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65-566: The Seaton Burn Wagonway (originally known as the Brunton and Shields Railway ) was from 1826 to 1920 a partially horse-drawn and partially rope-operated industrial railway with a gauge of 4 ft 6 in ( 1,372 mm ) near Newcastle upon Tyne . The Brunton and Shields Railway was constructed by Benjamin Thompson on behalf of the Grand Allies and inaugurated in 1826. It followed

130-512: A few hundred meters, after which it switched to the north side, running in a slight bend a similar distance along the canal. From there on, the Diolkos either followed in a straight line the course of the modern canal, or swung south in a wide arc. The roadway ended at the Saronic Gulf at the village Schoinos, modern-day Kalamaki , described by Strabo as the trackway's eastern terminal. Sections of

195-514: A nearly continuous stretch of 800 m (2,600 ft) and traced about 1,100 m (3,600 ft) in all. Even though Verdelis' excavation reports continue to provide the basis for modern interpretations, his premature death prevented full publication, leaving many open questions concerning the exact nature of the structure. Additional investigations in situ , meant to complement Verdelis’ work, were later published by Georges Raepsaet and Walter Werner. Today, erosion caused by ship movements on

260-583: A railway, ran a high-pressure steam locomotive with smooth wheels on an 'L' section plateway near Merthyr Tydfil , but it was more expensive than horses. He made three trips from the iron mines at Penydarren to the Merthyr-Cardiff Canal and each time broke the rails that were designed for horse wagon loads. There was general doubt at the time that smooth wheels could obtain traction on smooth rails. This resulted in proposals using rack or other drive mechanisms. Mr Blenkinsop of Middleton Colliery patented

325-619: A result, in 1767, they began to make cast iron rails. These were probably 6 ft (1.829 m) long, with four projecting ears or lugs 3 in (75 mm) by 3 + 3 ⁄ 4  in (95 mm) to enable them to be fixed to the sleepers . The rails were 3 + 3 ⁄ 4  in (95 mm) wide and 1 + 1 ⁄ 4  in (30 mm) thick. Later, descriptions also refer to rails 3 ft (914 mm) long and only 2 in (50 mm) wide. A later system involved L-shaped iron rails or plates , each 3 ft (914 mm) long and 4 in (102 mm) wide, having on

390-560: A route from east to west via Burradon and Camperdown . Initially it did not serve the Burradon colliery, which operated a separate wagonway. It was constructed in phases starting in 1826 from the colliery in Brunton and being extended in 1837 to the bank of the River Tyne near Wallsend and North Shields . The incline planes were either self-acting like a funicular , where loaded wagons pulled

455-609: A route other than the Diolkos, due to the extensive time lag. The Diolkos played an important role in Ancient Greek naval warfare. Greek historians note several occasions from the 5th to the 1st century BC when warships were hauled and pulled across the Isthmus in order to speed up naval campaigning. In 428 BC, the Spartans planned to transport their warships over the Diolkos to the Saronic Gulf to threaten Athens , while later in

520-480: A station, it took along with it another rope, called the tail rope , which served to bring back the next train which was moving in the contrary direction. The rope which drew the first train then became the tail rope , and was drawn back by the former, which then became the head rope . The Brunton and Shields Railway had only a single line of rails with a passing place at the engine stations. A speed of 10-12 mph (16–19 km/h) or more could be maintained during

585-616: A vertical pin on the truck fitting into the gap between the planks to keep it going the right way. The miners called the wagons Hunde ("dogs") from the noise they made on the tracks. Around 1568, German miners working in the Mines Royal near Keswick used such a system. Archaeological work at the Mines Royal site at Caldbeck in the English Lake District confirmed the use of " hunds ". In 1604, Huntingdon Beaumont completed

650-452: A wagonway to a fully steam-powered railway was gradual. Railways up to the 1830s that were steam-powered often made runs with horses when the steam locomotives were unavailable. Even in the steam age, it was convenient to use horses in station yards to shunt wagons from one place to another. Horses do not need lengthy times to raise steam in the boiler, and can take shortcuts from one siding to another. At Hamley Bridge tenders were called for

715-709: A wagonway was proposed to connect the mines at West Durham , Darlington and the River Tees at Stockton , George Stephenson successfully argued that horse-drawn wagonways were obsolete and a steam-powered railway could carry 50 times as much coal. In 1825 he built the locomotive Locomotion for the Stockton and Darlington Railway in England's northeast, which became the world's first public steam railway in 1825, via both horse power and steam power on different runs. Stationary steam engines for mining were generally available around

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780-458: Is estimated at 6–7 km (3.7–4.3 mi), 8 km (5 mi) or 8.5 km (5.3 mi) depending on the number of supposed bends taken into account. A total of 1,100 m (3,609 ft) has been archaeologically traced, mainly at its western end close to the Bay of Corinth. There the known trackway began at a mooring place south of the more recent canal and ran parallel to the waterway for

845-593: The Aire & Calder Navigation , running from Wakefield to Outwood , a distance of approximately 3 miles (4.8 km). Edge-rails (with a side rack) were used on the nearby Middleton-Leeds rack railway (a length of this rail is on display in Leeds City Museum ). The wheels of an edgeway have flanges, like modern railways and tramways. Causewaying is also done on modern level crossings and tramways. These two systems of constructing iron railways continued to exist until

910-613: The Peloponnesian War , in 411 BC, they carted over a squadron heading quickly for operations at Chios . In 220 BC, Demetrius of Pharos had a fleet of about fifty vessels dragged across the Isthmus to the Bay of Corinth by his men. Three years later, a Macedonian fleet of 38 vessels was sent across by Philip V , while the larger warships sailed around Cape Malea. After his victory at Actium in 31 BC, Octavian advanced as fast as possible against Marc Antony by ordering part of his 260 Liburnians to be carried over

975-708: The Wollaton Wagonway , built to transport coal from the mines at Strelley to Wollaton Lane End, just west of Nottingham , England . Wagonways have been discovered between Broseley and Jackfield in Shropshire from 1605, used by James Clifford to transport coal from his mines in Broseley to the Severn River. It has been suggested that these are somewhat older than that at Wollaton. The Middleton Railway in Leeds , which

1040-445: The lumberjacks moved on to other stands of timber as each area was cleared. At least one such pole road system reportedly extended some 20 miles (32 km). Typically the pole rails were logs of 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm) diameter, laid parallel directly on the ground without cross-ties , and joined end-to-end with lap joints and wooden pegs . Rolling stock typically had wheels either with concave rims that hugged

1105-420: The reciprocating plan of conveyance , was invented and patented by Benjamin Thompson. Only one of the five incline planes was operated by the reciprocating plan of conveyance . Steam engines were placed at intervals of 1.5 miles (2.4 km) along the whole line of the railway. Ropes ran on rollers, placed between the rails, from one engine to the other, to draw the waggons forward. When a train of waggons left

1170-425: The Diolkos have been destroyed by the 19th-century Corinth Canal and other modern installations. The Diolkos was a trackway paved with hard limestone with parallel grooves running about 1.60 metres (63 in) apart. The roadway was 3.4 to 6 metres (11 to 20 ft) wide. Since ancient sources tell little about how the ships were hauled across, the mode of ship transport has largely to be reconstructed from

1235-405: The Diolkos may have been used to transport lighter ships across land. Ancient literature is silent on the date of the construction of the Diolkos. For Thucydides (460–395 BC) the Diolkos already seemed to be something ancient. Excavated letters and associated pottery found at the site indicate a construction date at the end of the 7th or beginning of the 6th century BC, that is around

1300-403: The Diolkos was the transfer of goods, although in times of war it also became a preferred means of speeding up naval campaigns. The 6-to-8.5-kilometre-long ( 3 + 3 ⁄ 4 to 5 + 1 ⁄ 4  mi) roadway was a rudimentary form of railway , and operated from c.  600 BC until the middle of the first century AD. The Diolkos combined the two principles of the railway and

1365-524: The German archaeologist Habbo Gerhard Lolling in the 1883 Baedeker edition. In 1913, James George Frazer reported in his commentary on Pausanias on traces of an ancient trackway across the Isthmus, while parts of the western quay were discovered by Harold North Fowler in 1932. Systematic excavations were finally undertaken by the Greek archaeologist Nikolaos Verdelis between 1956 and 1962, and these uncovered

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1430-453: The Isthmus. In 868 AD, the Byzantine admiral Niketas Oryphas had his whole fleet of one hundred dromons dragged across the Isthmus in a quickly executed operation, but this took place most likely on a different route. Despite the frequent mentioning of the Diolkos in connection with military operations, modern scholarship assumes that the prime purpose of the trackway must have been

1495-452: The archaeological evidence. The tracks indicate that transport on the Diolkos was done with some sort of wheeled vehicle. Either vessel and cargo were hauled across on separate vehicles, or only the cargo was taken across and reloaded on a different ship at the other side of the Isthmus. Although a technical analysis has shown that the transport of triremes (25 t , 35 metres (115 ft) long, 5 metres (16 ft) beam), albeit difficult,

1560-449: The canal. The Diolkos itself was then surrounded by earth and stone edging, sidewalks with gravel edging to discourage walking directly on the Diolkos (apparently) and streetlights. This surround and walkway is on both sides of the road at the western end of the canal, east of the lowering-bridge. The works were still curing on 20 October 2024, and roped-off from foot traffic. The nearby road and curb are built up to prevent vehicles traffic on

1625-403: The construction of the Diolkos may have initially served particularly for transporting heavy goods like marble , monoliths and timber to points west and east. It is not known what tolls Corinth extracted from the Diolkos on its territory, but the fact that the trackway was used and maintained long after its construction indicates that it remained for merchant ships an attractive alternative to

1690-601: The early 19th century. In most parts of England the plate-rail was preferred. Plate-rails were used on the Surrey Iron Railway (SIR), from Wandsworth to West Croydon . The SIR was sanctioned by Parliament in 1801 and finished in 1803. Like the Lake Lock Rail Road , the SIR was available to the public on payment of tolls; previous lines had all been private and reserved exclusively for the use of their owners. Since it

1755-446: The empty wagons uphill, or rope-operated like a cable railway using stationary steam engines. Around 1867 the rail track from Seaton Burn to the coal staiths at the Tyne was re-gauged to standard gauge 4 ft  8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 1,435 mm ) so that it could be used by standard gauge colliery wagons. The Killingworth and Dinnington Colleries were connected to

1820-413: The excavated tracks may give a different picture. While there is agreement that the grooves in the eastern part were cut deliberately into the stone slabs to guide cart wheels, those in the western section are interpreted by some authors as a result of wear or do not appear at all. On the other hand, the marked cambers of this road section may point at deliberate tracks as well. Generally, varying forms of

1885-553: The fully loaded wagons downhill to a canal or boat dock and then return the empty wagons back to the mine. Until the beginning of the Industrial Revolution , rails were made of wood, were a few inches wide and were fastened end to end, on logs of wood or "sleepers", placed crosswise at intervals of two or three feet. In time, it became common to cover them with a thin flat sheathing or "plating" of iron, in order to add to their life and reduce friction. This caused more wear on

1950-461: The grooves can also be explained by the long period of operation of the Diolkos, during which modifications and repairs must have significantly changed the appearance of the trackway. The chief engineer of the Corinth Canal, Béla Gerster , conducted extensive research on the topography of the Isthmus, but did not discover the Diolkos. Remains of the ship trackway were probably first identified by

2015-637: The horses, equipment and tracks used for hauling wagons, which preceded steam-powered railways . The terms plateway , tramway , dramway , were used. The advantage of wagonways was that far bigger loads could be transported with the same power. The earliest evidence is of the 6 to 8.5 km (3.7 to 5.3 mi) long Diolkos paved trackway, which transported boats across the Isthmus of Corinth in Greece from around 600 BC. Wheeled vehicles pulled by men and animals ran in grooves in limestone , which provided

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2080-544: The inner side an upright ledge or flange, 3 in (76 mm) high at the centre and tapering to 2 in (51 mm) at the ends, for the purpose of keeping the flat wheels on the track. Subsequently, to increase strength, a similar flange might be added below the rail. Wooden sleepers continued to be used—the rails were secured by spikes passing through the extremities—but, circa 1793, stone blocks began to be used, an innovation associated with Benjamin Outram , although he

2145-481: The level of the top of the flanges. In 1790, Jessop and his partner Outram began to manufacture edge-rails. Another example of the edge rail application was the Lake Lock Rail Road in the West Riding of Yorkshire (now West Yorkshire ) used primarily for coal transport. The railway charged a toll and opened for traffic in 1798, making it the world's oldest public railway. The route started at Lake Lock, Stanley , on

2210-543: The line at the same time. From 1878 its name changed to Seaton Burn Wagonway. Finally, the rail track towards Backworth was built, to provide access to the Blyth and Tyne Railway , which was owned by the North Eastern Railway in the 1920s. The Brunton and Shields Railway had five continuous incline planes worked by stationary engines. The method of drawing goods on railways by means of stationary engines and ropes, called

2275-439: The manpower needed to haul the vessels over the isthmus ridge. Assuming that a trireme soaked with water weighed 38 tons including its trolley, and that a man can exert a force of 300  N over an extended period of time, the pulling teams—depending on the slope and the surface of the cart track—must have numbered between 112 and 142 people, with a combined exertion of force of 33 to 42 kN, or around 3.8 tons weight. Bringing

2340-525: The middle of the 18th century. Wagonways and steam-powered railways had steep uphill sections and would employ a cable powered by a stationary steam engine to work the inclined sections. British troops in Lewiston, New York used a cable wagonway to move supplies to bases before the American Revolutionary War . The Stockton and Darlington had two inclined sections powered by cable. The transition from

2405-513: The nearby Canal has left considerable portions of the Diolkos in a poor state, particularly at its excavated western end. Critics who blame the Greek Ministry of Culture for continued inactivity have launched a petition to save and restore the registered archaeological site. Restoration work was performed in October 2024 to shore up the bank canal bank where the edge of the Diolkos was eroding into

2470-612: The other the full waggons were drawn up, and the empty ones ran back with the rope. On four of the planes only one rope was used, because the gravity of the waggons dispensed with the other. This mode was highly advantageous, in point of simplicity and economy, when compared with the reciprocating system, where two ropes to each train were required. 55°03′38″N 1°37′57″W  /  55.06056°N 1.63253°W  / 55.06056; -1.63253 Horse-drawn railway Wagonways (also spelt Waggonways ), also known as horse-drawn railways and horse-drawn railroad consisted of

2535-507: The overland passage of the Isthmus, a neck of land 6.4 km (4.0 mi) wide at its narrowest, offered a much shorter route to Athens for ships sailing to and from the Ionian coast of Greece. The Diolkos also had a commercial function in transporting goods. Little is known of its success in increasing trade but because of the length of time it was maintained, it is presumed that it had some positive impact. In addition to trade, during wartime

2600-668: The overland transport of ships, on a scale that remained unique in antiquity . The Diolkos saved ships sailing from the Ionian Sea to the Aegean Sea , a dangerous sea journey round the Peloponnese, whose three headlands had a reputation for gales, especially Cape Matapan and Cape Malea . By contrast, both the Gulf of Corinth and the Saronic Gulf were relatively sheltered waters. In addition,

2665-587: The patent for an improved method of rolling rails was granted in 1820 to John Birkinshaw , of the Bedlington Ironworks . His rails were wedge-shaped in section, much wider at the top than at the bottom, with the intermediate portion or web thinner still. He recommended that they be made 18 ft (5.49 m) long, suggesting that several might be welded together end to end to form considerable lengths. They were supported on sleepers by chairs at intervals of 3 ft (914 mm), and were fish-bellied between

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2730-435: The sleepers by two iron spikes, half-round wooden cross sleepers employed on embankments and stone blocks 20 in (508 mm) square by 10 in (254 mm) deep in cuttings. The fish-bellied rails were found to break near the chairs and starting in 1834, they were gradually replaced with parallel rails weighing 50 lb/yd (24.8 kg/m). In 1804, Richard Trevithick , in the first recorded use of steam power on

2795-412: The supply of horses, in part because normal railway staff lacked horse handling skills. Wooden rails continued to be used for temporary railroads into the twentieth century. Some timber harvesting companies in the southeastern United States created pole roads using unmarketable logs, which were effectively free, to create tracks at a cost of between $ 100 and $ 500 per mile. Permanence was not an issue, as

2860-500: The support points. As used by George Stephenson on the Stockton & Darlington , and Canterbury & Whitstable lines, they weighed 28 lb/yd (13.9 kg/m). On the Liverpool and Manchester Railway they were usually 12 or 15 ft (3.66 or 4.57 m) long and weighed 35 lb/yd (17.4 kg/m) and were fastened by iron wedges to chairs weighing 15 or 17 lb (6.8 or 7.7 kg) each. The chairs were in turn fixed to

2925-454: The surface. The following ancient writers mention the transfer of ships across the Isthmus (in chronological order): Apart from the Diolkos at Corinth, there is scant literary evidence for two more ship trackways by that name in antiquity, both in Roman Egypt : The physician Oribasius (c. 320–400 AD) records two passages from his 1st century AD colleague Xenocrates , in which

2990-472: The term "railway". As of 2024 , very few horse or cable freight railways are operating, notable examples being the cable-hauled St Michael's Mount Tramway and the Reisszug , which has been in continuous operation since around 1900. A few passenger lines continue to operate, including the horse-hauled Douglas Bay Horse Tramway and the cable-hauled San Francisco cable cars . Diolkos The main function of

3055-404: The time the carriages were in motion. However, the stoppages in changing ropes and crossing from one way to the other at the engine stations reduced the average speed, as shown in the following table, taken during experiments with a gross load of 31 tons on a windy day: On three of the incline planes the loaded waggons ran themselves, and the rope was merely used to draw back the empty ones, and on

3120-417: The time when Periander was tyrant of Corinth . The Diolkos remained reportedly in regular service until at least the middle of the 1st century AD, after which no more written references appear. Possibly the trackway was put out of use by Nero 's abortive canal works in 67 AD. Much later transports of warships across the Isthmus in the late 9th century, and around 1150, are assumed to have used

3185-532: The top of the pole rails, or un-flanged wheels with separate guide wheels running against the side of each rail. Steam traction engines and some purpose-built locomotives were successfully used for hauling trains of logs. For example, Perdido was built by Adams & Price Locomotive and Machinery Works of Nashville, Tennessee in 1885 for the Wallace, Sanford and Company sawmill at Williams Station, Alabama , where it hauled up to seven cars of 3 or 4 logs each. This

3250-456: The track element, preventing the wagons from leaving the intended route. The Diolkos was in use for over 650 years, until at least the 1st century AD. Paved trackways were later built in Roman Egypt . Such an operation was illustrated in Germany in 1556 by Georgius Agricola (image left) in his work De re metallica . This line used "Hund" carts with unflanged wheels running on wooden planks and

3315-516: The transport of cargo, considering that warships would not have needed transporting in this manner very often, and ancient historians were always more interested in war than commerce. Comments by Pliny the Elder and Strabo , which described the Diolkos as being in regular service during times of peace, also imply a commercial use of the trackway. Coinciding with the rise of monumental architecture in Greece ,

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3380-432: The trip around Cape Malea for much of antiquity. The Diolkos ran across the narrowest part of the Isthmus, where the trackway followed the local topography in a curved course in order to avoid steeper gradients. The roadway passed the Isthmus ridge at c. 79 m (259 ft) height with an average gradient of 1:70 (a 1.43% grade), while the steepest sections rose at a gradient of 1:16.5 (a 6% grade). Its total length

3445-420: The trolley up to speed may have required as many as 180 men. Assuming a speed of 2 km per hour over an estimated length of 6 kilometres, the transfer from sea to sea would have taken three hours to complete. Assuming less load and rolling friction , Raepsaet, in contrast, calculates a maximum pulling force of 27 kN, which would have needed a slightly smaller towing crew. Under these circumstances,

3510-552: The use of cogged wheels in 1811 and in 1812, the Middleton Railway (edgeway, rack rail) successfully used twin cylinder steam locomotives made by Matthew Murray of Holbeck , Leeds . George Stephenson made his first steam locomotive in 1813 (patented 1815) for the Killingworth colliery, and found smooth wheels on smooth rails provided adequate grip. Although he later recounted that they called this locomotive 'My Lord' as it

3575-471: The use of harnessed oxen—which has been refuted by Tolley on the basis of their relatively diminished pulling capabilities —would have become feasible. However, the necessary expenditure of energy at the Diolkos must be regarded in both scenarios as considerable. According to the British historian of science M. J. T. Lewis, the Diolkos represented a railway , in the basic sense of a prepared track which so guides

3640-409: The vehicles running on it that they cannot leave the track. Measuring between 6 km (4 mi) and 8.5 km (5.3 mi), and being open to all on payment, it constituted even a public railway, a concept which according to Lewis did not reoccur until c. 1800. Also, its average gauge of around 160 cm (5 ft 3 in) is similar to modern standards. However, a close examination of

3705-509: The wooden rollers of the wagons and towards the middle of the 18th century, led to the introduction of iron wheels. However, the iron sheathing was not strong enough to resist buckling under the passage of the loaded wagons, so rails made wholly of iron were invented. In 1760, the Coalbrookdale Iron Works began to reinforce their wooden-railed tramway with iron bars, which were found to facilitate passage and diminish expenses. As

3770-399: Was a geared engine (4.5 to 1 gear ratio ), driving four individually-rotating concave-rim wheels on stationary axles via chain drives; powerful but running less than 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h). Still later, modified semitrailer tractors have been used. As steam power gradually replaced horse power throughout the 19th century, the term "wagonway" became obsolete and was superseded by

3835-570: Was built in 1758 as a wagonway, later became the world's first operational railway (other than funiculars), albeit in an upgraded form. In 1764, the first railway in America was built in Lewiston, New York as a wagonway. Wagonways improved coal transport by allowing one horse to deliver between 10 and 13 long tons (10.2 and 13.2  t ; 11.2 and 14.6 short tons ) of coal per run— an approximate fourfold increase. Wagonways were usually designed to carry

3900-467: Was financed by Lord Ravensworth , it seems that it was known at the time as Blücher . In 1814 William Stewart was engaged by Parkend Coal Co in the Forest of Dean for the construction of a steam locomotive, which when trialled was reported to be successful. Stewart did not receive his expected reward and the two parties parted on bad terms. Stewart was 'obliged to abandon the engine to that Company'. In 1821,

3965-526: Was first used by William Jessop on a line that was opened as part of the Charnwood Forest Canal between Loughborough and Nanpantan in Leicestershire in 1789. This line was originally designed as a plateway on the Outram system, but objections were raised to laying rails with upstanding ledges or flanges on the turnpike . This difficulty was overcome by paving or "causewaying" the road up to

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4030-444: Was generally established. Wheels tended to bind against the flange of the plate rail and mud and stones would build up. The manufacture of the rails themselves was gradually improved. By making them in longer lengths, the number of joints per mile was reduced. Joints were always the weakest part of the line. Another advance was the substitution of wrought iron for cast iron, though that material did not gain wide adoption until after

4095-399: Was not the originator. This type of rail was known as the plate-rail, tramway-plate or way-plate, names that are preserved in the modern term " platelayer " applied to the workers who lay and maintain the permanent way . The wheels of flangeway wagons were plain, but they could not operate on ordinary roads as the narrow rims would dig into the surface. Another form of rail, the edge rail ,

4160-428: Was technically feasible, it is assumed that the vessels were usually smaller boats rather than ships. To avoid damaging the keel during transport, hypozomata , thick ropes running from bow to stern , to reduce sagging and hogging of the hull , must have been used. Ship and cargo were presumably pulled by men and animals with ropes, tackles and possibly also capstans . The scientist Tolley aimed to establish

4225-545: Was used by individual operators, vehicles would vary greatly in wheel spacing ( gauge ) and the plate rail coped better. In South Wales again, where in 1811 the railways were connected with canals, collieries, ironworks, and copper works, and had a total length of nearly 150 miles (241 km), the plateway was almost universal. But in the North of England and in Scotland the edge-rail was held in greater favor, and soon its superiority

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