Railroad - Boston, Expansion, Industry

railroad

Table of Contents

Introduction
Cars
- Freight cars
- Passenger cars
  - Brake systems
  - Automatic body tilting
  - Cars for daytime service
  - Cars for overnight travel
Railroad track and roadway
- Location and construction
- Rail
  - Rail fittings
  - Sleepers (crossties)
  - Track maintenance
- Auxiliary plant
  - Bridges
  - Buildings
  - Tunnels
Railroad operations and control
- Communications
  - Radio
  - Computers
- Signaling
  - Types of signals
  - Automated systems
  - Interlocking and routing
- The marshaling yard
Intermodal freight vehicles and systems
- Development
- Operations
- Passenger intermodals
Railroad history
- Source in inland water transport
- Early European railroads
  - The Stockton and Darlington Railway
  - The Liverpool and Manchester Railway
  - Characteristics of British railroads
  - The railroad in continental Europe
- Early American railroads
  - The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
  - Boston railroads
  - The South Carolina Railroad
- North American railroads in the late 19th and 20th centuries
  - American railroads
    - Expansion into the interior
    - The transcontinental railroad
    - Advances in traction systems
    - Railway company mergers
  - Canadian railroads
Modern railways
- Diesel-electric locomotion and electronic systems
- Growth in developing countries
- High-speed passenger lines
  - Japan
  - Western Europe
  - South Korea, Taiwan, and China
  - North America
- Maglev

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

Learn about the American railroad history and the California State Railroad Museum

bridge on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad

For Students

railroad summary

Read Next

The exterior of the Victoria terminus railway station, Mumbai, India. (Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, UNESCO World Heritage site)

5 Transit Stations Worth Seeing

Close up of a hand placing a ballot in a ballot box. Election vote voter voting

Have Any U.S. Presidents Decided Not to Run For a Second Term?

A pet macaw. Large colourful parrot native to tropical America. Bird, companionship, bird, beak, alert, squawk. For AFA new year resolution.

Majestic sequoias in Sequoia National Park. (trees; sunlight; forest; conifers; sequoia tree)

Saving the World’s Largest Trees

New York city skyline aerial with the Empire State Building, New York City, New York.

13 Iconic Buildings to Visit in New York City

Discover

9 of the World’s Deadliest Spiders

Albert Einstein in Washington, D.C. c. 1921-1923. Physicist

The Solar Eclipse That Made Albert Einstein a Science Celebrity

Mona Lisa, oil on wood panel by Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1503-06; in the Louvre, Paris, France. 77 x 53 cm.

Why Is the Mona Lisa So Famous?

Aphrodite. Greek mythology. Sculpture. Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love and beauty.

12 Greek Gods and Goddesses

solar eclipse, sun, moon, astronomy, space

How Do You Tell the Difference Between Total, Annular, Solar, and Lunar Eclipses?

Artist interpretation of a Space meteoroid impact. Meteor impact. Asteroid, End of the world, danger, destruction, dinosaur extinct, Judgement Day, Planet Earth, Doomsday Predictions, comet

10 Failed Doomsday Predictions

Queen Elizabeth II addresses at opening of Parliament. (Date unknown on photo, but may be 1958, the first time the opening of Parliament was filmed.)

All 119 References in “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” Explained

Three Massachusetts railroads were chartered and under construction in 1830, at first showing a strong affinity for British practice. The Boston and Lowell, Boston and Providence, and Boston and Worcester railroads radiated from the metropolis to towns no more than 70 km (45 miles) away. In 1835, when all were operating, Boston became the world’s first rail hub. As in Europe the pattern of having a metropolitan station for each line was established, though Boston had by the end of the century created a North Union Station and a South Station and an elevated railway to join them by rapid ...(100 of 20134 words)

Access the full article

Help support true facts by becoming a member.