Preview

What Is The Difference Between A Train In North America

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
634 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
What Is The Difference Between A Train In North America
There are many differences between the trains and the railway systems in Europe and North America. Both are very unique, and are shaped by the environment, the history, the people and the geography of the region or country that they are in. Some railways are even completely different from most of the others in their country, depending on their history. Some are more advanced, and others still have a nostalgic air to them. All in all, every railway is unique.
One of the biggest differences between the railways in Europe and the ones in North America is that the ones in Europe are more practical from a passenger’s point of view, as they are considerably cheaper and are used by many to travel from one place to another. In North America they are
…show more content…

In Europe, many lines are electrified and most countries use some diesel and some electric trains, but there are some who only use electric and some only diesel.
The railways in Europe also have a longer period of history, especially in countries such as the United Kingdom, where railways began. In North America, they started construction later and it lasted a lot longer, due to the massive distances across the vast country. This is another difference about the railways: their extent. In North America, the countries are so big that they cannot be mostly covered with rail lines. However, in Europe, the countries are small and many railways almost completely cover the country.
In Europe, there is a lot of focus on transporting passengers as well as freight, and the freight trains in Europe do not go that long distances and thus they do not have that many train cars. In North America, the main focus is transporting freight and on the lines there are a lot more freight trains, which are a lot longer and can have hundreds of train cars, because they need to travel far. If you are in Europe at a train crossing, it will probably be a passenger train. In North America, a freight


You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Prior to the transcontinental railroad, those who wanted to travel from the East to the West Coast traveled by wagon across the plains or by ship around South America. They endured the hardship of linking the East and West Coasts of the United States by rail because it was a vital link for trade, commerce and travel.…

    • 269 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the introduction part of the book, White shows the reader a map of the western railroads in 1879, and then again in 1885. The amount of railroad lines that were added during those years is surprising, in that at this time period they could construct several different railroads. White states that…

    • 698 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Before the advent of the transcontinental railroad, a journey across the continent to the western states meant a dangerous six month trek over rivers, deserts, and mountains. Alternatively, a traveler could hazard a six week sea voyage around Cape Horn, or sail to Central America and cross the Isthmus of Panama by rail, risking exposure to any number of deadly diseases in the crossing. Interest in building a railroad uniting the continent began soon after the advent of the locomotive.…

    • 305 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Railroads first began to appear in the 1830s and used largely as feed lines to the canals.1 Baltimore city was the site of the first railroad in the united sates and was know Baltimore and Ohio railroad.3 Since the city did not invest in canals they began to look at other ways to be more competitive with cities such as New York and the Erie Canal when it came to transporting people and goods.3 This sparked the idea of a railroad, which was a way of transportation used in Great Britain and soon enough all of America could not see their future without railroad transportation.3 The formation, construction and operation or railroads brought profound social, economic and political change to the United States at the time.3 Although the cost of a railway ticket were much higher then steamboats they were twice as fast and offered more direct route for people to go exactly were they…

    • 718 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Railroads In the 1800s, the United States was becoming an industrial country and discovering the country around them. Immigrants and citizens were moving west. Inventors were creating new, easier, and more logical ways of doing things. With all the expansion going on, there needed to be a way for people to get around faster and transport goods.…

    • 271 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The transcontinental railroad greatly increased Westward expansion in the United States of America during the latter half of the nineteenth century. The history of the United States has been influenced by England in many ways. In the second half of the 1800's, the railroad, which was invented in England, had a major effect on Western expansion in the United States. 'Railroads were born in England, a country with dense populations, short distances between cities, and large financial resources. In America there were different circumstances, a sparse population in a huge country, large stretches between cities, and only the smallest amounts of money.' ('Railroad' 85) The first American railroads started in the 1830's from the Atlantic ports of Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, Charleston, and Savannah (Douglas 23). Within twenty years, four rail lines had ...…

    • 268 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1860 Dbq Analysis

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Railroads fueled industrial growth as it transported people, agricultural products, and raw materials products in an inexpensive and swifter approach. Railroads such as the Pennsylvania Railroad used a technique to limit its competition and kept their prices high as they bought seventy-three smaller lines and forced them out of business. They became so important to industrialization that document 2 proved to state that railroad mileage expanded from approximately 30,000 miles to almost 200,000 miles. In just less than thirty years, Nevada, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho, and Wyoming became a state in America. Railroads created new economic opportunities, stimulated the development of towns and communities, and generally tied the country…

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    1. Thinking about what you have learned in this lesson, take an in-depth look at your hometown. Using the terms listed below, write a one-paragraph description of the town where you currently live. Please include the name of your city and state in your description.…

    • 390 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The First Transcontinental Railroad in the United States was built in the 1860’s. Its construction was considered to be one of the greatest American technological achievements of the 19th century. The purpose of the railroad was to connect the developing railway network of the Eastern coast with the western United States. The railway was completed in its entirety on May 10, 1869. The infrastructure not only gave America a nation-wide transportation network, but it forever changed the American West.…

    • 446 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the late 1800’s, the American railway system became a nationwide transportation network. The total distance of all railway lines in operation in the United States soared from about 14,500 kilometers in 1850 to almost 320,000 kilometers in 1900. A high point in railway development came in 1869, when workers laid tracks that joined the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railways near Ogden, Utah. This event marked the completion of the world’s first transcontinental railway system. The system linked the United States by rail from coast to coast. ("History of the United States,…

    • 1439 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    England developed the first trains and railroads. George Stephenson made the world’s first successful locomotive. (Early American Railroads) The United States were only fifty years old when they bought their first engines from the Stephenson Works in England. The trains were steam powered. Even most of the rails were imported from England till the start of the Civil War. Before trains, travel took great…

    • 2808 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Not only was this rail a positive influence, it was the biggest influence of the time period. This rail connected the east to the west; no other rail could do that. Although this rail was enormously popular in the beginning, the legacy of the Transcontinental Railroad has dimmed over the years. Although many trains are still used in other countries, the main option for land transportation is car. Airplanes have also trumped trains, but if a heavy load is needed most still depend on train. The transcontinental railroad is not in use today because most old railroads got ripped apart for the war effort. The transcontinental railroad deservers iconic status because without the transcontinental railroad people in the 1800s would still be hauling all these things in a carriage, and most of the cities would be considered “bad places to start a city” on carriage wouldn’t have been created. Back in this time period there were cars, but these cars weren’t nearly as fast as a train, and needed constant repair. So which one would you pick, more difficult, risky, and sketchy one thousand dollar route on boat or carriage or the easier more relaxed one hundred fifty dollar route on train?…

    • 1347 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    You would think it would be easy to avoid colliding with a giant 200 ton train, well apparently it’s not. According to operation lifesaver, a nonprofit organization that promotes railroad safety, a car or pedestrian is hit by a train every 3 hours. Obviously some education is needed on being safe around railroads.…

    • 393 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Railroads have been around for almost two hundred years. During the Industrial Revolution, Railroads were one of the important factors. Railroads brought out only benefits to America, they brought political, economic and social change in only 50 years since they were brought to America. Trains and railroads were also an important factor during the civil war. Trains helped by carrying military supplies from one military camp to another. Over the next 50 years, America would come to build spectacular bridges and other things that would allow trains to run on. They would also come to see great depots, rail magnates, and the majesty of rail locomotives crossing the country. Railroads would also change the way you transport and the traveling time.…

    • 415 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Railroads created a huge difference in American consumer culture. Before the introduction of the railroad into American society, transportation across land was slow and dangerous. Railroads carried more goods and people across larger distances at a much faster rate of speed than any other method of transportation that existed at that time. The confines of the…

    • 175 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays