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Railroad (1783 words) |
 | Though the rail system was extremely slow at first and prohibitively expensive to build and run, the British were not to be dissuaded in their pursuit of non-animal driven transportation. |
| The most advanced mode of transportation prior to the introduction of the rail system was the horse drawn omnibus on a track, called a tram. |
| Some rails were still made of wood, others iron and the first trains traveled at the pace of 3.5 miles per hour, significantly slower than the horse drawn coach which traveled at a speed of 9-10 miles per hour. |
| Electric Traction (2793 words) |
| In England a patent was granted in 1840 for the use of rails as conductors of electric current, and similar American patents were issued to Lilley and Colten in 1847. |
| All that is needed to cause the car to move along the running rails is to supply current through an overhead wire or third "conductor rail." This wire or rail will serve as a "return" for the electric current to the dynamo in the power station. |
| This conductor rail was set one inch below the level of the running rails, and wooden ramps were provided at points and crossings to carry the collectors over the rails, thus avoiding a short-circuit. |
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