Talk:Rail transport

Terrible 'Further Reading' List

The "Further Reading" section is appalling. Articles in 60-year-old journals? I don't think so. This should be for GENERAL READING, not scholarly research. The list should contain general and widely available books on trains and railroads. Seriously, think about your audience: would you really tell someone off the street who wanted to know more about trains to look up THIS set of sources? I don't think so.

I say this because I am, in fact, myself looking for a general reference on the history of railways and am having trouble finding one that suits me. \ Fnarf999 \ talk \ contribs \ 22:24, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

Energy efficiency

Statistics about energy efficiency need to be put in context. For example, it is not more efficient for a gigantic locomotive to move a small number of people or a small amount of cargo, than a smaller car or truck, even though the train's rolling friction is lower. -- Beland 17:41, 10 March 2007 (UTC)

"Iron way"

In many (but not all) languages, the literal translation of the word or phrase used for "railway" is "iron way"; for example, "chemin de fer" (French), "ferrovia" (Italian and Portuguese; the latter also uses "estrada de ferro") and Modern Greek "σιδηρόδρομος". (See the discussion in Wiktionary of this idea.)

Important - "Eisenbahn" = "iron road" or "iron trail" in the German language. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.249.87.203 (talk) 05:25, 13 September 2008 (UTC)

The article suggests that iron rails might have been invented by the British ("In the late 18th century iron rails began to appear: British civil engineer William Jessop designed ...") but does not make this clear. If this is indeed true, could it be that iron rails were exported all over the British Empire and led to railways being known as "iron ways" in various languages? This is just a conjecture of mine, but the similarity in many languages must have arisen somehow.

It's interesting to note, however, that English itself does not use "iron way" - has this ever been used in English? If not, this might mean my conjecture is false, although the words in various languages could of course be calques of another language. — Paul G 08:50, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

Paul, yes, the term 'iron road' was used. For example a classic book on the early history of railways is 'Our Iron Roads' by F S Williams, 1852. I have put this in the further reading list. Paul Matthews 13:07, 13 September 2007 (UTC)

Early railroads used iron tracks simply because railroads were innovated before steel became a mass-produced industrial commodity. Hence, words like "Eisenbahn" and the "Iron Horse" came into being while rails and locomotives were made out of softer iron. When tougher, stronger steel came into use, the terminology did not change. A huge number of miles of iron rails had to be removed and replaced with steel ones. Steel bridges also replaced iron ones.74.249.87.203 (talk) 05:45, 13 September 2008 (UTC)

Perhaps in a humorous vein, the German airplane, the Junkers Ju 52 was sometimes called the "Iron Annie" - an anacronistic name.74.249.87.203 (talk) 05:45, 13 September 2008 (UTC)

Section removed from 'General'

I have removed the bulk of the following from the 'General' section. It contains far more detail than for other countries, and throws the balance of the section out of kilter.

As compared to most developed European and Asian nations, intercity rail transport in the United States is relatively scarce outside the Northeast Corridor. Major U.S. cities with heavily-used, local rail-based passenger transport systems are New York, Chicago, Boston, Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Philadelphia. Other U.S. cities with significant light rail or commuter rail operations include Atlanta, Dallas,Los Angeles, San Diego, and Portland, Oregon. Amtrak, an agency of the federal government, is the sole nationwide passenger rail operator. In Canada, the government-owned VIA Rail system provides intercity service at prices that are usually higher than bus service but lower than air travel. Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver operate rapid transit and/or light rail services that receive millions of riders a year, and Ottawa has considered expanding its light rail pilot project.

Perhaps it would be better in an article discussing US railroads?

EdJogg 23:03, 10 September 2007 (UTC)

Towards GA Status...

As may be seen from the header at the top of the page, this article has been selected for inclusion in Wikipedia 0.7 as an important article. This is because it is (or at least should be) the 'top level' article relating to railways/railroads (both terms redirect here).

However, before it can be included, the article really should be pushed towards 'Good Article' status, at the very least, preferably aiming for 'Featured' status.

With this in mind, several editors have started looking at the many areas where this article falls short. A substantial ToDo list has been drawn-up (see top of page), and some of the necessary work has already been started. I would like to encourage you to join in with this collaborative effort to improve the article.

EdJogg 10:09, 19 September 2007 (UTC)

Scotland missing

Why is there no coverage in this article of Scotland's contribution to railway history? The Kilmarnock and Troon Railway was opened more than ten years before the Stockton and Darlington line. TheBourtreehillian 19:08, 28 September 2007 (UTC)

We were waiting for you to add it. B-) Actually, it's probably just that nobody's had a reliable source to cite when making such an update. Do you have a citation for the information you've added? I haven't had a chance to look through my own references yet. Slambo (Speak) 19:23, 28 September 2007 (UTC)

There's a wondeful video about a narrow-gauge railroad at www.tollgateproductions.com. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.23.137.9 (talk) 18:22, 20 March 2008 (UTC)

tons

The article mentions tons without specifying whether they are long or short ones. Could this be fixed so that a conversion to tonnes can be made? JЇѦρ 01:32, 21 April 2008 (UTC)

Railroad not invented in America at all

In the “Industrial Age” the article inaccurately states that “In the United States from 1860 to 1910, the invention of railroads reduced transportation costs, and large manufacturing centers began to emerge, thus allowing migration from rural to city areas”

Railroads are a European invention, with the various forms of metal railroads, wrought iron and steel, being both invented in England, during the 19th century, and not at all in America. The first extensive railroad system, covering the whole country over many thousands of miles, built for transporting people, was again in England and not America, from the 1820’s to 1860’s. If, Railroad means more the train, rather than the track, that was also almost exclusively an English invention. The invention of Railroad has nothing to do with America!—Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.129.25.58 (talk) 19:03, 24 August 2008 (UTC)

Therefore in the “Industrial Age” part of this article the sentence should read, “In the United States from 1860 to 1910, the building of railroads reduced transportation costs, and large manufacturing centers began to emerge, thus allowing migration from rural to city areas.” —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.129.25.58 (talk) 18:55, 24 August 2008 (UTC)

Long-distance railroads, including on the transcontinental basis, certainly were invented in the United States, and then followed by those in Canada. As just an example, a railroad line from New York City to Chicago is far longer than anything that could be contained in the British Isles or in France. I also get the feeling that someone might have earlier used the word "invention" when they really meant "innovation". Long-distance railroad systems in a massive network were certainly an American innovation, followed by the Canadians. 74.249.87.203 (talk) 05:33, 13 September 2008 (UTC)