologies quickly improved with two-axle trucks (these devices usually employ two wheel axles situated within a cast frame to support the car as well as provide cushioning for the ride via springs and suspension) becoming standard by the 1830s with the common passenger coach (a long, corridor-like car with seating to either side with an aisle in the center) also developed during the same decade. 

With this foundation of equipment introduced by 1850 for early passenger trains, and the industry as a whole, new and better technologies helped make traveling by rail more comfortable, efficient, and faster (although safety and comfort would continue to improve in the succeeding years).

Pullman Palace Car Company

These included specialized cars like diners, sleepers, club cars, parlor cars, and observations. Likely the most famous passenger cars to ever grace the rails were those built by George Pullman and his Pullman Palace Car Company, which began building cars in 1867 (later reorganized as just the Pullman Car Company). 

Its base of operations was Pullman, Illinois and its cars would become legendary by the peak of passenger rail travel in the late 19th century through the mid-1940s. While the company is perhaps most famous for its sleepers it also built other types of cars like parlors and diners. 

By the 20th century, particularly by the 1920s, rail travel was truly becoming a smooth, comfortable experience; cars were stronger (steel, and later aluminum was used), quieter, and offered an increasing level of amenities and accommodations.  To read more about the streamlined era please click here .

SteamLocomotive.com

Wes Barris's SteamLocomotive.com is simply the best web resource on the study of steam locomotives. 

It is difficult to truly articulate just how much material can be found at this website. 

It is quite staggering and a must visit!

© Copyright 2007-2024 American-Rails.com. All written content, photos, and videos copyright American-Rails.com (unless otherwise noted).

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What Was It Like to Ride the Transcontinental Railroad?

By: Erin Blakemore

Updated: October 3, 2023 | Original: October 16, 2020

Velvet cushions and gilt-framed mirrors. Feasts of antelope, trout, berries and Champagne. In 1869, a New York Times reporter experienced the ultimate in luxury—and he did so not in the parlor of a Gilded Age magnate, but on a train headed from Omaha, Nebraska to San Francisco, California.

Just a few years before, the author would have had to rely on a bumpy stagecoach or a covered wagon to tackle a journey that took months. Now, he was gliding along the rails, passing by the varied scenery of the American West while dining, sleeping and relaxing.

The ride was “not only tolerable but comfortable, and not only comfortable but a perpetual delight,” he wrote . “At the end of our journey [we] found ourselves not only wholly free from fatigue, but completely rehabilitated in body and spirits. Were we very far from wrong if we voted the Pacific Railroad a success?”

The author was just one of the thousands of people who flocked to the Transcontinental Railroad beginning in 1869. The railroad, which stretched nearly 2,000 miles between Iowa, Nebraska and California, reduced travel time across the West from about six months by wagon or 25 days by stagecoach to just four days. And for the travelers who tried out the new transportation route, the Transcontinental Railroad represented both the height of modern technology and the tempting possibility of unrestricted travel.

Railroads Passed Through ‘Untouched’ Indigenous Land

The first passenger train on the line took 102 hours to travel from Omaha, Nebraska to San Francisco, and a first-class ticket cost $134.50—the equivalent of about $2,700 today. It traveled what was known as the Overland Route, threading its way through prairies, mountains and deserts that had been nearly impassable just years before.

Passengers were impressed by the landscape’s beauty and seeming desolation. “For hundreds of miles we saw no other persons except now and then a station with a few hovels about it,” wrote Celia Cooley Graves, a Massachusetts woman who took the Overland Route to San Francisco in 1875.

At the time, the areas through which the train had been built were not yet home to large numbers of white settlers. In fact, millions of acres of the land the new railroad traversed had belonged to Indigenous people—but the U.S. Congress had granted the land to railroad companies.

For many Native nations, the railroads represented an unwelcome intrusion as they soon introduced a wave of white settlement. The trains provided supplies for those relocating from the East and allowed people with means to use the railroad instead of covered wagons.

First-Class Passenger Cars Offered Luxury

The journey west on railroads wasn’t only faster and easier than covered wagons, it could also be luxurious. First-class passengers reveled in what they saw as the comfort and modernity of the trains themselves. The train cars were “a constant delight,” wrote Henry T. Williams in an 1876 guide to railroad travel in the West. “One lives at home in the Palace Car with as much true enjoyment as in the home drawing-room.”

Williams was referring to Pullman palace cars, ornate train cars used for first-class passengers on the Union Pacific railroad. The cars, which included sleepers, dining cars and parlor cars, were lavishly decorated and full of sumptuous details like painstakingly carved wood and velvet hangings. Unlike the parlors of the Gilded Age’s rich and famous, palace cars were open to anyone who could pay the fee.

According to historian Lucius Morris Beebe, this had a lasting effect on American culture. “Before [Pullman’s] first palace cars few enough Americans had any least conception of what constituted true luxury,” he wrote ; “three decades of first-hand contact with the manifestations of opulence available aboard the cars created a universal demand for rich living which had a profound effect on the American economy and national way of life which has not yet disappeared.”

The elaborate cars were specially influential for women travelers. At the time, traveling in public or doing so alone was considered highly unusual, and undesirable, for middle- and upper-class white women. But the Pullman cars helped calm the fears of those who did not like to see women stepping outside their “separate sphere” of home and family. According to historian Amy G. Richter, the train cars’ home-like setting, and the presence of women in the living-room-like cars, legitimized train travel for women and soothed those who feared that public life would endanger women and the moral order.

Second- And Third-Class Passengers Faced a Rougher Journey

But rich travelers were not the only people who rode the new trains. The railroad system borrowed from the ocean liners that were bringing unprecedented numbers of immigrants to United States shores and offered different fares for different classes of travelers. The poorest travelers could ride the rails for less money, but their accommodations were less glitzy than those of the richer passengers.

Second-class passengers had upholstered seats; third-class, or “emigrant” passengers, paid half of what the first-class passengers did but had to sit on benches instead of seats and bring their own food. "The overland journey is no fairy tale to those who read it from a way car!” wrote a journalist in 1878, noting crowded conditions and discomfort in the ordinary passenger cars.

Racism rode the rails, too. When British author Robert Louis Stevenson rode the train in 1879, he noted that there was an entire car just for Chinese passengers. Though up to 20,000 Chinese immigrants had built the railroad , they were treated with contempt at the time, reflecting racist attitudes and socially sanctioned discrimination.

Though Black people did ride as passengers, they were more often spotted working as laborers or porters. From the 1860s, all of the porters in Pullman cars were Black men. Though the job could be demeaning, and perpetuated stereotypes of black men as servile, anonymous workers at the beck and call of white passengers, it also helped build a middle class among black men.

Dangers of the Journey on the Transcontinental Railroad

The trains shortened the journey across the country, but they weren’t without risk. In 1872, for example, Walter Scott Fitz’s journey toward San Francisco was literally derailed by a massive, weeks-long snowstorm. The men on the train, including passengers, had to dig it out of huge snow drifts in Wyoming. The passengers were so dismayed by the constant stops that they held what Fitz called an “indignation meeting” to express their outrage at the travel conditions. The hellish trip involved derailing, begging people who lived near their frequent stops to make the passengers food, and waiting days to move.

“There was, of course, much suffering amongst second class passengers, and others who could not afford to buy supplies & who were cooped up in ordinary cars,” Fitz wrote. “How they managed to eat, live, & sleep with two people in each seat will always be a marvel to me….Such a mess of filth, foul air and dirty people I never want to see again. The railroad people were so lazy that they refused to clean the cars, and, on the few occasions of cleaning, the passengers did it themselves.” The four-day trip ended up taking three weeks.

Eventually, the entire United States ended up being crisscrossed by train tracks that predated modern highways. The railroad changed life forever, enabling white settlement in areas of the West once considered desolate and forbidding and making it possible for people to strike out on the frontier without the dangers of months of travel in the open air.

And for those who made the once unthinkable trip, the Transcontinental Railroad inspired awe and wondered at the vastness and beauty of the American West. “We gazed long and enchanted on that scene of sublimity and beauty,” wrote Thomas A. Weed of an 1871 view of the Sierra Nevada. “With what interest did we look out upon this land of the extreme west.”

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The History of Railroad Technology

From Greek Trackways to Tomorrow's Hyperloop Trains

Since their invention, railroads have played a huge role in further developing civilizations around the world. From ancient Greece to modern-day America, railroads have changed the way humans travel and work.

The earliest form of rail transportation actually dates back to 600 B.C. The Greeks made grooves in paved limestone roads to use in conjunction with wheeled vehicles, easing the transport of boats across the Isthmus of Corinth. However, when Romans conquered the Greeks in 146 B.C., early railways fell into ruin and disappeared for more than 1,400 years.

The first modern rail transport system did not make a return until the 16th century. Even then, it would be another three hundred years before the invention of the steam locomotive would transform rail transportation on a global scale. 

The First Modern Railways

The precursors to modern trains debuted in the early 1550s in Germany with the introduction of wagonways. These primitive railed roads consisted of wooden rails over which horse-drawn wagons or carts were able to move with greater ease than over dirt roads. By the 1770s, wooden rails had been replaced with iron ones. These wagonways evolved into tramways that spread across Europe. In 1789, Englishman William Jessup designed the first wagons with flanged wheels that were grooved, allowing the wheels to better grip the rail. This important design feature was carried forward to later locomotives.

Until the 1800s, railways were constructed of cast-iron. Unfortunately, cast-iron was prone to rust and it was brittle, often causing it to fail under stress. In 1820, John Birkinshaw invented a more durable material called wrought-iron. This innovation, although an improvement over cast-iron was still flawed, however, it became the standard until the advent of the Bessemer process enabled the cheaper production of steel in the late 1860s, sparking the rapid expansion of railways not only across America but around the world. Eventually, the Bessemer process was replaced by the use of open-hearth furnaces, which further reduced the cost of steel production and allowed trains to connect most major cities in the United States by the end of the 19th century.

The Industrial Revolution and the Steam Engine

With the groundwork laid out for an advanced system of railways, all that was left to do was find a means to transport more people and more goods for more lengthy distances over a shorter period of time. The answer came in the form of one of the most significant inventions of the Industrial Revolution , the  steam engine , which was critical to the development of the modern railroad and trains.

In 1803, a man named Samuel Homfray decided to fund the development of a steam-powered vehicle to replace the horse-drawn carts on the tramways. Richard Trevithick built that vehicle, the first steam engine tramway locomotive. On February 22, 1804, the locomotive hauled a load of 10 tons of iron, 70 men, and five extra wagons the nine miles between the ironworks at Pen-y-Darron in the town of Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, to the bottom of Abercynnon valley. The trip took about two hours to complete.

In 1812, English inventor George Stephenson became a colliery engineer for the Stockton and Darlington Railway Line. By 1814, he'd built his first locomotive for them. Not long after, he convinced the owners to try out a steam-powered locomotive. The first effort was named the Locomotion . While Stephenson is credited as the inventor of the first steam locomotive engine for railways, Trevithick's invention is cited as the first tramway locomotive.

In 1821, Englishman Julius Griffiths became the first person to patent a passenger road locomotive. By September 1825, using Stephenson's locomotives, the Stockton & Darlington Railroad Company launched the first railroad to carry both goods and passengers traveling on regular schedules. These new trains could pull six loaded coal cars and 21 passenger cars with a capacity of 450 passengers over nine miles in about an hour.

Not long after that, Stephenson opened his own firm built, Robert Stephenson and Company. His most famous prototype, Stephenson’s Rocket , was designed and built for the Rainhill Trials, an 1829 event held by the Liverpool and Manchester Railway to choose the best design to power their new locomotives. The  Rocket , the most advanced locomotive of its day, won handily and went on to set the standard by which most steam engines would be built for the next 150 years.

The American Railroad System

Colonel John Stevens is considered to be the father of railroads in the United States. In 1826, Stevens demonstrated the feasibility of steam locomotion on an experimental circular track constructed at his estate in Hoboken, New Jersey—three years before Stephenson perfected a practical steam locomotive in England.

Stevens was granted the first railroad charter in North America in 1815 but others began to receive grants and work began on the first operational railroads soon after. In 1930, Peter Cooper  designed and built the first American-built steam locomotive, the Tom Thumb, to be operated on a common-carrier railroad.

Another major train innovation of the 19th century didn't have anything to do with propulsion or power supply. Instead, it was all about passenger comfort. George Pullman  invented the Pullman Sleeping Car in 1857. Although sleeping cars had been in use on American railroads since the 1830s, the Pullman car was designed specifically for overnight passenger travel and was considered a marked improvement over its predecessors.

The Drawbacks of Steam Power

While steam-powered locomotives had an undeniable impact on transportation and economic expansion over the course of the 19 th century, the technology was not without its drawbacks. One of the most problematic was the smoke that resulted from burning coal and other fuel sources.

While the noxious byproducts were tolerable in open countryside, even early on, the hazards created by fuel exhaust became all the more apparent as railroads encroached on more populated areas, which in turn, necessitated a growing number of underground tunnels to accommodate trains headed for urban destinations. In a tunnel situation, smoke could turn lethal, especially if a train got stuck below ground. Trains powered by electricity seemed an obvious alternative but early electric train technology simply couldn't keep up with steam for long distances.

Electric Locomotives Get a Slow Start

The first prototype for an electric locomotive was built in 1837 by Scottish chemist Robert Davidson, powered by galvanic battery cells. Davidson’s next locomotive, a larger version named the Galvani , debuted at the Royal Scottish Society of Arts Exhibition in 1841. It weighed seven tons, had two direct-drive reluctance motors that used fixed electromagnets acting on iron bars attached to wooden cylinders on each axle. While it was tested on the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway in September of 1841, the limited power of its batteries scuttled the project. The Galvani was later destroyed by railroad workers who viewed the alternative technology as a potential threat to their livelihoods.

The brainchild of Werner von Siemens, the first electric passenger train, consisting of a locomotive and three cars, made its maiden run in 1879 in Berlin. The train had a maximum speed of just over eight miles per hour (13 km). Over the course of four months, it transported 90,000 passengers on a 984-foot (300-meter) circular track. The train's 150-volt direct current was supplied via an insulated third rail.

Electric tram lines began gaining popularity, first in Europe and later in the United States, after the first made its appearance in 1881 in Lichterfelde just outside Berlin, Germany. By 1883 an electric tram was running in Brighton, England and the tram that launched service near Vienna, Austria, the same year was the first in regular service to be powered by an overhead line. Five years later, electric trolleys designed by Frank J. Sprague (an inventor who’d once worked for Thomas Edison) took to the tracks for the Richmond Union Passenger Railway. 

The Transition for Steam to Electric

The first underground electric rail line was launched by the City and South London Railway in 1890. Five years later, Sprague came up with a game-changing multiple-unit traction control system (MU) for trains. Each car was equipped with its a traction motor and motor-controlled relays. All the cars drew power from the front of the train and the traction motors worked in unison. The MUs got their first practical installation for the South Side Elevated Railroad (now part of the Chicago L) in 1897. With the success of Sprague’s invention, electricity soon took over as the power supply of choice for subways.

In 1895, a four-mile stretch of the Baltimore Belt Line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) that connected to the New York became the first American main rail line to be electrified. Steam locomotives pulled up to the south end of the electrified line, and were then coupled to electric-powered trains and pulled through the tunnels that surrounded Baltimore.

New York City was one of the earliest to ban steam engines from their train tunnels. In the aftermath of a 1902 Park Avenue tunnel collision, the use of smoke-generating locomotives was outlawed south of the Harlem River. The New York Central Railroad started using electric locomotives by 1904. Beginning in 1915, the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad electrified service across the Rocky Mountains and to the West Coast. By the 1930s, the Pennsylvania Railroad had electrified its entire territory east of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

With the advent of diesel-powered trains in the 1930s and the following decades, the expansion of infrastructure for electric-powered trains slowed. Eventually, however, diesel and electric power would be combined to create several generations of electro-diesels and hybrids that employed the best of both technologies and would go on to become the standard for many railway lines.

Advanced Train Technologies

In the 1960s and early 1970s, there was considerable interest in the possibility of building passenger trains that could travel much faster than conventional trains. From the 1970s, interest in an alternative high-speed technology centered on magnetic levitation, or  maglev , in which cars ride on an air cushion created by the electromagnetic reaction between an onboard device and another embedded in its guideway.

The first high-speed rail ran between Tokyo and Osaka in Japan and opened in 1964. Since then, many more such systems have been built around the world, including in Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia, Belgium, South Korea, China, the United Kingdom, and Taiwan. The United States has also discussed installing a high-speed rail between San Francisco and Los Angeles and on the East Coast between Boston and Washington, D.C.

Electric engines and advancements in train transport technologies have since allowed humans to travel at speeds of up to 320 miles per hour. Even more advancements in these machines are in the developmental stages, including the Hyperloop tube train, projected to reach speeds close to 700 miles per hour, which completed its first successful prototype test run in 2017.

• The History of Transportation
• The Railways in the Industrial Revolution
• A Short History of Grand Central Terminal in NYC
• The Basics of Magnetic Levitated Trains (Maglev)
• George Westinghouse's Influence on Electricity
• The History of Electric Vehicles Began in 1830
• The Most Important Inventions of the Industrial Revolution
• The History of Elevators From Top to Bottom
• A Brief History of the Motorcycle
• Steam in the Industrial Revolution
• Biography of Granville T. Woods, American Inventor
• Coal Demand and the Industrial Revolution
• George Stephenson and the Invention of the Steam Locomotive Engine
• 19th Century Locomotive History
• Trains Coloring Book
• Iron in the Industrial Revolution

Train Travel Through the Years

Times sure have changed. Before we had planes and cars to get us wherever we wanted to go, we had trains. And people used to travel everywhere on them.

The first passenger trains didn't go very fast or far. Nor did they have many amenities besides a seat. But t hat didn't last long. Trains quickly became faster and more extravagant, and by the 1920s, train travel was the central form of travel for people all over the world. While train travel took a backseat to planes and automobiles in the 1930s and 1940s, it didn't go away. It just evolved like everything else.

It's easy to forget how revolutionary trains were when they became available to the public over 100 years ago. Here's a look at the evolution of train travel and how it transformed human transportation. 

1827: Baltimore and Ohio Railroads

In 1827, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad became the first company to offer passenger and freight service in the United States, flying in the face of skeptics who thought a train could only work on flat terrain by navigating a loop around the outskirts of Baltimore.

The first railroad track was only 13 miles long, but when it opened, it began to change the lives of the people who lived nearby in some pretty incredible ways.

And more than that, Americans started thinking about all the ways they could expand those railroad tracks.

1861: Wood-Burning Locomotives

The William Crooks was a wood-burning passenger locomotive built in 1861 by Smith and Jackson Builders in Paterson, New Jersey, and was still in use in some capacity in 1948 in Chicago. 

The train was operated as part of the first division of railcars from the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad and was the first locomotive to operate in Minnesota beginning the year it was built.

Its first route was only 10 miles long and traveled from Minneapolis to St. Paul. 

1893: Intercontinental Land Travel

By the 1890s, the full boom of intercontinental train travel was happening all across the United States and beginning to criss-cross the middle parts of the country, where people were experiencing the phenomenon for the first time.

Nowhere did trains come more into play at this time than leading up to the Land Run of 1893, when 100,000 settlers converged on 6 million acres of land and 40,000 homesteads that had been taken from the Cherokee Indians by the  U.S. government.  

1895: Electric-Powered Train Cars

The first electric-powered train car was the Baltimore Belt Line, which began running in 1895 on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. It was a four-mile stretch that connected the main portion of the B&O Railroad to New York through a series of tunnels around the outskirts of downtown Baltimore. 

This was just the beginning of electric travel for American railways, and within a decade, all of the major railways were relying on electricity to power their trains in one form or another.

1910: The Pullman Sleeping Car

An uncomfortable overnight trip on a train inspired engineer George Pullman to design and manufacture the Pullman sleeping car. Pullman's idea became a worldwide phenomenon that changed travel all over the world and serviced approximately 26 million people per year in its heyday. 

Pullman's creation, essentially a "hotel on wheels," ended up becoming one of the more complicated business legacies of its time. It included the incorporation of the town of Pullman in the Chicago suburbs to house the company's thousands and thousands of (mostly underpaid) workers. 

1919: 'The Babe' Goes Coast-to-Coast

You know how today's professional athlete travels by private jet to games and, depending who it is, are taking those same jets to travel in the offseason? That wasn't the case just over 100 years ago when the biggest sports star in the world was baseball player Babe Ruth.

"The Bambino" and his contemporaries traveled all over the East Coast on trains during the season, and took those same trains west for barnstorming events in California in the offseason, with MLB yet to have made its way to the West Coast.  

1920s: Passenger Trains Take Over

Passenger trains were in their prime in the 1920s — the last decade before the United States went headfirst into airplane travel and automobile travel. Those two industries were being heavily subsidized by the government to get them rolling, which wasn't extended to trains. 

If you were traveling on a train in the 1920s, there were luxuries that hadn't been afforded to Americans before and not for anyone besides luxury boat travel. To many Americans, the concept of having someone transport you over a long distance in any sort of comfort seemed almost too good to be true. 

1925: Connecticut Valley Line

The Valley Railroad Company of the Connecticut Valley Line is one of the most beautiful routes you can take in the United States — 44 miles of beautiful scenery that connected people in Connecticut to New York City for the first time in 1871. 

By the 1920s, trains like Steam Engine No. 40 were using the newest technology to connect residents to steamboats that took them across Long Island Sound to the city.

Today, it operates as an antique riding experience on property leased from the state of Connecticut.

1927: Olympian Passenger Train

The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Louis and Pacific Railroad Company — also known as Milwaukee Road — began operating its "Olympian" passenger train in 1911.

The Olympian model was the all-steel, luxury passenger train commissioned for the trip, with two Olympians going into service on the route that went Chicago-St. Paul-Milwaukee-Seattle-Tacoma, and added a stop in Spokane in 1914. 

By 1927, Milwaukee Road claimed its Olympian line could make the trip from Chicago to Seattle in just 70 hours. The Olympian was succeeded by the even speedier Hiawatha Olympian line before the route was discontinued in 1961. 

1930: Oh Wow, Air Conditioning!

Train travel made another humongous leap forward in 1930 when it debuted the first passenger cars fully equipped with air conditioning. 

The B&O Railroad debuted the first passenger train with AC on April 28, 1930, when the Martha Washington model dining car was unveiled in Baltimore. It was a sensation that The Baltimore Sun said turned train travel into a "resort on wheels."  

Inventor Willis Haviland Carrier wasn't done with the Martha Washington. Carrier continued his work, and B&O debuted its first fully air-conditioned train, The Columbia, in 1934. 

1936: Meet in the Dining Car

As the 1930s chugged along, train companies found themselves being forced to push the envelope even more when it came to the amenities they offered on their routes. 

That meant major upgrades in areas like dining cars, which were the social hubs for all train rides, and no one did dining cars better than the B&O Railroad Company. 

The Royal Blue line was the flagship train for B&O and was known for having the best of the best dining cars for its route between New York City and Washington, D.C. 

1938: The Broadway Limited

The Pennsylvania Railroad company struck a major blow to the competition when it debuted the new version of its Broadway Limited train in the summer of 1938 — a sleek, modern marvel that shepherded passengers from Chicago to New York City. 

The 1938 version of the Broadway Limited was remarkable because it was the first version of the streamliner to replace the bulky steel trains that ran for the previous two decades. 

The New York to Chicago route was the biggest moneymaker for Pennsylvania Railroad for the entirety of its existence. 

1941: Empire State Express Makes Debut

The New York Central Railroad's signature train was the Empire State Express early in its existence, earning worldwide acclaim for a route that was originally from New York to Buffalo but eventually expanded to Cleveland. 

The Empire State Express was so popular and so dominant that it did little to change its way of business from its start in 1892 until 1941, when the new stainless-steel Empire State Express debuted. 

Unfortunately for the new train, the massive amount of money spent shrouding its development in secrecy, then promoting and marketing it ahead of its debut ended up not helping. 

That's because the Empire State Express was introduced to the public on Dec. 7, 1941 — the same day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.  

1946: The Olympian Hiawatha

The Olympian line for Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad was so popular that the company eventually upgraded the train on the Chicago-to-Seattle route to the Olympian Hiawatha model in 1941. 

The company's signature, high-speed train added some notable features with the introduction of the Hiawatha. The most notable were "skytop observation" cars that evolved into "super dome" cars with even more glass observation areas. 

The Hiawatha line may have been the pinnacle of long-distance train travel and the last generation of trains that went head-to-head with airplanes in competing for passengers. 

1948: NYC's 20th Century Limited

As airplane and automobile travel began to overtake train travel in the United States, railroad companies began to increase their amenities where they could to try and stay in the picture. 

One train managed to hold its head above the rest — New York City Railroad's famous 20th Century Limited model that ran from New York City to Chicago from 1902 to 1967. 

The 20th Century Limited was described as " the most famous train in the world " by The New York Times, and the term  "red-carpet treatment" comes from the specially designed crimson carpets passengers walked on before boarding the train. 

1950: Abolishing Segregation on Railways

The railroad industry and passenger trains had a long history of exclusion when it came to African-Americans, exploiting them as cheap labor on one end and restricting their access to travel through strict policies of segregation on the other end.  

In 1950, Elmer W. Henderson's lawsuit was the basis for permanent change in train travel after he was denied a seat in a dining car on Southern Railway's Washington to Atlanta route in 1942. 

The case made it to the Supreme Court, which abolished segregation of railroad dining cars in an 8-0 vote. 

1955: Union Pacific Streamliners

The Union Pacific Streamliners in the 1950s were also classified as the E-Series and notable because they were the trains that went fully diesel. They were hulking, faceless monstrosities that were mainly used on shorter routes. 

These streamliners weren't as creative in their cab designs as other models and moved to plainer-looking dining cars than the extravagance of the past. 

By this point, the writing was on the wall for train manufacturers. Despite their best attempts to keep up, plane and automobile travel was now the de facto standard. 

1958: Overnight Train Travel For Everyone

Overnight train travel wasn't totally out the door in the 1950s — especially when traveling in large groups.

These passengers were part of a large group of people traveling with the Rev. Billy Graham from Nashville to San Francisco in the spring of 1958, when Graham traveled cross-country to host "The Billy Graham Special" at the Cow Palace. 

1964: A Hard Day's Night

Just like Babe Ruth traveled by train in 1919, almost 50 years later, celebrities were still turning to train travel to get them where they needed to be. 

In the case of Paul McCartney and the rest of The Beatles in 1964, that place was an undisclosed location to film scenes from their ultra-secret first feature film.

The Beatles left from London's famous Paddington Station that day, and the movie they were filming was the classic musical comedy "A Hard Day's Night" directed by Richard Lester.

1965: Imagine 6,000 Miles By Train

Up until this point, we've focused almost solely on the United States as far as train travel, but it's a big ol' world out there. Not everywhere abandoned train travel as quickly as Americans did. 

For example, in 1965, you could still hop on a train that took you from Moscow to Vladivostok, Russia — a 5,775-mile trip with more than 100 stops in Europe, across Asia and all the way to the Sea of Japan.

The Trans-Siberian Express was nothing to play with, and the seven-and-a-half-day journey from one end was the longest, daily-serviced route to ever exist. 

1967: Trains Go Into Decline

We've already talked about the 20th Century Limited as the most famous train to ever exist. But by the 1960s, trains were in a decline, not just the 20th Century.

The line ran its last route from New York to Chicago on Dec. 2, 1967, and it was a dubious ending. The half-full train was almost 10 hours late due to a freight derailment in Ohio. 

If you've got a knowledge of classic films, you'll remember the 20th Century Limited played a large role in two of the greatest movies of all time — Alfred Hitchock's "North by Northwest" starring Cary Grant and "The Sting" starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford. 

1970s: Japanese Bullet Trains

The Japanese took a lot of pride in their innovation in train travel, most notably in their incredible "bullet trains" that began running  in 1964. 

The bullet trains weren't just fast. They were safe. By 1970, they'd carried 300 million passengers without a single death. 

They were still fast, as well. The bullet train "Hikari" could take a load of passengers from Osaka to Tokyo in approximately three hours — a distance of 344 miles. 

1977: Last Trek of The Orient Express

No group of pictures portraying the history of train travel throughout the years is complete without including the famous Orient Express, which ran its last 1,900-mile voyage from Paris to Istanbul, Turkey, on May 20, 1977. 

The once magnificent train of red velvet and mahogany-lined Pullmans and dining cars was reduced to just one sleeping car and three-day coaches by the time of its final run. 

The train traversed five countries for 88 years before railroad administrators from the five countries decided its expenses no longer validated keeping it going. 

1981: Could Trains Make a Comeback?

There would be one more time when Americans turned back to train travel in droves — when the nation's air traffic controllers walked off the job on strike on Monday, Aug. 3, 1981.  

Amtrak officials went into overdrive in anticipation of heavy traffic, adding additional cars to trains. They ended up being right. 

Determining that the union's strike was illegal, President Ronald Reagan gave the air traffic controllers 48 hours to return to work. They called his bluff, and Reagan fired all 11,345 striking air traffic controllers on the spot and banned them from federal service for life. 

1988: Smoking Banned on Trains

Can you imagine what would happen in 2021 if someone lit up a cigarette on a public form of transportation like an airplane, bus or train? It would be utter chaos. But that wasn't always the case.

Nowhere was smoking more encouraged than on trains, which had over a century of ashtrays and special smoking cars in the books when they finally banned smoking at the beginning of 1988. 

Commuters in New York hit back in court, backed by the tobacco companies. They lost. 

1990s: Broadway Limited Shut Down

Amtrak's Broadway Limited line ran from Philadelphia to New York and Chicago started in 1912  and through 1995 before budget cuts forced it to shut down. 

It was Pennsylvania's premiere form of train transportation throughout that time and in its prime competed with the New York Central Railroad's 20th Century Limited line and Penn Central's line when it opened in 1968. 

By 1995, the Broadway Limited was just a shell of its grand, former self, and Amtrak shut it down for good.

1996: Skunk Train in California

By the late 1990s, the influence of daytrippers on train travel was being seen from coast to coast, with some of the best scenery you can find in Northern California. 

The "Skunk Train" was one of the most popular — a scenery-chewing ride from Fort Bragg to Willits, California, that's been running since 1885. 

It was given its name originally because of its gas engine and the smell, with locals saying, "You can smell 'em before you can see 'em." 

2000: First High-Speed Train in U.S.

Amtrak's Acela Express was the first high-speed train in the United States. It made its debut on Monday, Dec. 11, 2000, in Boston, when it arrived about 10 minutes late on its first scheduled trip from Washington, D.C. 

Amtrak's hope was the trains that mimicked the "bullet trains" in Japan would renew interest in train travel in the U.S. and lure business travelers away from airlines. 

Spoiler alert: It did not. 

2017: Amtrak's Coast Starlight Line

Amtrak's Coast Starlight line is about the closest you can come to getting the experience of what it was like to travel by train long distances in the 1930s. 

In 2017, the Coast Starlight upgraded many of its amenities to appeal to a new generation of travelers, including an updated menu of steamed mussels and spicy chilaquiles. 

It takes 35 hours to get from Los Angeles to Seattle, much of which runs by uninhabited parts of the country you would otherwise never get to see. Get a sleeper cab and just do it, why don't you? 

2020: McKinley Explorer Traverses Alaska

Is it any surprise that Carnival Cruises also has a line of trains? The Holland American Line operates a large fleet of dome railcars in Alaska that tourists are drawn to. 

The McKinley Explorer model is by far the most popular of the bunch. It's an all-inclusive train experience with large, curved domes that offer 360-degree views.

In a throwback to days of train travel past, there's a buffet of amenities — tour guides, an upstairs bar, and an outdoor viewing platform and restaurant on the lower level. 

2021: Trains Become Totally Niche

The future of train travel, outside of subway and tram systems in major cities, looks essentially like boutique, regionally specific routes and experiences. 

Marketing for train travel seems best served as geared toward daytrippers, offering a unique experience in a unique place, and definitely not overnight trips. 

Part of that draw will be unique trains, such as art deco models, which give people an experience like that of someone traveling in the heyday of passenger trains.

History of Trains

History of the modern trains spans the range of last two hundred years of modern human civilization, who in that time used this incredible discovery to drastically change industry, human expansion, and the way we travel on daily basis.

From the first time steam train rolled over the railways of industrial England in early 1800s to the modern times when bullet trains carry thousands of passengers with incredible speeds and freight train carry substantial amount of worlds goods, trains enabled us to develop our civilization with unexpected consequences that nobody expected. Distant lands become almost instantly reachable (3000 miles journey from New York to California was cut down from one or two months to few days!), industrial manufacture could be powered with infinite amount of raw materials and outgoing transport of finished goods, and sudden fast travel (far before first airplanes were discovered) caused the need of implementing standardized time zones across entire world.

Today, trains are used in variety of ways – from small city trams , subway electric trains, distance trains (equipped with dining cars and sleeping quarters for longer journeys), freight trains, to high-speed bullet trains that can reach speeds of 300-500 kilometers per hour. However, their history started with much simpler and slower designs. Even before steam engines arrived, ancient civilizations of Greece and Egypt and industrial Europe (1600s -1800s) used horses as primary sources of driving simple train cars. With purposefully built train tracks that enabled journey in only two directions, horses or bulls needed to waste minimal amount of force while pulling coal, iron and other goods.

Arrival of first non-condensing pressurized steam engines in first few years of 19th century enabled engineers to build new kind of railway system and train cars – trains that were built to carry much more materials than ever before.

History of Railways

If you ever wanted to find out more about long and eventful history of trains, steam engines, development of first metro system and worldwide railway systems, here is the best place to do so.

Invention of Trains

Train invention represent one of the most important times in the history of human expansion and development. Here you can find out all about that period of history, inventors that created them and the impact first trains had on us.

History of Subway

Here you can find out more about subway transport systems which appeared during age when steam engines ruled railways, and inevitable electrical revolution enabled them to spread across many major cities of the world.

Facts about Trains

Facts and events that trains collected over last 200 years are numerous and extensive. If you wanted to see how this once small industry managed to grow into juggernaut that feeds modern manufacturing industry and enables reliable and safe travel to billions of people all across the world, this is the perfect place to do so.

Train History Facts

• First train appeared in the year 1804. It managed to pull 25 tonnes of iron material and 70 people over the distance of 10 miles.
• Over the course of history trains were powered by steam, electricity and diesel fuel (although one of the earliest trains in USA was powered by horses that walked on treadmills).
• Currently trains transport around 40% of world’s cargo.
• Trains are very eco-friendly, but are expensive to produce and maintain.
• First commercial steam train (Stephenson’s “The Rocket”) managed to reach speed of 96 km/h. Today’s trains can go above 200 km/h, and specialized bullet trains to over 500.
• Two most famous railway lines are 9,297 kilometers long Trans-Siberian Express which connects Moscow and Vladivostok, and off course first American railway line which connected their East and West Coast in 1866 (Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads ).

THE EVOLUTION OF TRAVEL ON PASSENGER TRAINS

In the “Golden Age” of railroads, passenger trains were the safest and fastest mode of transportation. Near and far, they carried people to and from work, across state lines, and even across the country.

They weren’t always the preferred method of travel, however. As we look into their history, we’ll examine how the passenger train evolved into the most popular method of travel, plus what led to their decline, and how passenger railways function today. 

History of Passenger Trains

The first steam locomotive to carry passengers on a public railway was Locomotion No. 1 . It was built by George Stevenson, who later became known as “the father of railways.” It carried 450 passengers in England, from Darlington to Stockton, on September 27th, 1825 at a speed of 15 mph. 

Shortly after, the US followed in England’s footsteps and chartered its first railway for freight and passengers, the Baltimore & Ohio Railway. The first regularly-scheduled passenger train , however, is credited as The Best Friend of Charleston — a US-built locomotive operated by a passenger rail service in South Carolina. 

During that time, there were no first or second-class train cars, which had come into use across the pond. All passengers shared the same riding experience and seating was strictly wooden benches. 

In the 1840s, 2,800 miles of rails were built and operated in the United States. The US still hadn’t implemented class cars on their passenger cabs, but they did create a gentleman’s car and a ladies’ car. According to Charles Dicken’s first-hand account , the only difference was that the gentleman’s car was reserved for smoking, which the ladies’ car prohibited.

As the railroad industry started to become a vital part of American culture, many passenger railways worked on improving the experience for their riders. They increased safety measures, improved braking systems, and created a uniform construction of railbeds to create a smoother ride. 

Passenger railroads also started to improve the design of their train cars to increase their riders’ comfortability. During this period, single-class cars came to their demise, and first, second, and sometimes even third-class cars were created. 

First-class cars were decorated to portray luxury. Upholstered chairs and carpets were built into passenger cabs, and curtains were put up to increase privacy for first-class riders. 

By the 1860s, passenger train travel was a booming industry in the US. There were over 30,000 miles of tracks in operation across the country. And over the next few years, passenger railways would play a pivotal role in the Civil War. 

If there were any doubts surrounding the effectiveness of trains, their role in the Civil War quickly squashed them. Passenger services were used on both sides to transport passengers and materials quickly to battle.

The end of the war kicked off the “Golden Age” of train travel. Trains became the best, most-preferred mode of transportation for the next 50 years. They were used by Presidents from Ulysses S. Grant to Franklin D. Roosevelt, by the rich and poor, and even by emigrants. 

Flash forward to the start of World War I, the federal government seized control of all railways from their private owners. When railroad companies regained private ownership just three years later, the tracks were in serious need of repair. 

The railroads were in bad shape and for the first time, trains were challenged by other methods of travel: automobiles, buses, and planes. With these obstacles looming, passenger railways were desperate to keep their services alive. 

They invested billions of dollars into the new locomotives and equipment, but ultimately, passenger travel never returned to the booming industry it once was. Many railroad companies were forced to file for bankruptcy leaving travel by train forever changed. 

To help relieve some of the pressure on railway owners, the federal government signed the Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970 . In it, they created the National Railroad Passenger Corporation to take over intercity rail service— what we know today as Amtrak .

The Rail Passenger Service Act and the Staggers Rail Act signed 10 years later, paved the way for the national railroad service to grow into a safe, efficient, and sustainable industry within the United States.

How Passenger Trains are Used Today

Though they’re not the most popular method of travel anymore, passenger trains are still used today across the US. There are 3 types of rail systems: intercity passenger, commuter, and freight networks. Intercity passenger and commuter trains are the primary passenger railway services in use today. 

Commuter rails are a common means of transportation in suburban cities. Many people in these communities don’t own cars because traffic makes traveling by car take longer. Instead, these people use commuter rails to get to where they need to be. 

People in these metropolitan areas use commuter rails to get to and from work, to grocery or retail stores, or even to entertainment venues. Pre-COVID, over 500 million passenger trips were completed each year via commuter rails . 

Intercity passenger rails facilitate passenger travel on a national level. There are 3 service lines operated: Northeast Corridor (NEC), Long-Distance Routes, and State-Supported Routes. Of those, State-Supported Routes are responsible for 47% of Amtrak’s total ridership.

With over 750 miles between endpoints, intercity passenger rails are a desirable choice for city-to-city or state-to-state travel. No to mention, they’re a green alternative to traveling by car or plane. 

With growing concerns about our climate, transportation by intercity passenger services could see an increase since they are 47% more energy efficient than cars, and 33% more than air travel. 

While freight rails carry cargo instead of passengers, they’re important to note because they provide tracks for passenger and commuter rail services . Close to 25% of commuter railroad tracks and 70% of intercity railroad tracks are owned by freight railways.  

Though it’s not nearly as popular as it once was, Amtrak has helped restore the nation’s use of passenger railways to reestablish economic growth. 

Passenger Train Excursions Near Lancaster, PA

Excursion trains are another popular way that passenger railways continue to be used today. Operated by railroad companies for the purpose of entertainment, passenger train excursion offer riders a taste of America’s history. 

If you’re looking for an authentic steam train experience near Lancaster, PA, there are plenty of unique passenger train excursions to explore. 

Strasburg Rail Road

Strasburg Rail Road is the longest continually operated railroad in America. Located in Strasburg, PA, we offer chartered train events and excursions for passengers to enjoy year-round.

For 200 years, our mission has been to give tourists an authentic, early 20th-century steam train experience . In a world that’s shifted to diesel and electric locomotives, we are one of the few passenger railways that still use fully restored steam engines to pull passenger cars. 

Ride through the heart of Amish country in luxury in one of our president or first-class cars , or ride in a restored 20th-century wooden coach car . Offering wine and beer tastings, holiday trains , and live-action demonstrations , Strasburg Rail Road excites train buffs of all ages.  

Today, we are one of the most visited passenger train attractions in the US, attracting approximately 300,000 passengers each year. 

Experience an authentic steam train ride at Strasburg Rail Road. Book tickets to ride aboard America’s oldest operating short-line railroad. 

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Date Night Concerts

Unwind from the hustle and bustle of the hectic work week with an intimate evening in Lefever Hall with professional and well-renowned live entertainment from Strasburg Rail Road’s Entertainment Department.

• Users All Ages

Legacy of Sleepy Hollow – COACH

Experience the Legacy of Sleepy Hollow event aboard a climate-controlled Coach car. Available now through November 2.

• Users Ages 10+
• Hour Glass 45 Minutes

Murder Mystery Train Experience

Guests are traveling by rail for the big premiere of a new Broadway show and to attend an intimate reception with its star. As the train departs, guests are treated to drinks from the bar, hors d’oeuvres, and soon after, a body. Who could the killer be? The high-powered press agent, the famous actor, her jealous manager, or even the barman? It’s anyone’s guess!

Night Before Christmas Train Coach

Enjoy a classic story time reading of “The Night Before Christmas” aboard our restored Victorian coach cars!

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First look: How Universal is bringing ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ to life at Epic Universe

This is Berk – and next year, you’ll finally be able to visit.

On Thursday, Universal Orlando Resort revealed its first look at How to Train Your Dragon - Isle of Berk. The mythical land from the beloved “How to Train Your Dragon” franchise is one of five immersive worlds coming to life at the Florida resort’s highly anticipated Universal Epic Universe theme park in 2025.

“Guests visiting Berk will encounter one of the most breathtaking environments Universal has ever created – complete with immense architecture featuring hand-carved details, lush landscaping, and extraordinary heights of rolling hills surrounding vibrant dragon houses and local establishments,” Universal shared in a press release. 

Here’s what you can expect from How to Train Your Dragon - Isle of Berk at Epic Universe.

You can visit Berk

It may sound obvious, but for years, Berk has only lived on pages, screens and in fans’ imaginations, like other famous franchises Universal has materialized in its parks, including The Wizarding World of Harry Potter . Universal Creative is developing this world with DreamWorks Animation and Universal Pictures filmmakers.

“Guests’ first sight of Berk will be reminiscent of the iconic sweeping vista straight from the films – featuring a vast sparkling lagoon that boasts two 40-foot-tall Viking statues set against an energetic village perched above churning seas,” Universal said.

Vikings and dragons live together on Berk, so you can expect to see “endless activity – from active dragons in their natural habitats and sheep attempting to disguise themselves as Terrible Terror dragons to sporadic bouts of fire,” according to Universal.

You can soar like a dragon

Hiccup’s Wing Gliders is one of four attractions coming to How to Train Your Dragon - Isle of Berk, three of which are rides. The family coaster will give you a taste of what it’s like to soar like Hiccup Haddock and his fellow Dragon Riders, Astrid, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Fishlegs. 

“Hiccup invites brave new Vikings to take a ride in his latest glider contraption – a winged flying machine that launches aspiring Dragon Riders into the sky for a dragon’s eye view of Berk,” according to Universal. 

Family coasters tend to have lower height requirements than traditional roller coasters, so they can be enjoyed across broader age ranges without sacrificing thrills. Hiccups Wing Gliders will hit up to 45 miles per hour.

Dragon Racer’s Rally will give you a feel for the high-flying skills needed to be a Dragon Rider.

“Berk’s new Vikings racers can practice aerobatic maneuvers and high-speed barrel rolls on two Viking-made dragon-riding trainers that reach heights of up to 67 feet in the air,” according to Universal, which notes guests will be able to control how “mild” or “wild” they want the ride.

Fyre Drill is what you’d expect from mischief-making twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut. 

“Guests will board a colorful dragon-headed boat and blast water cannons at flame-like targets to practice putting out fires – a crucial skill to master when living with dragons,” Universal said. 

But you won’t just be competing for scores. Viking teams can also try to “out-soak each other on this wet-and-wild boat battle.”

Viking Training Camp will be an expansive, interactive play area for Junior Vikings, “featuring a Viking agility course, a Toothless-themed teeter-totter, baby Gronckle dragon climbers and so much more,” according to Universal.

Universal Islands of Adventure and Universal Volcano Bay water park also have dedicated play areas for kids to stretch their legs and explore. Universal Studios Florida’s new Kung Fu Panda-themed play area is opening within its new DreamWorks Land this summer.

You can see Dragon Riders in action

The Untrainable Dragon will be a live show inspired by the popular “Untrainable” show at Universal Beijing Resort .

“This dragon-filled live spectacular takes guests on an unforgettable journey with beloved characters Hiccup, Toothless, Gobber, and Astrid as they work together to solve the mystery of The Untrainable Dragon,” according to Universal. 

Fans love its sister show’s stunning visuals, swelling music and soaring night fury, Toothless. There will be some differences in Orlando's version, but it's sure to be a must-see at the new park.

Behind the scenes: What you don’t see at Universal Orlando’s Mardi Gras

You can meet Toothless

Hiccup may be the main character of the “How to Train Your Dragon” franchise, but his faithful companion Toothless is its heart.

You can meet both Hiccup and Toothless at the Haddock Paddock in How to Train Your Dragon - Isle of Berk. 

“Throughout the day, guests may also encounter other familiar Vikings and dragons while exploring Berk,” according to Universal.

Understand [ edit ]

Tyumen was founded in 1586 as the first Russian settlement in Siberia. During World War II, the city grew rapidly as many industries relocated further away from the war.

The region has plentiful oil resources and the city is now home to many companies in the Russian oil and gas industry. As a result, Tyumen has the highest GDP per capita of all cities in Russia, even higher than that of Moscow.

Get in [ edit ]

By plane [ edit ], by train [ edit ].

All Trans-Siberian trains stop at Tyumen . Travel time is 36-48 hours from Moscow . 57.145886 65.522885 2 Tyumen railway station is located at ulitsa Privokzal'naya, 22, south of the city centre.

By marshrutka [ edit ]

By taxi [ edit ].

Taxis are plentiful and you can even negotiate hourly rates.

See [ edit ]

Monuments [ edit ]

Tyumen has many unique statues and monuments.

• Monument to the Homeless Dog
• Monument to students from Tyumen Schools Who Did Not Come Back From The War
• Monument to Conductor
• Lenin Statue
• Monument to Machine Tool Builders
• Sculpture Harp
• Father Statue
• Happiness Tree Sculpture
• Sculpture of Street Cleaner
• Monument of Mother
• Monument to the Janitor
• Monument to Yuri Hervieu
• Monument to Liquidators
• Fountain-Monument to Tyumen Oblast
• Monument to Afghan Soldiers
• City Garden Monument
• Monument to Country Doctor
• Monument to the Postman
• Monument to Workers in Rear Area
• Monument to Grigoriy Rasputin
• Globe Monument

Religious buildings [ edit ]

• Church of the Saviour
• Holy Trinity Men's Monastery
• Znamenskiy Cathedral
• Saint Archangel Michael Church
• Holy Cross Temple
• Saint George Ascension Church
• Saint Dmitriy of Don Temple
• Saint Nicholas Temple
• The Temple in Honor of the Annunciation
• Tyumen Chapel
• Tyumen Synagogue

Museums [ edit ]

• The Kolokolnikovs' Estate Museum Complex
• City Council Local History Museum
• Fine Arts Museum
• Masharov's House Museum

Do [ edit ]

• Walk along the embankment of the Tura River. Walk across the Bridge of Lovers, a pedestrian bridge.
• Tyumen Drama Theatre - ul. Respubliki, 129 (+7 345 240-98-23)
• Tyumen Puppet Theater

Parks [ edit ]

• Tsvetnoy Park is a beautiful park that includes the Monument to the Homeless Dog.
• City Park of Culture and Leisure
• Forest Park of Gagarin
• Park of Deputies
• Gilevskaya Grove
• Siberian Cats Park
• Victory Park

Buy [ edit ]

• Solnechnyy Mall
• Premyer Mall
• Galeria Voyage Mall

Eat [ edit ]

There is a McDonald's restaurant in the park at ul. Lenina #54.

• Assorti Restaurant , ul. Babarynka, 1к6 , ☏ +7 345 223-42-34 . Pizza, sushi, soups, and various menu options.  

Sleep [ edit ]

With the exception of some high-end hotels, all hotels and hostels offer free WiFi and many have computer terminals. Almost all accept credit cards. Hotels and hostels will usually provide a visa invitation and registration for an additional fee.

Splurge [ edit ]

• 57.153643 65.547471 1 DoubleTree by Hilton Tyumen , ul. Ordzhonikidze, 46 ( in the city centre ), ☏ +7 345 249-40-40 . Check-in: 15:00 , check-out: 12:00 . 40-inch LED TVs, indoor heated swimming pool, beauty salon, solarium, room service. ( updated Nov 2018 )

Learn [ edit ]

There are 3 universities and several colleges.

Connect [ edit ]

Consulates [ edit ], go next [ edit ].

• Has custom banner
• Has map markers
• Airport listing
• Eat listing with no coordinates
• Drink listing with no coordinates
• Sleep listing with no coordinates
• Listing with multiple email addresses
• Has routebox
• Has Geo parameter
• Tyumen Oblast
• All destination articles
• Outline cities
• Outline articles
• City articles
• Pages with maps

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Universal Reveals First ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ Theme Park

A film and TV franchise based on dragons, flying, and flying on dragons seems tailor-made for a theme park. So it’s not shocking that Universal’s upcoming Epic Universe which it is currently building down in Orlando, Florida will include a How to Train Your Dragon area.

What’s a little surprising is how much stuff this area will contain. It’s not just one How to Train Your Dragon ride, or even two. According to the press release the land — officially referred to as How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk — will feature “four attractions, one live show, and several character and dragon meet-and-greet experiences.” Here is concept art for all the major components of the land…

READ MORE: 10 Fictional Theme Parks We Wish We Could Visit

While I suspect some How to Train Your Dragon fans would have wanted an elaborate motion-simulator dragon-riding attraction a la the Avatar ride at Disney Hollywood Studios, these rides look fun and reasonably well-themed to the franchise, and a dragon-esque roller coaster is probably the next best thing. Plus, the Isle of Berk will also feature a “Mess Hall” restaurant where guests can “feast like a Viking and enjoy a savory menu featuring a variety of meats, fish, sandwiches and more along with a collection of meads and ciders.” You know I love my weird movie food .

Universal also unveiled a video that includes animated concept art and more details about the How to Train Your Dragon area of the park…

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Universal’s Epic Universe is expected to open some time in 2025. The park is located next door to Universal’s Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida theme parks. The Full details of Epic Universe’s other areas have not been fully revealed yet, but they will be based on Harry Potter , Nintendo, and the Dark Universe (i.e. Universal Monsters like Frankenstein and Dracula).

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10 main stops on the Trans-Siberian Railway

The Trans-Siberian Railway is more than 9,200 km long. Running from Moscow to Vladivostok, it connects the large cities of the Urals, Siberia and the Far East. By taking this train, you can see almost all of Russia. There is an added bonus in that a ticket for the Trans-Siberian allows you to get off at any station and then continue the journey on any other train on the route, provided it has free seats. Here are the cities we recommend exploring on the way.

1. Yaroslavl 

The Assumption Cathedral at the arrow of the Volga and Kotorosl rivers in Yaroslavl

The train departs from Moscow’s Yaroslavsky railway station, and one of the first stops is the wonderful city of Yaroslavl. This ancient city was founded by Prince Yaroslav the Wise in 1010.

Yaroslavl is the unofficial capital of the famous tourist route, the Golden Ring, and boasts hundreds of churches and monasteries. Be sure to visit the Yaroslavl Museum hidden behind the massive walls of the former Monastery of the Transfiguration of the Savior. Explore its main cathedral and visit Masha the bear, the living embodiment of the Yaroslavl coat of arms.

Click here to find out more about the history of Yaroslavl, places to visit and things to do there.

2. Perm 

The Perm Regional Museum

Perm is both a large industrial city and a cultural center of the Urals. It has a renowned opera and ballet company and a large drama theater with the unexpected name, Theater. It also has its own (a rarity in Russia) museum of contemporary art, PERMM, which opened in 2009 in a former river terminal building.

A must for any visitor to the city is to take a boat trip on the Kama River and to take a picture on the embankment with the city's calling card - a large land-art object by Boris Matrosov called “Happiness is not far off” - in the background.

Click here to find out more about things to do in Perm and its environs.

3. Yekaterinburg 

The Chekist Town in Yekaterinburg

Yekaterinburg is an industrial city with a million-plus population, the capital of the Urals and the birthplace of the first president of Russia, Boris Yeltsin.

Make sure to visit the architectural monument known as the Chekist Town, a neighbourhood of constructivist residential buildings and dormitories built in the 1920s and 1930s. It was intended for the leadership of the NKVD secret police (hence its unofficial name).

Find out more about things to do in the city in summer and in winter .

4. Tyumen 

The Tyumen embankment

Tyumen is considered the center of the Russian oil industry. At the same time, it has more than once come at the top of the list of the country's most liveable cities. Things to check out here include: a walk along the embankment of the Tura River, amusement rides in the Park of Culture and Leisure, as well as a visit to the Holy Trinity Monastery and the Znamensky Cathedral, built in the unusual Siberian Baroque style. By the way, Tyumen has a very progressive university, with many foreigners among both students and the teaching staff.

In two hours' drive from Tyumen (unfortunately, not on the Trans-Siberian route), is the old town of Tobolsk, which in the 17th-18th centuries served as a stronghold in Russia's exploration of Siberia. There is even a stone Kremlin here!

5. Omsk 

The Dormition Cathedral and Omsk city view

Omsk is known all over the world as the place where Fyodor Dostoevsky spent four years in exile. The city's literary museum, which studies the heritage of Siberian writers, is named after him. Omsk is also home to a unique metro, the shortest in the world as it has only one station. Click here to find out more about how it is used.

Make sure to visit a Continental Hockey League game: the local Avangard team is one of the strongest clubs in the country.

6. Novosibirsk 

The Nobosibirsk metro bridge over the Ob River

Novosibirsk is considered the capital of... guess what! That's right - Siberia. The city was founded in the 19th century as a stop on the route of the Trans-Siberian Railway, which was being built at the time. And even before the city appeared, a bridge across the Ob River was erected here. It is now part of the Novosibirsk coat of arms.

These days, Novosibirsk is a city with a million-plus population and a variety of leisure activities, from museums and theaters to a large zoo and a circus. You should definitely visit the red-brick Cathedral of Alexander Nevsky, the city’s first stone building.

Check out our guide for things to do in Novosibirsk in winter.

7. Krasnoyarsk 

The Krasnoyarsk Pillars

With its long avenues, vast spaces and the great Yenisei River, Krasnoyarsk is a place where you can feel the full might of Siberia. Some of the city's most famous sights are featured on the 10-ruble bill.

Places to visit here include the local history museum as well as the Ploshchad Mira museum center, in which contemporary art is juxtaposed with Soviet art. The two museum buildings are separated by a walk along the Yenisei Embankment, which offers nice views of the bridges across the river.

Not far from the city is a unique natural reserve called Krasnoyarsk Pillars. Click here to read the story of a guide working at the nature reserve and other stories of people overheard onboard the Trans-Siberian.

8. Irkutsk 

Lake Baikal

Here we are, half-way through the journey, and we reach the city where the famous Decembrists, who staged an uprising against the Tsar in 1825 on Senate Square St. Petersburg, spent their time in exile. The city has a museum dedicated to their legacy.

Of course, the city's main attraction is Lake Baikal, whose nearest coastal point is an hour's drive from Irkutsk. Click here to read a first-hand account of how to go to the world’s largest lake in winter and fall in love.

9. Ulan-Ude 

The Ivolginsky Datsan

If you don't have time to stop in Lake Baikal, don't worry: you’ll see it from the train window since between Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude, the railway runs along the lake shore, with two-minute stops on the way.

Getting off the train in the capital of Buryatia may be your most unusual adventure in Russia. This area on the border with Mongolia is known for its ancient Buddhist traditions. Not far from the city is an important Buddhist center, Ivolginsky Datsan. Even the main Russian Orthodox church in Ulan-Ude, the Odigitrievsky Cathedral, looks more like a Buddhist stupa.

Lenin's head in Ulan-Ude

There is also an unusual monument to Vladimir Lenin in the form of the man's giant head.

Click here to read about an Englishman's adventures in Ulan-Ude.

10. Khabarovsk 

A bridge over the Amur River in Khabarovsk

Some 14 more hours and you’ll be in Vladivostok! In the meantime, welcome to the capital of Khabarovsk Territory and to the Russian Far East. The city is located on the Amur River near the border with China. There is a 3-km bridge across the river, which is popularly known as the “Amur miracle”.

Interestingly, 75 km from Khabarovsk, in a village of the local indigenous Nanai people, a stone carving dating to 12,000 BC was found. Click here to read more about this ancient artefact. 

If using any of Russia Beyond's content, partly or in full, always provide an active hyperlink to the original material.

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• A brown man in Russia: Lessons learned on a Trans-Siberian rail journey
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• 16 Russian female train conductors that will make your journey cozy! (PHOTOS)

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How to travel around the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore: A look at the traffic impact and alternate routes

By Rohan Mattu

Updated on: March 28, 2024 / 12:07 PM EDT / CBS Baltimore

BALTIMORE -- The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday  led to a major traffic impact for the region and cut off a major artery into and out of the port city. 

A bridge column was hit by a large container ship around 1:30 a.m., sending bridge workers and vehicles into the Patapsco River. A water search for six missing workers turned to a recovery effort Tuesday night.

Drivers are told to prepare for extra commuting time until further notice.

Alternate routes after Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse

Maryland transit authorities quickly put detours in place for those traveling through Dundalk or the Curtis Bay/Hawkins Point side of the bridge. The estimated 31,000 who travel the bridge every day will need to find a new route for the foreseeable future. 

The outer loop I-695 closure shifted to exit 1/Quarantine Road (past the Curtis Creek Drawbridge) to allow for enhanced local traffic access. 

The inner loop of I-695 remains closed at MD 157 (Peninsula Expressway). Additionally, the ramp from MD 157 to the inner loop of I-695 will be closed. 

Alternate routes are I-95 (Fort McHenry Tunnel) or I-895 (Baltimore Harbor Tunnel) for north/south routes. 

Commercial vehicles carrying materials that are prohibited in the tunnel crossings, including recreation vehicles carrying propane, should plan on using I-695 (Baltimore Beltway) between Essex and Glen Burnie. This will add significant driving time.   

Where is the Francis Scott Key Bridge? 

The Key Bridge crosses the Patapsco River, a key waterway that along with the Port of Baltimore serves as a hub for East Coast shipping. 

The bridge is the outermost of three toll crossings of Baltimore's Harbor and the final link in Interstate 695, known in the region as the Baltimore Beltway, which links Baltimore and Washington, D.C. 

The bridge was built after the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel reached capacity and experienced heavy congestion almost daily, according to the MDTA. 

Tractor-trailer inspections

Tractor-trailers that now have clearance to use the tunnels will need to be checked for hazardous materials, which are not permitted in tunnels, and that could further hold up traffic. 

The MDTA says vehicles carrying bottled propane gas over 10 pounds per container (maximum of 10 containers), bulk gasoline, explosives, significant amounts of radioactive materials, and other hazardous materials are prohibited from using the Fort McHenry Tunnel (I-95) or the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel (I-895).  

Any vehicles transporting hazardous materials should use the western section of I-695 around the tunnels, officials said. 

Rohan Mattu is a digital producer at CBS News Baltimore. Rohan graduated from Towson University in 2020 with a degree in journalism and previously wrote for WDVM-TV in Hagerstown. He maintains WJZ's website and social media, which includes breaking news in everything from politics to sports.

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Who are the victims in Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse?

Two bodies recovered from vehicle underwater at Key Bridge collapse site

What we know about search and rescue efforts at Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse site

Francis Scott Key Bridge collapses in Baltimore after ship strike, residents react

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The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20500

Remarks by President   Biden on the Collapse of the Francis Scott Key   Bridge

12:46 P.M. EDT   THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, folks.  Sorry to keep you waiting.  I was waiting to talk to the last member of the delegation in the region.   Good afternoon.  Before I leave for North Carolina, which I’m going to do in a few minutes, I want to speak briefly about the terrible incident and accident that happened in Baltimore this morning.    At about 1:30, a container ship struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which I’ve been over many, many times commuting from the state of Delaware either on a train or by car.  I’ve been to Baltimore Harbor many times.  And the bridge collapsed, sending several people and vehicles into the water — into the river.    And multiple U.S. Coast Guard units, which are stationed very nearby, thank God, were immediately deployed, along with local emergency personnel.  And the Coast Guard is leading the response at the port, where representatives from the Federal Highway Administration, the FBI, the Department of Transportation, the Army Corps of Engineers, as well as Maryland officials and Baltimore Police and Fire — they’re all working together to coordinate an emergency response.   Officials at the scene estimate eight people were unaccounted for still — not still, were unaccounted for.  That number might change.  Two have been rescued — one without injury, one in critical condition.  And the search-and-rescue operation is continuing for all those remaining as we speak.   I spoke with Governor Moore this morning as well as the Mayor of Baltimore, the County Executive, United two — both United States senators and the congressman.  And my Secretary of Transportation is on the scene.    I told them we’re going to send all the federal resources they need as we respond to this emergency, and I mean all the federal resources.  And we’re going to rebuild that port together.     Everything so far indicates that this was a terrible accident.  At this time, we have no other indication — no other reason to believe there was any intentional act here.    Personnel on board the ship were able to alert the Maryland Department of Transportation that they had lost control of their vessel, as you all know and have reported.  As a result, local authorities were able to close the bridge to traffic before the bridge was struck, which undoubtedly saved lives.    And our prayers are with everyone involved in this terrible accident and all the families, especially those waiting for the news of their loved one right now.  I know every minute in that circumstance feels like a lifetime.  You just don’t know.  It’s just terrible.   We’re incredibly grateful for the brave rescuers who immediately rushed to the scene.    And to the people of Baltimore, I want to say: We’re with you.  We’re going to stay with you as long as takes.  And like the governor said, you’re Maryland tough, you’re Baltimore strong, and we’re going to get through this together.  And I promise: We’re not leaving.   Here’s what’s happening now.  The search-and-rescue operation is our top priority.  Ship traffic in the Port of Baltimore has been suspended until further notice.  And we’ll need to clear that channel before the ship traffic can resume.  The Army Corps of Engineers is on the spot and is going to help lead this effort to clear the channel.    The Port of Baltimore is one of the nation’s largest shipping hubs.  And I’ve been there a number of times as a senator and as a vice president.  It handled a record amount of cargo last year.  It’s also the top port in America for both imports and exports of automobiles and light trucks.  Around 850,000 vehicles go through that port every single year, and we’re going to get it up and running again as soon as possible.   Fifteen thousand jobs depend on that port.  And we’re going to do everything we can to protect those jobs and help those workers.   The bridge is also critical to — for travel, not just for Baltimore but for the Northeast Corridor.  Over 30,000 vehicles cross the Francis Scott Key Bridge on a daily basis.  It’s virtually th- — well, it’s one of the most important elements for the economy in the Northeast and the quality of life. My Transportation Secretary is there now.  As I told Governor Moore, I’ve directed my team to move heaven and earth to reopen the port and rebuild the bridge as soon as hu- — humanly possible.  And we’re going to work hand in hand with the support of Maryland — to support Maryland, whatever they ask for.  And we’re going to work with our partners in Congress to make sure the state gets the support it needs.   It’s my intention that federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge, and I expect to — the Congress to support my effort.

This is going to take some time.  And the people of Baltimore can count on us, though, to stick with them at every step of the way until the port is reopened and the bridge is rebuilt.    You know, we’re not leaving until this job gets done — not leaving until then.      So, I just want to say God bless everybody who — everyone harmed this morning and their families.  And may God bless the first responders, who — many of whom risking their lives.

And I’m going to — the reason I’m not going to take a lot of questions — there’s remaining issues that are open that we got to determine what’s going to happen in terms of — of the rescue mission and the like.  But I’ll — I’m —

Q    Do — do you plan to go to Baltimore, sir?  And if so, how quickly?

THE PRESIDENT:  I do and as quickly as I can.  That’s what we’re working on —

Q    You said the federal government is also going to pay for the repairs.  I’m just curious — this was a ship that appears to be at fault.  Is there any reason to believe that the company behind the ship should be held responsible?

And then, also, you mentioned —

THE PRESIDENT:  That could be, but we’re not going to wait if that happened.  We’re going to pay for it to get the bridge rebuilt and open.

Q    What did you make of Israel’s decision not to attend this meeting this week?

THE PRESIDENT:  Oh, I don’t want to get into that now.

Q    Regarding Rafah.

THE PRESIDENT:  We’ll have plenty of time to talk about Rafah.

Q    You mentioned the port — 

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Thank you.

Q    Can I ask about cars?

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.    12:51 P.M. EDT

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All aboard the moon train: DARPA is trying to figure out how to build a lunar railroad

• Astronauts could one day hop a train on the moon.
• DARPA, the famed US research agency, has asked a firm to come up with a lunar railroad concept. 
• NASA wants astronauts to live on the moon, which means developing lunar power, transport, and comms.

Astronauts may one day be able to hop on a train to travel the moon's surface.

DARPA, the US Defense Department's secretive research agency, has been tasked with figuring out how to support astronauts who could soon be living on the moon for extended periods.

The plans are highly hypothetical — there are currently no permanent structures on the moon at all, and no people have been there since 1972.

But the US and other nations want to get people on the moon once again, and that would require futuristic infrastructure to provide reliable power, comms, and transport.

As part of this mission, DARPA tasked US aerospace and defense tech firm Northrop Grumman to develop a concept for a lunar railway.

If realized, this railroad could transport people, supplies, and commercial cargo on the moon, Northrop Grumman said in a statement Tuesday.

The firm will not be building the railway but figuring out if it is physically and financially possible.

Related stories

They will have to find clever ideas to sidestep the moon's brutal landscape. Abrasive lunar dust, for one, can ruin tracks and transporters, NASA previously said .

NASA previously investigated a concept for a magnetic levitating train called FLOAT to avoid that problem. In that concept, electromagnetic tracks shuttled levitating robots carrying cargo back and forth.

The study found the concept was doable, but required more investigation, per Breaking Defense. It's not clear whether Northrop Grumman intends to pursue that idea or come up with something else.

Though this may all sound like science fiction, it's not as far-fetched as you might think.

NASA has a longterm plan underway to get people on the moon. The Artemis program kicked off with a flight around the moon in 2022.

Its ultimate aim is to establish astronauts on the moon and Mars, setting the groundwork for commercial exploitation of the solar system.

For the next Artemis mission, the agency aims to send astronauts back to the moon for the first time in over 50 years by the end of 2025 .

Commercial partners, meanwhile, are already thinking of ways to mine the moon.

This could provide building materials, water that could be used to power rockets toward Mars, and Helium-3 — a precious isotope that could be used in fusion reactors.

NASA and other space agencies have also been looking at putting miniature nuclear reactors on the moon to power the bases. Plans also include putting comms and GPS satellites in the moon's orbit to allow astronauts to navigate, talk — and even stream — from the lunar surface.

Before this can happen, however, NASA needs to sort out the problem of getting astronauts to the moon from Earth. At this juncture, this depends on SpaceX and Blue Origins finessing their experimental mega-rockets.

Elon Musk's Starship last week passed a milestone when the almost 400-foot-tall rocket flew in space for the first time. Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin, for its part, aims to launch its behemoth New Glenn by the end of this year.

Watch: The first private company just landed on the moon. Here's how they did it.

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How the Key Bridge Collapsed in Baltimore: Maps and Photos

By Weiyi Cai ,  Agnes Chang ,  Lauren Leatherby ,  Lazaro Gamio ,  Leanne Abraham and Scott Reinhard

On Tuesday, a major bridge in Baltimore collapsed into the water seconds after it was struck by a cargo ship, sending vehicles on the bridge into the river below. The ship lost power and issued a mayday call shortly before it hit the bridge.

The ship, a 948-foot-long cargo vessel called Dali, was about a half hour into its journey toward Colombo, Sri Lanka, when it hit a main pillar of the bridge. All crew members are safe, according to the ship’s owners.

Follow our live coverage .

A mayday call from the ship gave officials enough time to stop traffic at both ends of the bridge. The waters where the bridge collapsed are about 50 feet deep. By Tuesday morning, six construction workers who had been fixing potholes on the bridge remained missing as divers and other emergency workers on boats and helicopters continued to search for them. Two others had been rescued, and one was in the hospital.

Francis Scott

Patapsco River

The ship left the Port

of Baltimore around

1 a.m. on Tuesday.

Where impact occurred

Direction of the ship

The ship hit the

bridge at 1:28 a.m.

The ship hit the bridge at 1:28 a.m.

Where impact

Source: Spire Global

The New York Times; satellite image by Google Earth

The lights of the ship flickered on and off as it lost power in the minutes before the ship changed bearing and hit the bridge.

Ship approached from

the Port of Baltimore

Road repair crews

Ship changed heading

as it neared pillar

Ship hit pillar

Southern and central spans

of bridge began to collapse within

seconds of impact

Northern span began to

collapse seconds later

Within 30 seconds of impact,

the central part of bridge had

entirely collapsed.

Source: StreamTime Live via YouTube

Timestamps are from StreamTime Live video.

The New York Times

The Francis Scott Key Bridge was opened in 1977 and carried more than 12.4 million vehicles last year. The bridge was one of the three major ways to cross the Patapsco River and formed part of Baltimore’s beltway.

The Port of Baltimore is a major trade hub that handled a record amount of foreign cargo last year. It is an especially important destination — the nation’s largest by volume last year — for deliveries of cars and light trucks.

Ship impact

To Chesapeake Bay

Sources: Maryland Port Administration, OpenStreetMap, MarineTraffic

Note: Ship positions are as of 2:46 p.m. Eastern time.

Overall, Baltimore was the 17th biggest port in the United States in 2021, ranked by total tons, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The bridge collapse brought marine traffic there to a standstill, with seven cargo or tanker ships stranded in the harbor as of Tuesday afternoon.

Gov. Wes Moore declared a state of emergency for Maryland and said that his office was in close communication with Pete Buttigieg, the U.S. transportation secretary. The White House issued a statement saying that President Biden had been briefed on the collapse.

Erin Schaff/The New York Times

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Tyumen – the First Russian City in Siberia

2 Comments · Posted by Sergei Rzhevsky in Cities , Photos , Travel

Tyumen , founded in 1586, is a large city with a population of more than 700 thousand people located in the south of Western Siberia, about 2,200 km east of Moscow , the administrative center of the Tyumen region .

It was founded as a defensive outpost, which played an important role during the initial colonization of Siberia and the Far East. In the 18th-19th centuries, the town turned into a large transit and trade center, as well as a center of crafts. Photos by: Slava Stepanov .

In the second half of the 20th century, large oil and natural gas fields were discovered in the region. It was an important event in the history of Tyumen, which contributed to rapid industrial growth of the city.

The multi-level embankment on the right bank of the Tura River. The total length of the embankment is about 3 km. There are sculptures and bronze bass-reliefs dedicated to the history of the city here.

Today, Tyumen is one of the industrial and cultural centers of Western Siberia with a developed business and social infrastructure. Tyumen regularly occupies the leading places in the quality of life ratings.

The Pedestrian Bridge of Lovers across the Tura River – one of the main attractions of Tyumen.

Tsvetnoy Boulevard with entertainment and sports facilities, shopping centers, restaurants, and cafes.

“The Seasons” – the largest fountain in Tyumen.

Administration of Tyumen.

The Tyumen Circus.

Government of the Tyumen region.

On the square in front of the government building there is a monument to Lenin.

The Savior Church (1794-1819) – one of the most beautiful churches of Tyumen.

The Holy Trinity Monastery (early and mid 18th century) – one of the oldest architectural ensembles in Siberia.

Znamensky Cathedral (1768) – the main Orthodox church of Tyumen.

The Tyumen Drama Theater – the largest drama theater in Russia.

Memory Square. In the center there is a stele in the form of a candle – a memorial dedicated to the Tyumen residents who died on the fronts of the Second World War.

“Pyotr Stolypin” – a 20-storey business center, which is the highest building in Tyumen (88 meters). On the roof of the building there is an observation deck.

Residential areas.

Silver Streams Public Garden in the Voynovka district.

“LetoLeto” (“SummerSummer”) water park.

Tyumen Railway Station.

Voynovka Classification Yard.

The Heat and Power Plant #2 located in the south-eastern part of Tyumen. It supplies about 40% of the heat the city needs.

DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton Hotel Tyumen.

Welcome to Tyumen !

Tags:  Tyumen city

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Guy Lanza · December 4, 2021 at 1:14 am

Tyumen is a beautiful and progressive city as your report points out. But, it is also home of the University of Tyumen – an excellent intellectual center and rapidly rising research center.

Marion · February 11, 2022 at 9:23 am

I have enjoyed seeing your city, region on this page. would very much like to contact fire station. I would like to buy outfits for my two cats like there mascot cat seen in video. I live in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. Look forward to hearing from you. Kindest regards.

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What we know about Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse

The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed early Tuesday after being hit by a cargo ship, with large parts of the bridge falling into the Patapsco River.

At least eight people fell into the water, members of a construction crew working on the bridge at the time, officials said. Two were rescued, one uninjured and one in serious condition, and two bodies were recovered on Wednesday. The remaining four are presumed dead. The workers are believed to be the only victims in the disaster.

Here’s what we know so far.

Baltimore bridge collapse

Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed after being hit by a cargo ship , sending at least eight people from a construction crew into the water. Follow live updates and see photos from the scene .

How it happened: The container ship lost power shortly before hitting the bridge, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) said. Video shows the bridge collapse in under 40 seconds.

Victims: Divers recovered the bodies of two construction workers who died , while finding other vehicles trapped and probably containing the other victims, officials said. They were fathers, husbands and hard workers . The entire crew aboard the container ship Dali survived . First responders shut down most traffic on the four-lane bridge after the crew issued an urgent mayday call. It saved lives, Moore said.

Economic impact: The collapse of the bridge, which severed ocean links to the Port of Baltimore, adds a fresh headache to already struggling global supply chains . See how the collapse will disrupt the supply of cars, coal and other goods .

History: The Key Bridge was built in the 1970s and spanned the Patapsco River. Rebuilding the bridge will probably take years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars, experts said.

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