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25 Nandan
25 Nandan
History of Railways: The history of railways is closely linked with the growth of
civilization of mankind. In 15th century stone slabs or wooden baulks were laid
flush with the road surface for carriage of heavy goods loaded on carts and drawn
by animal. These were called “Tram ways‟. These Tram ways were extensively
used in 16th century in mines in central Europe for carriage of coal and other
minerals.
The timber bulks were replaced by iron plates to reduce wear and these were
called “Plate ways‟. These iron plates were also substituted in course of time by
angle irons to give lateral support or better safety. The present railway track is a
gradual evolution from these “Plate ways.‟
The first public railway in the world was opened to traffic on 27th
September, 1825, when the first train made its maiden journey between Stockton
and Darlington in U.K.
The maiden trip on Indian Soil of the first train consisting of one steam
engine and 4 coaches was made on 16th April 1853, when it traversed a 21 mile
stretch between Bombay and Thana in 1.25 hours time. Starting from this humble
beginning, the Indian railways system has grown up today into a giant network
consisting of about 63000 route Kms.
The Indian Railways run about 22,593 trains every day, serving about 7,349
railway stations and carry about 5112 million passengers and about 581 million
tonnes of goods traffic in a year. For moving this traffic, the Indian Railways
deploy about 1.38million employees and maintain 13215 locomotives.
INTERSHIP 25/08/2023
TRACK MACHINES:
Fig 25.1