8. Ukrainian Railroads

In Ukraine railroads are the major mode of transportation.

The entire railway network is divided into 6 railways. They are subdivided into 26 railway divisions. The lower cost of railroad building and maintenance gives them an advantage over motor vehicle transport.

The first railroad line in Ukraine built in 1861 connected Lviv, Cracow and Vienna. The first railroad in Eastern Ukraine was built in 1865. It ran from Balta to Odessa. The railway line that connected Kharkiv with Moscow was built in 1869. By 1913 Ukraine had approx 15.600 km of rails, some of them double-track trunk lines.

The total length of Ukrainian railroads at present is 30,000 km with almost 8,000 km of electrified lines. Electrification is considered the backbone of technical progress in rail transport. Practically all rail transport is now either electrically or diesel powered.

It is clear that transport is of great importance in the progress of any state. In the development of the national economy of Ukraine railroad transport plays an important role. Railways have a number of essential advantages - lower power consumption, high speed of freight delivery, comparatively low cost of transportation and independence of climatic conditions.

9. Inventors. George Westinghouse (1846 - 1914).

To mechanical engi­neers the name of Westinghouse la associated with the inven­tion of the automatic air brake for railway trains. On the pioneer railways of the USA accidents happened very often as the trains could not stop quickly because of the limited brake power. It was clear to Westinghouse that much better brakes were necessary. And in 1869, at the age of 22, he formed the Westinghouse Air Brake Company. The test of the first train equipped with his air brake is legendary in American railway history. This train was fitted with what is now known as the "straight air" brake. The train started from Pittsburg and passed through the Grant's Hill Tunnel. Coming out into the daylight at considerable speed the dri­ver saw horses and a wagon slowly crossing the tracks. The sudden appearance of the locomotive from the tunnel caused both the wagon driver and the horses to panic. But the loco­motive driver made a full application o. the air brake and stopped four feet short of the wagon. Never before had a train stopped so quickly. The story was told in every news­paper in the country, and one by one the great railways be­gan to use the Westinghouse air brake.

10. The underground railway

The underground railways as a kind of city transport ap­peared in the second half of the 19th century. The first underground system was proposed for London by Charles Pearson in 1843. But most people criticized the project. It was spo­ken of as a fantasy. Indeed, when constructed, the Metropoli­tan line, as it was called, was not a success. It was a short distance railway, only a few miles in length, and Londoners went on travelling by surface transport as they feared to get deep under the ground. But this situation did not last long. Wishing to attract more passengers to the underground railway Alfred Stanley, General Manager of the Metropolitan line, filled the stations with flowers and wild animals in cages.

While travelling, however, public experienced many dis­comforts. The tunnels were made as small as possible in order to reduce construction costs. The coaches themselves were small and narrow. No wonder that people called this underground line a "sardine-box railway". The small windows in the trains were made in the roof so that passengers could see nothing. The oil and gas lamps used gave little light. So passengers wishing to read, while travelling, had to take candles with them. Besides, the steam locomotives filled the tunnels with steam and smoke. It was this discomfort that later on made engineers introduce electric traction.