Early Pioneers - The World's Railways
Early railroad development took place in England, initially to carry coal but soon afterwards for the transport of livestock and passengers. It was not long before the railroad appeared in a number of continental European nations, and this expansion of the concept was echoed on the western side of the Atlantic Ocean by the appearance of local lines on the eastern seaboard of the U.S.A. This was only the start of the process, and soon railroads were to be found in most parts of the urbanized and industrialized world as the cost efficiency advantages of the mass transport of people, goods and raw materials become evident. Developments in parts of the world outside Europe and North America generally reflected the technical situation of the major power in whose sphere of interest that part of the world rested, and as a result the British and French patterns dominated in their empires, while the U.S.A. generally secured the lead in Central and South America. Hand-in-hand with the expansion of the railroad concept went the technical development of the locomotives used to haul the traffic, and the railroad becomes the single most important mode of land transport.
Hardback with dust jacket, 32x24cm, 64 pages, black & white and colour illustrations
Condition: Very Good
ISBN: 9781840133561
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Updated: 2 January 2025