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Beaumont designs and builds wagon roads constructed for horses pulling carts and wagons. This was the processor of the Railroad.
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First steam engine arrives in the colonies from England.
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First steam engine installed in America is installed to pump water from a mine.
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Scotsman James Watt builds first "modern" stationary steam engine.
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Murdoch (Watt associate) patents a steam engine that runs 6 to 8 mph
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Englishman William Jessup designs first wagons with flanged wheels.
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Oliver Evans (American) creates earliest sucessful non-condensing high pressure stationary steam-engine. Richard Trevithick of Cornwall builds 40 psi steam locomotive for the Welsh Penydarran.
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Matthew Murray of Leeds (England) invents a steam locomotive which runs on timber rails.
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The very first passenger train ran from Swansea to Mumbles
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Englishman William Hedley builds and patents 50 psi railroad locomotive which could haul 10 coal wagons at 5 mph, equal to 10 horses.
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George Stephenson builds an 8 ton locomotive that pulls 90 tons at 15 mph for Stockton& Darlington RR.
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First steam locomotive used in America, the English-built, Stourbridge Lion, put to work in Delaware and Hudson. Peter Cooper builds vertical boiler with 1.4 HP; it hauled 38 passengers at 18 mph. James Wright invents cone "tread" of wheel which prevents wear of flanges and reduce resistance.
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3.5 ton De Witt Clinton hauls five stage coaches at 25 mph. The engine was lightly and had retired 2 years later. Isaac Dripps made the first locomotive fitted with a bell, headlight, and cowcatcher which the design remained until 1866.
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American No.1 first train capable of reaching speeds of 60 mph. Train designed by Chief Engineer John B. Jervis.The Atlantic Locomotive capable of hauling 50 tons at a distance of 40 miles at 12-15 mph. Designed by Phineas Davis and assisted by Ross Williams.
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George Stephenson applies a small steam brake cylinder to operate brake shoes on driving wheels of locomotives.
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Railway mechanic Nehemiah Hodge patents locomotive vacuum brake. An innovation that helped trains brake at high aptitudes.
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President Abraham Lincoln expands railroad across United States.
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Major Eli Janney invents the Knuckle Coupler (links cart together) which replaces the "link and pin" coupler. This innovation drastically reduced injuries of railroad workers.
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George Westinghouse develops the straight air brake.
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George Westinghouse patents the first automatic air brake which is the basis of today's locomotive brake.
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The first mainline electrification was in Baltimore; 675 VDC was used and successfully hauled 96 ton 4 axle, 4 motor locomotives. This carried 1800 ton trains a 1.25 radius.
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Casey Jones invents the "Cannon Ball".
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First commercially successful internal combustion engine locomotive in the U.S. built by Dan Patch Line. (1913)
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The Electro-Motive Engineering Corporation, headed by H.I. Hamilton begins building gas-electric railcars in Cleaveland, Ohio.
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ALCO builds first diesel-electric locomotive. This design had many improvements in technology which stayed in use in the Bronx until 1957.
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First diesel-electric passenger locomotive built in N. America (1330 HP and max safe speed 63 mph).
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First steamliner in U.S. had V12 600 HP and capable of 110 mph. It was designed by Richard Dilworth. First steamlined electric locomotives begin which pulled high-speed passenger trains between NYC and Washington, D.C. (8500 HP) Production continued in 1943 and was used until the 1980's.
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EMC builds self-contained Diesel-electric passenger locomotives in the U.S. Designs by Dick Dilworth and two draftsmen. This design retires in 1956.
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The Romancecar was used in Japan; it was a narrow gauge train (a narrower area than 4 feet [1.4 m] across between the railroad’s rails) and set a world speed record for its ability to travel 90 mph (145 km/h).
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The Tokaido Shinkansen, connecting Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka, was inaugurated in 1964 as the first shinkansen line and the world's first high speed train service. At that time the trains already ran at about 200 km/h.
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Congress passes Rail Passenger Service Act creating AMTRAK, which serves more than 20 million customers annually nationwide.
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Eurostar makes a tunnel to provide a cross-channel link between Britain and France for trains.
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Eurostar's high-speed rail service between Britain, France and Belgium via the Channel Tunnel. It was originally able to operate on the UK third rail network, and has extensive fireproofing in case of fire in the tunnel. This is both the longest—394 metres (1,290 ft)—and fastest train in regular UK passenger service.
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MetroRail Lite is created and is currently in use in Houston. Plans of expansion of MetroRail Lite is already being enacted as where four more lines are being added and shall be completed by 2012.
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Japan test runs their new eco-friendly bullet train and reaches a record breaking speed of 223 mph.
