На основе этого текста: BEGINNING OF RAILROADS "In more than 200 years of their turbulent history following their birth in the XVIII century, rail-roads reshaped the world's landscape and reoriented human thinking. The luxury passenger express hurtling past small town depots, the slow freight trains chugging through industrial zones, the commuter locals shuttling between suburban stations and urban ter-minals, symbolized the forces of modernization and touched millions with the romance of the rails". David McCulloch "The Iron Road" Several European countries had a few primitive railroads in the mid-1500's. But they were used mainly to bring up wagonloads of coal or iron ore from underground mines. The mining rail-roads consisted of two wooden rails that extended down into the mines and across the mine floors. Men or horses pulled wagons along the rails. In the early 1700's, English coal-mining companies began building short wooden railroads to carry coal aboveground as well as underground. In the mid-1700's, workers began covering the wooden rails with strips of iron to make them last longer. By the end of the 1700's, English iron-makers began making all-iron rails. These all-iron rails carried wagons with flanged wheels. Meanwhile, inventors had been developing the steam engine. During the late 1700's and early 1800's, English inventor Richard Trevithick built the first engines capable of using high-pressure steam. He mounted one of the engines on a four-wheeled carriage designed to roll along the track. In 1804. Trevithick used this vehicle to pull 9 tons of iron, 70 men, and 5 wagons along 9 1/2 miles (15 km) of track Trevithick's invention became the world's first successful railroad lo-comotive. English locomotive builder George Stephenson constructed the world's first public railroad, the Stockton and Darlington, which opened in 1825. The line had a distance of about 20 miles (32 km). It was the first railroad to run steam freight trains on a regular schedule. George Stephen-son's second railroad was built in 1830. It was 30 miles (48 km) long and operated between Liver-pool and Manchester. It was the first line to run steam passenger trains on a regular schedule. Stephenson also originated the idea that all English railroads should have a standard gauge. The gauge he selected for the railroads he built-4 ft. 8 1/2 in. (1.44 m) was the same as the length of axles on many horse-drawn wagons. This gauge was eventually adopted by most Euro-pean railroads and by railroads in the USA and Canada. Engineers and inventors of many countries contributed to the development of engines. In 1825, John Stevens designed the first steam locomotive in the United States. An experimental model of this locomotive ran on a circular track at Hoboken, New Jersey. In 1829, Pennsylvania company tested the first full-sized locomotive to be operated on a commercial railroad in the Unit-ed States. This locomotive, the Stourbridge Lion, was built in England. In 1830, a famous race was held between a horse and a steam locomotive, the Tom Thumb. Peter Cooper, New York manufacturer, wanted to convince officials of the Baltimore and Ohio Line to use locomotives rather than horses to pull the trains. The horse won the race after an engine belt had slipped on the Tom Thumb. But this defeat was only a minor setback for the locomotive, often called the "iron horse". The first successful steam locomotive to be placed in regular passenger and freight service in the United States made its first run on Christmas Day in 1830. It was built in New York for the South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company and was called the Best Friend of Charleston. Steam railroad transportation in the USA was born and developed very rapidly The electric locomotive was introduced in the late 1800's. Many designers contributed to its development. Thomas Edison tested his first model in 1880, and the first electric street car began operating in Germany in 1881. In 1895, the first electric locomotives were placed in regular service on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Many European countries electrified their main lines after 1900, but almost all American railroads continued to use steam trains. By the mid-1900's, some steam locomotives could reach speeds of up to 100 m.p.h. (160 km.p.h) in passenger service. Nevertheless, in the 1930's US railroads began to switch to diesel-electric locomotives, which were more fuel efficient and easier to maintain than steam ones. Diesel locomotives were introduced experimentally in 1923. The first passenger diesel went in-to operation in the USA in 1934; the first freight diesels began to be used on American railroads in 1940 Today, research engineers are working hard to develop locomotives of higher capacity and greater pulling power, which are easier to maintain, which are safer, more reliable and fuel effi-cient After the mid-1800's, railroads started to use steel for rails and cars. Steel rails last 20 times longer than iron ones. All-steel passenger cars were first put into operation in 1907, all-steel freight cars had almost completely replaced wooden ones by the late 1920's. Several important inventions after the mid-1800's helped to improve railroad safety. In 1869. American inventor George Westinghouse patented a railroad air brake. In 1873, American ama-teur inventor Eli Janney designed an automatic car coupler. But these innovations came into wide use on American railroads only after US Congress had passed the Railroad Safety Device Act in 1893. The building of electric telegraph lines in the mid-1800's made block signaling possible American engineer William Robinson patented the track circuit used in automatic block signaling in 1872, but Robinson's invention was put into common practice only after 1900 Meanwhile, more and more people traveled by train, attracted by speed, safety and comfort of railroads. In 1867, American businessman George Pullman organized the Pullman Palace Car Company. The Company manufactured a sleeping car that Pullman designed. By 1875, about 700 Pullman sleeping cars had been in regular service Railways were born in the XVIII century, they went through glory and misfortune, and they are still alive after more than 200 years of their existence. NOTES RICHARD TREVITHICK (1771-1833), was a British inventor and engineer. He contributed to the development of the steam locomotive. Trevithick was born in England in the county of Cornwall, a tin-mining region of Britain. As he grew up, he became interested in the steam engines that pumped water from the mines By the early 1800's, he had developed a new engine that was soon used in most of the local mines. This high-pressure engine was the model for most later steam engines. In 1801, Trevithick designed and built a steam-powered carriage that ran on the road. In 1804, he built the first steam locomotive to run on rails. It pulled a load of iron along a railway for horse-drawn cars. In 1808, he exhibited a large locomotive in London. None of his locomotives were fi-nancially successful, because they were too heavy for the roads and railways of his time. But Tre-vithick did prove that steam-powered locomotives could be built GEORGE WESTINGHOUSE (1846-1914), was an American inventor and manufacturer. He produced air brakes for railroad cars. Westinghouse was the first to use alternating current for the transmission of electric power.. Westinghouse was born in Central Bridge, N.Y. As a boy, he worked in his father's machine shop. At 15 he invented a rotary engine. He served in the Union Army and Navy during the Civil War (1861-1865). By 1866, Westinghouse had already perfected two inventions: a device for replacing derailed cars and a railroad frog, which made it possible for a train to pass from one track to another. His invention of an air brake in the late 1860's led to the formation of his first company, the Westing- 5 house Air Brake Company, in 1869. Westinghouse patented hundreds of inventions and orga-nized over 50 companies. He was president of 30 corporations, including the Westinghouse Elec-tric Company. выполни задание: Change Active Constructions into Passive. 1. European countries built some primitive railroads in the mid-1500's. 2. Men and horses pulled wagons along the rails. 3. In the mid-1700's, workers covered wooden rails with iron strips. 4. By the end of 1700's, English iron-makers had made all-iron rails. 5. In the beginning of 1800's, inventors designed a steam engine. 6. American and Canadian railroads adopted a standard gauge of 1.44 m.. Pennsylvania Railroad Company tested the first full-sized locomotive in 1829. 7. 8. In 1830, Peter Cooper organized a race between a horse and a steam engine. 9. G. Pullman founded his Palace Car Company in 1867. 10. W.Robinson patented the track circuit in 1872.