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From Corinth to Darlington -

a journey on two tracks with many detours along the way

A.

There are those who believe that it was George Stephenson who was the inventor of
railway transport and indeed many history books do credit him with this
achievement. In point of fact though, railway transport had a long and varied
history well before Stephenson came along with his legendary “Rocket” and
“Locomotion” and he can at best be regarded as the man who popularised steam
powered rail locomotion for passengers. Though, even in that sphere, he should be
seen as simply developing ideas of other inventors rather than as being the true
originator.

B.

Strange as it may seem, the pioneers of rail transport were the Ancient Greeks of
Corinth as far back as 600 BC. They produced a system for transporting boats
across the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow neck of land connecting the Peloponnese
with mainland Greece, so that sailors no longer had to take the longer route around
the Peloponnese. It worked by pulling wheeled vehicles along a track which was
formed by grooves in the natural limestone and this prevented the wagons from
leaving the intended route, much in the same way as modern railways work.
Curiously, the technology for creating the first steam engine already existed at this
time as Archimedes had invented the steam powered cannon. The Corinthians did
not consider using steam to power this prototype of the railway but instead used
horses and oxen.

C.

The next great leap forward in rail transport came in Germany in the mid 16th
century when a primitive form of wooden rails were introduced. The breakthrough
was the so-called “hund” system. This involved the wheels running not on grooves
in the ground as previously, but on wooden planks with a pin on the wagon that
fitted into the gap between the planks so that the wagon ran in one direction. This
system gradually evolved and became increasingly popular as a form of transport as
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the Industrial Revolution took hold of Western Europe. The reason being that, as
coal and other minerals were being mined in ever larger quantities, there was a
corresponding need for a form of transport that was energy efficient. A wheel
running on a rigid rail provided just such a solution for the transport of heavy bulk
goods as it needed less energy than the alternative road transport system which
was hindered by the uneven road surfaces of the time.

D.

The technology of the Industrial Revolution also provided the inspiration for the
means to power these new rail systems in the form of steam. James Watt had seen
the potential of steam to drive a wheel and developed a reciprocating engine that
helped power the machinery in the cotton mills that were flourishing at the time.
This stationary engine was both too large and inefficient to be utilised in transport,
but in a relatively short span of time boiler technology improved and smaller
engines were developed that could produce high pressure steam that acted directly
on a piston so that they could drive a vehicle. Indeed, Watt himself patented a
design for a steam locomotive in 1784.

E.

At this point, progression in rail transport accelerated rapidly and within 30 years
passenger transport became a reality. The first step was the construction of a
working model of a steam locomotive by John Fitch in the United States in 1794 and
a mere 10 years later a full scale steam locomotive was built in the united Kingdom
by Richard Trevithick. While he made several advances towards constructing a truly
functional railway locomotive, especially with the introduction of a fly-wheel system
to even out the action of the piston that drove the wheels, Trevithick never managed
to construct a locomotive that was more than simply experimental. The one
problem he failed to overcome was that his engines were still too heavy to be borne
by the tracks as the steel used was simply too weak.

F.

The Napoleonic wars provided the stimulus in the next stage of this journey towards
a workable form of rail transport. It became highly desirable that a means was
found move provisions around the continent so that the all-important supply lines
were not broken. Necessity being the mother of invention, it was not long before
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two key advances were made: a twin cylinder locomotive that was light enough not
to break the rails and an adhesion system that ensured the weight of the locomotive
was distributed evenly through a number of wheels. The success of these
technological advances can be seen by the fact that the first commercially successful
steam locomotive railway was in operation by 1812, transporting coal. At this point
George Stephenson saw the potential of the new steam locomotive for passenger
transport and, after a decade of improving on the existing technology, he was
instrumental in the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825 in the
north east of England. 600 people made a short journey of 26 miles and a new era
in transport began.

Which pioneer

1. was responsible for building a life size steam locomotive

B. paragraph E “a full scale steam locomotive was built in the united Kingdom by
Richard Trevithick”

2. legally protected the design of a steam locomotive

D. paragraph D “ Indeed, Watt himself patented a design for a steam locomotive in

1784.

3. created a small scale replica of a steam locomotive

E paragraph E “The first step was the construction of a working model of a steam
locomotive by John Fitch”

4. was defeated by the limitations of the raw materials available to him

B paragraph E: “he failed to overcome was that his engines were still too heavy to be
borne by the tracks as the steel used was simply too weak”

5. understood how steam locomotives could transport people

A: paragraph F: “George Stephenson saw the potential of the new steam locomotive
for passenger transport

6. used steam for warfare

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C: paragraph A” Archimedes had invented the steam powered cannon

7. discovered a use for steam engines in the manufacturing industry

D paragraph D: “James Watt had seen the potential of steam to drive a wheel and
developed a reciprocating engine that helped power the machinery in the cotton
mills that were flourishing at the time

Choose one of

A. George Stephenson

B. Richard Trevithick

C. Archimedes

D. James Watt

E. John Fitch