History
The Railway Network was introduced by British in 1864. The main aspect of having a railway system in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) was transportation of Tea and Coffee from hill country to Colombo. Initially the service began with the Main Line of 54 kilometers connecting Colombo and Ambepussa.
Extensions were made to Main Line in 1867, 1874, 1885, 1894 and 1924, extending its service to Kandy, Nawalapitiya, Nanu Oya, Bandarawela and Badulla, respectively. Many other railway lines added to Ceylon Railway System within first century of its life, such as a line to Matale in 1880, Coast Railway Line in 1895, Northern Line in 1905, Mannar Line in 1914, Kelani Valley in 1919, Puttalam Line in 1926, and Railway Line to Batticaloa and Trincomalee in 1928. Thereafter, no any extends were added to the Sri lankan (Ceylon) Railway Routes as the British left the country for native rule.
Till 1953, Sri Lankan Railway served with steam locomotives and enhanced its service to more power with diesel locomotives. Various types of diesel locos were added to the service.
Railway Routes
* Main Line – Colombo to Badulla
* Southern Line – Colombo to Matara
* Northern/East Line – Colombo to Kankesanthurai (The Northern Line) and Colombo to Trincomalee and Batticaloa (Eastern Line)
* Puttalam Line – Colombo to Puttalam
* Kelani Valley Line – Colombo to Avissawella
Friday, August 29, 2008
Sri Lanka Railways
Sri Lanka Railway Department (former CGR – Ceylon Government Railway) is a key department of Sri Lankan Government under Ministry of Transport with a great history begins 1858. Sri Lankan Government Railway operates five main routes which linking Colombo - the commercial capital of Sri Lanka - and many locations including very remote areas.
Overview
Though the British established the railway system, the golden era of Sri Lankan Railway System was during 1955 – 1970 under the management of Mr. B.D. Rampala, the most respected chief mechanical engineer and late General Manager of CGR.
Present Sri Lankan Railway network consists of 1508 kilometers with broad gauge (5 feet 6 inches). The railway contains some of the magnificent scenic rail routes in the world. Particularly the Main Line winding through both natural beauties such as waterfalls, natural forest mountains, misty peaks and precipices, as well as man made festoons such as tea estates, pine forests and sensation engineering stuffs including bridges and peak level stations.
Overview
Though the British established the railway system, the golden era of Sri Lankan Railway System was during 1955 – 1970 under the management of Mr. B.D. Rampala, the most respected chief mechanical engineer and late General Manager of CGR.
Present Sri Lankan Railway network consists of 1508 kilometers with broad gauge (5 feet 6 inches). The railway contains some of the magnificent scenic rail routes in the world. Particularly the Main Line winding through both natural beauties such as waterfalls, natural forest mountains, misty peaks and precipices, as well as man made festoons such as tea estates, pine forests and sensation engineering stuffs including bridges and peak level stations.
Great Gorge and International Railway
The Great Gorge and International Railway was a trolley belt line encompassing the Niagara Gorge. Many dignitaries rode this line and they used to use a flat car with search light to illuminate the Niagara Whirlpool at night (during the tourist season). It is also known as the Niagara Belt Line.
Beginning
The Great Gorge and International Railway was a part of the International Railway Company system, formed in 1908 from the Niagara Falls Park and River Railway and the Niagara Gorge Railroad.
The Route
The Canadian route ran from Niagara Falls, Ontario to Queenston, Ontario with a bridge crossing at Queenston. This side was on the top of the Gorge.
The American side ran in the gorge from Lewiston, New York to Niagara Falls, New York, where it gradually ascended to cross the Upper Steel Arch Bridge. On the way it passed under the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge and the Michigan Central Railway Bridge.
Accidents
Many rockslides, some fatal, occurred throughout the railroad's history on the American side.
A very unlucky car of passengers were passing beneath a garbage chute in Niagara Falls, New York on Friday June 13, 1913 when it broke and buried the scene in garbage.
On July 7, 1915 a trolley with an extreme overload of 157 people ran away and crashed approaching the docks at Queenston, killing 15. The line was rebuilt.
Perhaps the most frightening accident took place in 1917, when a car took 50 lives into the raging river itself.
Decline
The heyday of the railroad was short, and business faltered with the rise of the automobile.
Starting June 24, 1928, all trolleys operated with one-man crews on the Canadian side.
Despite this cost cutting, all Canadian operations ceased on September 11, 1932.
The rest of the railroad closed on September 13, 1935 because of a rockslide near the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge.
Parts of the right-of-way are now foot paths.
Beginning
The Great Gorge and International Railway was a part of the International Railway Company system, formed in 1908 from the Niagara Falls Park and River Railway and the Niagara Gorge Railroad.
The Route
The Canadian route ran from Niagara Falls, Ontario to Queenston, Ontario with a bridge crossing at Queenston. This side was on the top of the Gorge.
The American side ran in the gorge from Lewiston, New York to Niagara Falls, New York, where it gradually ascended to cross the Upper Steel Arch Bridge. On the way it passed under the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge and the Michigan Central Railway Bridge.
Accidents
Many rockslides, some fatal, occurred throughout the railroad's history on the American side.
A very unlucky car of passengers were passing beneath a garbage chute in Niagara Falls, New York on Friday June 13, 1913 when it broke and buried the scene in garbage.
On July 7, 1915 a trolley with an extreme overload of 157 people ran away and crashed approaching the docks at Queenston, killing 15. The line was rebuilt.
Perhaps the most frightening accident took place in 1917, when a car took 50 lives into the raging river itself.
Decline
The heyday of the railroad was short, and business faltered with the rise of the automobile.
Starting June 24, 1928, all trolleys operated with one-man crews on the Canadian side.
Despite this cost cutting, all Canadian operations ceased on September 11, 1932.
The rest of the railroad closed on September 13, 1935 because of a rockslide near the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge.
Parts of the right-of-way are now foot paths.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Transcontinental railroad
A Transcontinental Railroad is a railroad that crosses a continent from "coast-to-coast". Terminals are at or connected to different oceans. Because Europe is criss-crossed by railways, railroads within Europe are usually not considered transcontinental, the Orient Express perhaps being an exception.
United States
In the United States, the area of the Mississippi River has always been a transfer point between systems in the East and West. No single company ever controlled a route all the way from one coast to the other (though several had lines between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico). The reason for this is fairly simple: if an eastern company were to ally itself with a western company, it would no longer have the choice to send traffic over the other western lines.[citation needed] This is still true—two of the major Class I railroads have systems east of the Mississippi, while the other two major ones are mainly west of the Mississippi.
In the United States, the term transcontinental railroad usually refers to a line over the Rocky Mountains (and on several routes also the Sierra Nevada Mountains) between the Midwest and Pacific Ocean. Some of the eastern trunk lines are covered in railroads connecting New York City and Chicago.
* The rails of the "First Transcontinental Railroad" were joined on May 10, 1869, with the ceremonial driving of the "Last Spike" at Promontory Summit, Utah, after track was laid over a 1,756 mile (2,826 km) gap between Sacramento and Omaha, Nebraska/Council Bluffs, Iowa in six years by the Union Pacific Railroad and Central Pacific Railroad. Although through train service was in operation as of that date, the road was not deemed to have been officially "completed" until November 6, 1869. (A physical connection between Omaha, Nebraska and the statutory Eastern terminus of the Pacific road at Council Bluffs located immediately across the Missouri River was also not finally established until the opening of UPRR railroad bridge across the river on March 25, 1873, prior to which transfers were made by ferry operated by the Council Bluffs & Nebraska Ferry Company.
* In 1882, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway connected Atchison, Kansas with the Southern Pacific Railroad at Deming, New Mexico, thus completing a second link to Los Angeles.
* The Southern Pacific Railroad linked New Orleans with Los Angeles in 1883, linking the Gulf of Mexico with the Pacific Ocean.
* The Northern Pacific Railway, also completed in 1883, linked Chicago with Seattle.
* The Great Northern Railroad was built without federal aid by James J. Hill in 1893; it stretched from St. Paul to Seattle.
* In 1909, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul (or Milwaukee Road) completed a privately built Pacific extension to Seattle. On completion the line was renamed the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific.
* John D. Spreckels completed his privately funded San Diego and Arizona Railway in 1919, thereby creating a direct link (via connection with the Southern Pacific lines) between San Diego, California and the Eastern United States. The railroad stretched 148 miles (238 km) from San Diego to Calexico, California.
* In 1993, Amtrak's Sunset Limited was extended to the Atlantic Ocean, making it the first transcontinental passenger train route operated by one company. Hurricane Katrina temporarily cut the route in 2005.
United States
In the United States, the area of the Mississippi River has always been a transfer point between systems in the East and West. No single company ever controlled a route all the way from one coast to the other (though several had lines between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico). The reason for this is fairly simple: if an eastern company were to ally itself with a western company, it would no longer have the choice to send traffic over the other western lines.[citation needed] This is still true—two of the major Class I railroads have systems east of the Mississippi, while the other two major ones are mainly west of the Mississippi.
In the United States, the term transcontinental railroad usually refers to a line over the Rocky Mountains (and on several routes also the Sierra Nevada Mountains) between the Midwest and Pacific Ocean. Some of the eastern trunk lines are covered in railroads connecting New York City and Chicago.
* The rails of the "First Transcontinental Railroad" were joined on May 10, 1869, with the ceremonial driving of the "Last Spike" at Promontory Summit, Utah, after track was laid over a 1,756 mile (2,826 km) gap between Sacramento and Omaha, Nebraska/Council Bluffs, Iowa in six years by the Union Pacific Railroad and Central Pacific Railroad. Although through train service was in operation as of that date, the road was not deemed to have been officially "completed" until November 6, 1869. (A physical connection between Omaha, Nebraska and the statutory Eastern terminus of the Pacific road at Council Bluffs located immediately across the Missouri River was also not finally established until the opening of UPRR railroad bridge across the river on March 25, 1873, prior to which transfers were made by ferry operated by the Council Bluffs & Nebraska Ferry Company.
* In 1882, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway connected Atchison, Kansas with the Southern Pacific Railroad at Deming, New Mexico, thus completing a second link to Los Angeles.
* The Southern Pacific Railroad linked New Orleans with Los Angeles in 1883, linking the Gulf of Mexico with the Pacific Ocean.
* The Northern Pacific Railway, also completed in 1883, linked Chicago with Seattle.
* The Great Northern Railroad was built without federal aid by James J. Hill in 1893; it stretched from St. Paul to Seattle.
* In 1909, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul (or Milwaukee Road) completed a privately built Pacific extension to Seattle. On completion the line was renamed the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific.
* John D. Spreckels completed his privately funded San Diego and Arizona Railway in 1919, thereby creating a direct link (via connection with the Southern Pacific lines) between San Diego, California and the Eastern United States. The railroad stretched 148 miles (238 km) from San Diego to Calexico, California.
* In 1993, Amtrak's Sunset Limited was extended to the Atlantic Ocean, making it the first transcontinental passenger train route operated by one company. Hurricane Katrina temporarily cut the route in 2005.
History Of Trans-Australian Railway
In 1901 the six Australian colonies federated to form the Commonwealth of Australia. At that period, Perth the capital of Western Australia, was isolated from the remaining Australian States by thousands of kilometres of desert terrain and the only practicable method of transport was by sea, a time-consuming, inconvenient and often uncomfortable voyage across the Great Australian Bight, a stretch of water famed for rough seas.
One of the inducements held out to Western Australians to join the new federation was the promise of a federally funded railway line linking Western Australia with the rest of the continent.
In 1907 legislation was passed, allowing for the route to be surveyed. The survey was completed in 1909 and provided for a route from Port Augusta (the existing railhead at the head of Spencer Gulf in South Australia's wheatfields) via Tarcoola to the gold mining centre of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, a distance of 1063 miles (1711 km). The line was costed at £4,045,000 for a gauge of 56.5 inches (1.44 m). Legislation authorising the construction was passed in December 1911 by the Andrew Fisher Labor government and Commonwealth Railways was established in 1912 to build the line. Work commenced in September 1912 in Port Augusta. The line was built to this standard gauge, even though at the time the state railway systems at both ends were narrow gauge. The entire intercity route was not converted to standard gauge until 1970.
Work proceeded eastwards from Kalgoorlie and westwards from Port Augusta through the years of the First World War. Construction progressed steadily as the line was extended through dry and desolate regions until the two halves of the line met on 17 October 1917.
One of the inducements held out to Western Australians to join the new federation was the promise of a federally funded railway line linking Western Australia with the rest of the continent.
In 1907 legislation was passed, allowing for the route to be surveyed. The survey was completed in 1909 and provided for a route from Port Augusta (the existing railhead at the head of Spencer Gulf in South Australia's wheatfields) via Tarcoola to the gold mining centre of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, a distance of 1063 miles (1711 km). The line was costed at £4,045,000 for a gauge of 56.5 inches (1.44 m). Legislation authorising the construction was passed in December 1911 by the Andrew Fisher Labor government and Commonwealth Railways was established in 1912 to build the line. Work commenced in September 1912 in Port Augusta. The line was built to this standard gauge, even though at the time the state railway systems at both ends were narrow gauge. The entire intercity route was not converted to standard gauge until 1970.
Work proceeded eastwards from Kalgoorlie and westwards from Port Augusta through the years of the First World War. Construction progressed steadily as the line was extended through dry and desolate regions until the two halves of the line met on 17 October 1917.
Trans-Australian Railway
The Trans-Australian Railway is a railway line that crosses the Nullarbor Plain of Australia from Port Augusta in South Australia to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. It includes the world's longest stretch of dead-straight railway track: the 478 km from kilometre post 797 west of Ooldea to kilometre post 1275 west of Loongana.
The line forms an important freight route between Western Australia and the eastern states. Currently two passenger services also use the line: the Indian Pacific for its entire length and The Ghan between Port Augusta and Tarcoola. Earlier passenger services on the route were known as the Trans Australian or, commonly, just The Trans
The line forms an important freight route between Western Australia and the eastern states. Currently two passenger services also use the line: the Indian Pacific for its entire length and The Ghan between Port Augusta and Tarcoola. Earlier passenger services on the route were known as the Trans Australian or, commonly, just The Trans
Railway Express Agency
The Railway Express Agency was a rail express service, and at one time, the only one in the United States. Originally the American Railway Express Company, its name was changed in 1929.
The Railway Express Agency came into being when the USRA, United States Railroad Administration (1917-1920), nationalized the express businesses of Adams Express Company, American Express Company, Southern Express Company (a subsidiary of Adams Express), and Wells Fargo and Company Express (see History of Wells Fargo; today's Wells Fargo bank was spun off in 1905) into the American Railway Express in 1917. Adams Express, American Express, and Wells Fargo Express each owned one-third of American Railway Express until they sold it to the railroads, who changed its name to Railway Express Agency.
The Railway Express Agency was the cargo company of choice in its days. The REA had an arrangement with the railroads that they moved the cars and provided terminal space at their expense. The REA paid its own expenses and divided the profit among the railroads in proportion to the traffic.
REA had to take everything including hazardous material and Class A, B & C explosives. It was saddled with a lot of undesirable traffic that truck lines would not handle, such as auto mufflers & tailpipes, ladders, rugs, etc. REA handled carloads of cattle, race horses, and trainloads of fruits and vegetables. Carloads of radioactive material were moved on regular schedules for the Atomic Energy Commission. There was practically nothing that was not handled at one time or another including circus animals. Many people of a certain age remember Railway Express as the best or even only practical means to move their trunks to college, bicycles to vacation homes, and other bulky items.[citation needed]
Due to rate increases, express revenues remained at profitable levels into the 1950s. However, after World War II, express volume decreased substantially. In 1959, REA negotiated a new contract allowing it to use any mode of transportation. It also acquired truck rights to allow continued service after passenger trains were discontinued. It unsuccessfully tried piggyback and container operations.
REA was sold to five of its officers and renamed REA Express in 1969, after several years of deficits. By then its entire business constituted less than 10% of all intercity parcel traffic and only 10% of its business moved by rail.
REA sued the railroads and the United Parcel Service for various reasons and became involved in suits and countersuits with the clerks' union, and the Civil Aeronautics Board terminated REA's exclusive agreement with the airlines for air express. REA Express terminated operations in November 1975 and began liquidation. This was complicated by trials of some of its officers for fraud and embezzlement.
The company filed for bankruptcy in 1975.
The Railway Express Agency came into being when the USRA, United States Railroad Administration (1917-1920), nationalized the express businesses of Adams Express Company, American Express Company, Southern Express Company (a subsidiary of Adams Express), and Wells Fargo and Company Express (see History of Wells Fargo; today's Wells Fargo bank was spun off in 1905) into the American Railway Express in 1917. Adams Express, American Express, and Wells Fargo Express each owned one-third of American Railway Express until they sold it to the railroads, who changed its name to Railway Express Agency.
The Railway Express Agency was the cargo company of choice in its days. The REA had an arrangement with the railroads that they moved the cars and provided terminal space at their expense. The REA paid its own expenses and divided the profit among the railroads in proportion to the traffic.
REA had to take everything including hazardous material and Class A, B & C explosives. It was saddled with a lot of undesirable traffic that truck lines would not handle, such as auto mufflers & tailpipes, ladders, rugs, etc. REA handled carloads of cattle, race horses, and trainloads of fruits and vegetables. Carloads of radioactive material were moved on regular schedules for the Atomic Energy Commission. There was practically nothing that was not handled at one time or another including circus animals. Many people of a certain age remember Railway Express as the best or even only practical means to move their trunks to college, bicycles to vacation homes, and other bulky items.[citation needed]
Due to rate increases, express revenues remained at profitable levels into the 1950s. However, after World War II, express volume decreased substantially. In 1959, REA negotiated a new contract allowing it to use any mode of transportation. It also acquired truck rights to allow continued service after passenger trains were discontinued. It unsuccessfully tried piggyback and container operations.
REA was sold to five of its officers and renamed REA Express in 1969, after several years of deficits. By then its entire business constituted less than 10% of all intercity parcel traffic and only 10% of its business moved by rail.
REA sued the railroads and the United Parcel Service for various reasons and became involved in suits and countersuits with the clerks' union, and the Civil Aeronautics Board terminated REA's exclusive agreement with the airlines for air express. REA Express terminated operations in November 1975 and began liquidation. This was complicated by trials of some of its officers for fraud and embezzlement.
The company filed for bankruptcy in 1975.
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