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GEORGE STEPHENSON • • • • • • • • • • • • •
George Stephenson was an engineer. He built steam locomotives for the first railways. He is called 'the Father of the Railway'. In 1814 he made his first 'railway locomotive‘: The Rocket In 1819 George was asked to build a small railway at Hetton Colliery. The track was 8 miles long. In 1825 a new railway was opened between the towns of Stockton and Darlington. George and his men built the track and the locomotive. It was the first passenger steam railway in the world. George drove the first train. The engine was called 'Locomotion No. 1'. It pulled a train with 450 passengers at a speed of 15 miles an hour.
TYPES OF LOCOMOTIVES • Steam Locomotives. In the early 1800s, steam engine was used in locomotives and trains began to carry passengers. By the late 1800s, steam powered passenger trains carried people living in the country to cities for work and for pleasure. The Rocket is one of the most famous locomotives in the world. It was a steam locomotive built in 1829 and designed by Robert Stephenson. There are two types of steam locomotives: Coal Burning and Wood Burning. • Diesel Locomotives The diesel engine was invented by a German engineer, Rudolf Diesel in 1892. The diesel fuel is burned to drive a generator which makes electricity runs an electric motor which drives the wheels. Diesel trains were introduced in the 1930s. These trains were faster, quieter and cleaner than steam trains. Diesel powered engines are still used today worldwide. Diesel locomotives are sometimes called “Diesel-Electric”. They are just using a combustion engine to move the wheels. Diesel engines must get fuel the same way cars get gasoline. They have to ride up the pump. Diesel locomotives are very powerful. • Electric Locomotives Advances in electrical infrastructure and electric engines enabled to adopt electrical power as one of the most reliable sources of propulsion.
An electric locomotive gets its electricity from a power source. Here the train is using a pantograph to collect electricity from the overhead wires. Diesel locomotives are really electrical locomotives. Today electrical trains can be found everywhere, from city transit trains, subways, trams, to high speed rapid transit trains. • Maglev locomotives Maglev locomotives are the fastest trains in the world. They do not use wheels to make the train move. They use the force of magnets. Maglev trains can travel 431 miles an hour. The maglev trains do not make any air pollution. • • • • • • • • •
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, diesel fuel and magnet Currently trains transport around 40% of world’s cargo. Trains are very eco-friendly, but are expensive to produce and maintain. This incredible discovery to drastically change industry, human expansion, and the way we travel. Trains enabled us to develop our civilization with unexpected consequences, distant lands become almost instantly reachable Distant lands become almost instantly reachable months, industrial manufacture could be powered with infinite amount of raw materials and outgoing transport of finished goods 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 cars for longer journeys), freight trains, to high-speed bullet trains that can reach speeds of 300-500 kilometers per hour.
INTERESTING AND FUN FACTS ABOUT TRAINS East and West coast of North America was linked with railway network on May 10, 1866 by uniting Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads for about 3000 miles long . Maglev trains can reach speeds of over 550 km/h, but by the year 2020 they will most probably come close to 800 km/h. Heaviest train ever recorded weighted 95,000 tonnes! This freight train from Australia was 7.3 kilometers long Current speed record for trains is held by French TGV bullet train. He reached the speed of 584 km per hour and then braked for 16 kilometers before it managed to stop. First underground railway was also made in London. This small network of tunnels had problems with steam engine smoke, but its popularity never wavered. Eurostar is a high-speed railway service connecting London with Paris and Brussels. All its trains traverse the Channel Tunnel (a 50.5-kilometres rail tunnel) between the United Kingdom and France. Marmaray is a rail transport project in the Turkish city of Istanbul. It comprises an undersea rail tunnel ( 1.8 km.) under the Bosphorus strait, along the Sea of Marmara from Halkalı on the European side to Gebze on the Asian side. SOME FAMOUS TRAINS
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ORIENT EXPRESS: From Paris to Istanbul, crossing six countries. TRANS-SIBERIAN EXPRESS: Traveling between Moscow and Vladivostok, At 5,778 miles, the longest regular train trip in the world.
OUR ART PROJECTS
SOME GAMES
Have a look at these trains. Could you classify them? STEAM DIESEL ELECTRIC MAGLEV ……………......
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Let’s make an art project: ‘Draw your favourite locomotive’.