Which railways are better Russian or American. American Railways

He also wrote that a high-speed line is being designed in Florida specifically for this locomotive. It will be called the "Brightline" and will be the first high-speed private railroad in recent US history. The construction of the line is going on as usual. They are reconstructing tracks, building railway stations.
And at the Siemens plant in Sacramento, the first train of two diesel locomotives and four cars was assembled. The cars are assembled in the same place as diesel locomotives, in Sacramento. Now the first train of five is being transported from California to Florida, to the future place of work.

The design of the carriages and colors to match the name are bright and memorable. As someone said in the comments to this photo on Rail Pictures, finally, design has gone "from form to function", and not vice versa.

Although four cars for two rather powerful diesel locomotives - it seems to me a kind of waste. Some kind of purely American redundancy in the spirit of the Silver Age trains, when three or four engine sections could be attached to a train.

High-speed line "Brightline" will connect the cities of Miami and Orlando, passing through Orlando International Airport. The length of the line will be 390 kilometers. The new trains are planned to be launched at hourly intervals. The planned average speed will be about 130 kilometers per hour. That is, it is about the same as on the only high-speed railroad in the US, the Northeast Corridor. People have already nicknamed these trains in the Japanese manner "bullet train".

And I do not understand why the expressway was not made electrified. After all, we could also order electric locomotives for it, which are made in the same place at the Siemens plant in Sacramento.
By the way, Siemens has been seducing its American partners for some time now by exhibiting in the Sacramento Railway Museum the head car of a train of the same type as the Sapsan. And before he stood in the square in front of the local California Capitol. The Germans seem to say:
“This is the railroad future of California and the entire United States. Just find the money to build the road, and we will make the wagons for you.

This is what the very first American steam-powered passenger train looked like.
On a tip visualhistory

In 1830 in Maryland between the cities Baltimore and Ohio the first passenger trains in the United States began to run.
This photograph (taken much later than 1830) is a reconstruction of a test drive with the Tom Thumb locomotive.
The speed ranged from 5 to 18 miles per hour.

US railroad history dates back to 1815, when Colonel John Stevens received the so-called. a rail charter for the New Jersey Railroad Company, which would later become part of the Pennsylvania Railroad. By that time, the developed land transport was not at the same time convenient, fast, and cheap. Therefore, the development of railways was a progressive solution.

The first short steam-powered railways for industrial use appeared in the United States in the late 1820s. It was not difficult to build railroad tracks. The situation was much worse with the locomotives. Then in 1826, all the same Stevens designed and conducted the first tests of his steam locomotive "Steam Wagon" (which was called "a steam-powered horse carriage" - a steam horse with a cart). For testing, D. Stevens designed a circular track at his estate in Hoboken, New Jersey. The tests were successful.

Then in 1829, Hortario Allen, as chief engineer of the shipping company Delaware & Hudson, successfully tested a simple, in terms of engineering, English locomotive, called the Stourbridge Lion, between Honesdale and Carbonvale, Pennsylvania.

These three events (a charter and 2 steam locomotives) served as the starting point for the development of railways in the United States, which fully began in the late 20s of the 19th century.

Unfortunately, the first American steam locomotive has not survived, but in the Museum of the Baltimore Railroad you can see a similar locomotive from 1832 with the funny name "Grasshopper":

For passenger transportation in the same year, the Tom Thumb steam locomotives were designed, built by the American Peter Cooper ( Peter cooper ) and The Best Friend Of Charleston, built by the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company at West Point Foudry in New York.

Therefore, railways began to directly compete with shipping.

However, the public considered steam engines "Sons of the Devil" and that traveling on them, except for a "concussion", would not lead to anything.

In this illustration: "The locomotive is like the devil."

But their advantage over steamers was indisputable. A striking example is the experiment, or rather the competition, between a steam locomotive and a steamer. The conditions of the competition were incredibly simple: to go a certain path as quickly as possible. For this, a route was chosen between the towns of Cincinnati and St. Louis (Cincinnati and St. Louis). The distance by water was 702 miles and was covered by a steamer in 3 days. The locomotive took only 16 hours, and the distance it had to cover was only 339 miles!

Railway track construction.

After this event, an intensive development of railways began in the United States: by 1838, 5 out of 6 states of New England had rail links, and the extreme limits of the spread of the railway network were determined by the borders of the states of Kentucky and Indiana. The development of agriculture has led to a rapid growth in the construction of railways. Since the farms were on the market from the beginning, modern transport routes were needed to transport their produce. By 1840, the length of the tracks was already 2,755 miles! And before the outbreak of the Civil War, in 1860, more than 30,000 miles!

Since 1846, one of the largest and oldest railways in the United States, the Pennsylvania Railroad, began operation, which was located in the northeastern part of the United States. The first route ran between the cities of Philadelphia and Harrisburg, which was built by 1854.

1869 - the first transcontinental road.

In the 50 years from (1865-1916), the development of railways took on a grandiose scale: the rail network increased from 35,000 to 254,000 miles! By 1916, almost 100% of intra-state transportation (passenger and freight) was carried out by rail.

Railroad construction has had important implications for the United States. First, an infrastructure was created that finally linked the domestic market into a single whole. Secondly, railway construction contributed to the rise of metallurgy and transport engineering. This was especially evident when cast-iron rails began to be replaced with steel ones. Railway construction made such a great demand for rails that, despite the huge growth of metallurgy and high import duties, until the 90s, steel rails were still partially imported from England. An important result of railway construction was the accumulation of capital by joint-stock companies that contracted for the construction of transcontinental roads.

Development of railways in the United States by 1916

During World War I, the US federal government took control of the rail industry. From this point on, it can be considered that the Golden Age of Railways in the United States begins to end. By 1920, the railways were again handed over to private hands, but they were returned in a dilapidated state, and needed a radical reconstruction and significant improvement.
In 1920, the Federal Government passed the Transportation Act, the final step in federal regulation. The "golden age" in US railroad construction is over.

Hey! Do you know when the first rail line in America was laid? And who became its discoverer? Today I will talk about American Railways. Do not think that you know everything, I will definitely surprise you.

For example, the American railway sector has always been built and developed much faster than transport in Continental Europe, which I wrote about in. Railways began their development in the 19th century.

Already at the very beginning of the 19th century, American John Stevens created a railway company, which after a while passed into the hands of the Pennsylvania Railroad and became part of it. Then in America no one knew about the existence of both a practical and a land vehicle, so it was decided to rapidly develop the rail sector.

10 years later, in the 19th century, the first steam-powered rail cars were born. Their creation was given to builders and engineers with ease. It was much more difficult to design the locomotive. But was that enough, did the Americans want it? Where is the comfort and safe movement promised to them?

After the constant fruitless creation of locomotives, John Stephens decided to take matters into his own hands and create the first steam locomotive, and his attempts to create a steam locomotive were crowned with success. These events contributed to the rapid progress in the development of America's railways.

In 1830, the first public railway was opened. Transport was a reliable means of transportation and, moreover, became a serious competitor to shipping. And it still continues. Still, the public thought quite differently. The people believed that steam engines were the sons of the devil, and travelers would receive nothing but a “concussion”. However, the advantages of steam engines over steamers were undeniable. To prove this to themselves over and over again, people arranged competitions between the train and the steamer. The rules of the game were to go through a certain segment as soon as possible. The steamer coped with the task, and came in 3 days, while the steam locomotive covered 545.5 kilometers in just 16 hours.

Until the middle of the 19th century, America's trains did not travel long distances. For example, the drive from Philadelphia to Charleston was eight-track, meaning passengers had to beat train changes more than five times in a single trip. They did the same with the cargo. Who could have endured such a thing?

Over the course of 10 years, the length of railways has increased from 64 kilometers (40 miles) to 4.5 thousand kilometers (2755 miles). And before the start of the Civil War, in the 60s of the 19th century, the length increased to almost 50 thousand kilometers. At that time, railways played a special role. After all, they served as a vehicle for the transportation of weapons and various military equipment (ammunition, food), as well as the transportation of military personnel.

However, the road developed not only because of the hostilities. But also thanks to the rapid growth in the field of agriculture, there was a rapid construction of railways. All due to the fact that farmers needed a constant export of products.

At the end of the 19th century, subways in New York received particular popularity and development. After a while, trams also became popular. And soon they became the only way to get around.

From the middle of the 60s of the 19th century, the "Golden Age" in the field of American railways began. Over 50 years, the railway world has expanded to a global scale: the length of railways has increased from 50 thousand kilometers to 400 thousand kilometers.

The current state of American railways

Today the length of American roads reaches 220 thousand kilometers. It has a width of 1435 mm - this is the European norm. About 180 thousand work on the American railways. employees.

Today, American railways are not among the most demanded and popular types of land transport. It is unprofitable for the state to improve the railway sector, which is why transportation in America has been in a state of immobility for a long time. Domestic flights are in great demand, they are often much cheaper, in addition, they are considered safer and more comfortable than traveling by train. Thus, trains remain for the enjoyment of aerophobes and desperate romantics. But, nevertheless, there is a huge plus for a tourist, a person who visits the country for the first time can use the train to study the area and the color of the country in more detail.

What was the life of a passenger in those days when the railway was not as convenient and comfortable as it is now?

People seeing off at the carriages on the platform of the Baltic Station in St. Petersburg. 1913 year

In such a huge country as Russia, the railway will remain very important for a long time to come. But the railway is not only tracks and engineering communications, it is also a special, unique way of life, or, more simply, everyday life ...

"The yellow and blue were silent ..."
In 1910, in the poem "On the Railway" Alexander Blok figuratively described the carriage row of the Russian "piece of iron":

The carriages followed the usual line
They shook and creaked;
The yellow and blue were silent;
They cried and sang in green ...

Indeed, since 1879, wagons on all public railways, subject to the Ministry of Railways (MPS), regardless of whether they are private or state-owned, were painted strictly in accordance with their class: the first class - in blue, the second - in yellow , light brown or golden, the third - in green, the fourth - in gray.
A short, several-letter designation of the road to which the car belonged was also applied to the body of the carriages; sometimes its type (series), the number of seats and class (if passenger) and, of course, the brake system were indicated. The image of the coat of arms of the Russian Empire was obligatory, in most cases - the presence of the symbols of the Ministry of Railways. The inscriptions were most often made in large, beautiful volumetric type, often in several colors. Thus, the passenger train of tsarist times looked unusually colorful. and attractive or, as the writer defines Ivana Bunin, "Amusing".
There were also the so-called "mixed cars", that is, mixed class cars: one half of the car, for example, was with first-class seats, and the other half of the second. They were used because the first class, due to very expensive tickets, often remained unclaimed and it was necessary to increase the occupancy rate of cars so as not to drive them practically in vain. "Mixed wagons" were painted on the outside in two different colors: for example, in half blue and yellow. Those cars in which the third class compartment and the luggage compartment were located together were painted in the same order in green and dark brown. The bottom (that is, the undercarriage or, in the old way, the lower carriage) was usually painted black, the top - in red-brown. Multicolor!
After, already in Soviet times, on the side of the entrance to the vestibule there appeared plates with the carriage number (black number on white), and under the windows in the middle of the body - stencils indicating the route of the carriage or the entire train (Moscow - Leningrad, etc.) ... Before the revolution, there were no carriage numbers, no stencils with the designation of the route. The passenger simply went to his class, which was indicated on the ticket. The seat in the carriage was provided by the conductor. In the third and fourth grades, there was no fixation of seats at all: they were allowed to enter the carriage on a ticket, and everything was just like on the train now.

Third class
Lev Tolstoy talked about the last trip in his life in a letter: “1910 October 28. Kozelsk.<…>I had to go from Gorbachev in the 3rd grade, it was inconvenient, but very mentally pleasant and instructive. "
For Lev Nikolaevich it is instructive, but for some it is both inconvenient and unpleasant. Rumble, seeds, tightness, or even a quarrel with a fight. And all this in the shag and chimney smoke: the trip in the third class was unbearable for non-smoking passengers. As Bunin wrote, “the carriage is very stuffy from various tobacco smoke, in general, very caustic, although it gives a pleasant feeling of a friendly human life ...” Special compartments for non-smokers appeared in the 19th century in first and second class carriages, in others it was allowed to smoke with the consent of others passengers. In the third class, sometimes they put earthenware ashtrays - very spacious so that there was no fire.
And, of course, the eternal Russian carriage conversation, the everyday routine and the legend at the same time, endless, like the sound of wheels itself, like the very course of life and time ... In the third class, all the estates were mixed, there rode a “common people”: both peasants and factory workers, and the intelligentsia, both priests and poor rural nobles. The third class is a clot of people's life, its true manifestation. It is not surprising that the action of almost half of the works of Russian classics is sometimes transferred to a third-class carriage: what scenes were played out there, how destinies were revealed!
The statistics of 1896 are indicative: the first class carried 0.7 million passengers, the second class - 5.1 million, and the third class - 42.4 million.

"The lady checked in luggage ..."
Comfort level in pre-revolutionary trains, depending on the class of wagons, varied markedly - much more than today. The fare is the same. At the beginning of the 20th century, fares were set as follows: a trip in the second class cost one and a half times more than in the third; and in the first - one and a half times more expensive than in the second. In turn, the fourth grade was also one and a half times cheaper than the third.
It is worth noting another curious difference that exposed social contrasts, although, admittedly, at first glance it was of a constructive nature: in the third class there were luggage racks, and in the first and second there were nets, since the audience there (remember the famous lady from a poem Samuil Marshak) put large items in luggage. For these purposes, there were standard four-axle baggage cars, although there were also three-axle ones. The luggage car, which always followed immediately behind the steam locomotive, was certainly included in every long-distance train.
There were special luggage receipts, which Marshak did not fail to note: "They gave the lady at the station four green receipts." At the end of the 19th century, luggage was charged at three kopecks per item. Receipts could be obtained either in the luggage compartment at the station, or, in the absence of such, directly from the employees of the carriage ("luggage racks"). Nowadays, the luggage car, which is more and more often referred to as a mobile luggage storage, is a relative rarity on trains: people mostly carry their luggage with them - these days it seems that this is more reliable.
The baggage car was usually followed by a postal car. Moreover, the first standard three-axle postal cars (1870-1880s) were perhaps the most picturesque of all those that existed at that time: they had a very attractive shape and a booth with a characteristic triangular signboard "Postal car". Such cars, painted in dark green, were common on the roads of Russia and then the USSR until the early 1990s.

Types of messages
Before the revolution, there was a direct (long-distance) and local passenger rail service. It was clearly regulated. Thus, § 28 of the Rules of 1875 read: "So that passengers can be transferred from one railway to another without renewing passenger and baggage tickets for further travel to their destination, trains thus agreed are called direct trains."

A postal car of a new design on the Nikolaev railway. 1901-1902 years

The development of direct passenger traffic led to the appearance of cars with places for lying, but most importantly, it marked a significant social phenomenon throughout Russian history, namely, the significantly increased migration of the population of all classes due to the abolition of serfdom and the emergence of capitalist relations in the country. It was really about the massive movement of people. Then the very style of Russian life changed; in fact, a new understanding of the world was formed. Time and space shrank sharply, which was truly unheard of in those days. Something similar in Russia will then happen again only after 100 years - when long-range jet passenger aviation appears, which will also turn public consciousness and the idea of ​​unshakable geographical and astronomical absolutes - space and time.
The widespread development of long-distance communication began in the 1880s. Then, on the one hand, the railway network was moving to the east, and on the other, the need to change from a train belonging to one private road to another train at junctions was practically reduced to naught, as was the case in the era of distribution of concessions and ruling the kings of the railroad business up to the 1870s.

Restaurant for passengers of the first and second classes of the Kharkov railway station. Around 1900

The concept of "commuter train" took root already under Soviet rule due to the growth of large cities. And before the revolution, suburban trains were called local or dacha trains. “In the summer there were only 4–5 pairs on each road, and even less in winter. At that time there was no regular passenger - a worker or office worker who lived in the suburbs and rushed to the city to work every day, ”noted a modern researcher Galina Afonina who studied pre-revolutionary timetables.
Several of these local trains served wealthy citizens who traveled to summer cottages in the Moscow region in the summer. The schedule of their movement was named "Schedule of the movement of suburban trains of the Moscow junction", and the words "suburban trains" appeared in the name of the schedule only in 1935.

Past service
Attempts to improve the level of service for passengers have a long history: they were celebrated back in the 1860s. In the beginning, the first class cars were “couch” cars (no shelves were known at that time). And this is how the special service came into being their variety- carriages, where with the help of partitions, so-called "family" compartments were arranged, in which each passenger received the entire sofa at his disposal (and not a seat on the sofa, as in the usual first class). A ticket to the “family” section was, of course, more expensive than to the first class, where the passenger could stretch out on the couch, but only when his neighbor did not apply for this bed (the couches were double).
Before the appearance of sleeping shelves, passengers of the first and second classes traveled sitting or reclining on sofas or in armchairs, covering themselves with blankets or scarves and often putting clothes or carry-on luggage under their heads instead of a pillow. There was no such inconvenience in the "family" offices, but such cars did not have a through passage and were soon banned by the Ministry of Railways.
Meanwhile, first-class "armchair-bed" cars, which appeared a little later (they were first built in 1871 by the Kovrov workshops), in some places served until the 1930s. This was already a serious convenience! At night, the chair was moved apart with the help of a special device and turned to horizontal"A bed quite suitable for sleeping." True, in the carriages with such chairs there was no linen yet and there was no division into compartments.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, not only coupes existed, but also such a now forgotten service as the transformation of two compartments into one. Imagine: in first class carriages it was possible to slide open a door arranged in a partition between adjacent compartments to make their communicating. By the way, such a car is a distant ancestor of the SV high-comfort carriages of the beginning of the XXI century, except perhaps without a refrigerator. The compartment had a huge soft sofa with a raised back (it could be transformed into a shelf for a second passenger), opposite there was an armchair, a mirror hung, and in the middle there was a table with a tablecloth on which a lamp with a shade was placed. It was provided here and built-in ladder for climbing the top shelf. And also such compartments had a washbasin (later a shower) and a toilet, albeit for two compartments at once. The interior decoration of the carriage was distinguished by its sophistication: these are real apartments - with bronze, inlay, polished mahogany and embroidered curtains. The compartment was illuminated with a gas horn, and it was possible to "separate the inside of the lantern from the inside of the car" (to put it simply, turn off the light). Since 1912, wagons of this class have been illuminated with electricity.
It is worth paying attention to the following little-known fact (a touch to the story about the service): back in 1902 in the Central Asian railway according to the project of an engineer G.P. Boychevsky for the first time, a device for air cooling was tested - the ancestor of the modern air conditioner.

Siberian express
Unprecedented measures to improve the level of service are associated with the development of international passenger traffic in Russia and the emergence of express trains of the International Society of Sleeping Carriages - with direct sleeping carriages (SVPS) and service saloon cars. Member of the State thoughts Vasily Shulgin, who left Russia after the revolution, in "Letters to Russian emigrants", in particular, noted: "Russia in terms of the comfort of trains went far ahead of Western Europe."
The Siberian Express Petersburg - Irkutsk became the ideal embodiment of railway comfort in the eyes of the entire Russian society. It was truly a miracle of its time. On the express cars there were proud overhead inscriptions: "Direct Siberian communication", "Siberian train number 1". This train had only first and second class carriages with water heating. and electric lighting from our own train power station. Since 1912, each car has an individual power supply with a generator drive from the car axle. Finally, it was on trains of this class that restaurant cars appeared for the first time in Russia in 1896 - an invention of an American George Pullman, the creator of the famous company that builds comfortable wagons.
The Siberian Express also had a library, a piano, a living room with luxurious candelabra, curtains, tablecloths, a barometer and a clock; it was possible for a fee to order a hot bath and even ... work out in the gym (yes, there was such a thing!). The passengers (also for the first time in Russia) were served tea and bed linen was changed every three days. There were table lamps on the tables in the compartment, but the shelves were already illuminated by small "spotlights". The interior tones are noble: dark green and blue. This is where today's SV came from.

Church car, built at the Putilov plant for the Siberian railway

The roof of the Siberian express car was sheathed with copper sheets, and lighting lanterns were on top. The lower part of the car was metal, bulletproof, up to 10 mm thick (hence and nickname"Armored carriage"). Cars of this type, due to the large amount of metal in their structure, turned out to be not only much stronger than others, but also much heavier, with a greater load on the track, therefore they could not be used on all roads. They were mainly used on the border and resort lines, along which the express trains of the International Society of Sleeping Carriages ply - Vladikavkaz, Sino-Eastern, Petersburg-Varshavskaya. It should be noted that the Siberian express took over practically the entire "diplomatic flow" - passengers, currency, and mail - in traffic between Europe and the Far East. It was an international train, known all over the world.
From 1896 to the 1950s, wagons of this class were called not SV, but SVPS. This is essential difference. Let us remind you that the term "direct communication" meant long-distance travel along a certain route without changes on the way, which was a kind of luxury. Direct message - these fascinating words indicated a long journey, which means a whole event in the fate of the passenger. Sleeping car is chic, luxury, dream, chosen world. The kingdom of expensive cigars, exquisite manners, short but hot romances, delicacy, inaccessibility ...

About tea and boiling water
The author of these lines tried for a long time to find out when tea appeared on the trains. Alas, the exact date could not be established. True, there was a mention of one curious pre-revolutionary document - "On the prohibition of tea trade for conductors of passenger cars" (unfortunately, today we only know its number and name). One thing is clear: if the conductors were forbidden to sell tea, then they had tea. It is not clear just why. After all, titans with boiling water on trains, with the exception of the most fashionable ones, were absent until the appearance of modern all-metal cars (CMV), that is, until 1946. There was also no special stove or boiler to brew tea on the spot. The famous glass holders with the symbols of the Ministry of Railways and various twisted patterns made of silver wire or bronze (Kostroma jewelers from the village took part in their production Krasnoe-on-Volga) were only in the express compartment of the International Society and restaurant cars.

The audience at the station in the waiting room. Announcement at the door: “Exit to the platform until the bell rings. No one without a train ticket not allowed". 1910s

Previously, most passengers had to wait for a stop to run for boiling water. By the way, the opportunity to get boiling water at the stations is one of the most important manifestations of humanity at the "pig iron". The author in his lifetime found only the only preserved booth with the inscription "Boiling water" - at the secluded station Bologoye-2 with a beautiful old red brick station building. And once there were such booths at every large station. They were called "still for boiling water".
All in pairs, hooking up with buffers, with the lingering hiss of Westinghouse brakes, another passenger or mail train stopped at the platform. While they were changing the locomotive or refueling it with water, passengers rushed for boiling water. A queue was lined up in the cubicle. We approached two high tanks with taps. One was written "Cold water", on the other - "Hot water" (there were no tanks with drinking water in the cars either). The hot water tap had a wooden handle, like in a bath, so as not to burn your hand.
From the tap vigorously, life-affirming steam escaped, bubbling water poured with pressure. Everyone came here with their own kettle or kettle, or even two, if an elderly passenger neighbor or some pretty girl asked for boiling water (a great excuse to get acquainted!). In winter, passengers were in a hurry to return to the carriage as soon as possible so that the boiling water would not cool down: God forbid, frosts were not the current couple.
Most likely, the document mentioned above was referring to the infusion, and not the finished drink. Apparently, the conductors were supposed to provide the infusion to the passengers, and they were forbidden to sell it to the side. And so the people - both tea and food - were taking with them. Remember in "The Twelve Chairs" by Ilf and Petrov? “When the train cuts through the switch, numerous teapots clatter on the shelves and chickens wrapped in newspaper bags are jumping up and down” ...

Tariffs and "cartons"
To what extent was comfortable train travel available before the revolution? Let's try to answer this question by referring to the documents of those years. Let us give the "verified tariffs" for 1914 at the distances most demanded, according to statistics.

It is obvious that then few people could afford to travel in first and second class carriages. It was not for nothing that trains, as a rule, had from one to three blue and yellow carriages, while green ones - from four to six.
The ticket was considered valid if it had a punch mark (hence the expression "punch"). The punch punched the departure date and train number on the ticket. Therefore, hand-sold tickets were checked for light. On the ticket itself, the station of departure and destination (in a typographic way), the train number and the class of the carriage were indicated. Since the mid-1920s, the place (if it was supposed to) and the number of the carriage were also indicated - by hand, with a station stamp or pen, and subsequently with a ballpoint pen.
Few people remember that until the 1950s, the entrance to the platform (but not to the station building) was paid: at the box office you had to take a “platform” ticket. It cost a penny (at the beginning of the 20th century - within 10 kopecks, and in the 1950s - 1 ruble in the money of that time), but without it, those seeing off and meeting people could not go to the train. This was a legacy from the Kleinmichel times with their exactingness to all individuals at the station.
The classic ticket box is a special symbol of the railway world. They were of a very different color, shade, pattern - mostly red-brown or brownish (tickets for long-distance trains) and green, with a special background texture (suburban), and sometimes with some zigzags, prints, stripes and strokes, understandable only to cashiers. For the conductors, the ticket bag had pockets strictly the size of the "cardboard" - everything on the railway was always regulated.

"Passenger" train
"To go on a journey by rail" used to sound like this - "go on the iron pot" or "go by car" or simply "by car". Leo Tolstoy in the story "The Girl and the Mushrooms" (about how the girl got hit by a locomotive, but survived) calls the train a "machine" in the folk manner. Later they began to say - "by train", "on a piece of iron" or (half-jokingly) "on a steam locomotive", "a steam locomotive." Although steam locomotives have not been on the lines for a long time, this expression has remained forever, as well as the designation of a steam locomotive on all kinds of logos. from the railway symbolism, in particular even on road signs at crossings. In its expressive power, this machine is immortal.
Passenger trains were initially called "passenger" trains. In Bunin's scary accusatory tale about Emelya the Fool, we read: "The stove immediately ... parted out with him and flew like an arrow, and he collapsed on it, just like on a passenger train on a steam locomotive." There was even such an offensive children's teaser: "Fat, fat, passenger train!" Perhaps because of this phonetic association with the word "bold", the term "passenger" was sounded like a lighter and more flying version - "passenger". It must be said that railway workers still call the workers of the passenger service "passengers" among themselves.
Even having a cursory glance at the history of railway passenger traffic in Russia, it is not difficult to imagine how attractive and exciting the journey along the "iron pot" was before, especially for people who were romantically inclined.
The history of railway communications is not only a fascinating engineering and technical epic, but also a lyrical story about an endless variety of events and impressions, meetings and partings, dates and partings, about the mystical infinity of a harsh horizon pierced by rails, about spaces rapidly moving under the sound of wheels, about the hum directional wind and the voice of a whistle ... It is difficult to name anything like that in the foreseeable history that would so quickly coincide with the everyday life of people, with such a force would affect the life of the people, to the presentation about time and space, and at the same time it would so easily become familiar and vital, immediately becoming a tradition, covered with legends and songs. Therefore, the romance and originality of the railway track, even under the influence of technical progress and the growing comfort of movement along with it, will never go away - as long as the sound of wheels, station wires and the distance running outside the window remain ...

Railways of the United States of America- an extensive network of railways, which includes about seven transcontinental highways crossing the country from east to west and connecting the largest urban agglomerations of the Atlantic (New York, Philadelphia, Boston) and the Pacific (Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles) coasts; approximately ten highways of the meridian direction connecting the regions of the South and Southwest of the United States with the regions adjacent to the Canadian border; about ten highways crossing the territory of the country in its eastern part diagonally from northeast to southwest.

The operational length of the network (2002) is slightly more than 230 thousand km (including the property of class I railways - approx. 160 thousand km) and has a steady downward trend. The network density is 22.6 km / 1000 km2, the track gauge is 1435 mm. The number of personnel of all railways is approx. 185 thousand people, including on the railways of the 1st class - a little more than 157 thousand people.

Railway construction in the country began in 1827. From the very beginning, the railway was built. transport was formed in the private sector of the economy. By 1917, the length of the network exceeded 400 thousand km; number of private companies - approx. 1500, the total number of personnel in the industry - approx. 1.8 million people In 1930, the share of railways in the turnover of all types of transport in the country reached 70%. There is practically no new railway construction. The US rail system is one of the most efficient and highly technical in the world. The redundancy of the network made it possible over time to optimize its configuration and to decommission unprofitable lines. The share of double-track and multi-track lines is approx. ten%. The network is dominated by diesel traction. Length of electrified railways slightly more than 0.5% of the operational length, ch. arr. in suburban areas of major cities and in the Northeast Corridor (Washington-New York-Boston). The industry is developing as a whole as a single complex, taking into account the needs of the economy and the country's transport strategy. The activities of the railways are regulated by numerous laws, in particular, labor legislation and legislation on safety on the railways have been worked out in detail. In the 80-90s. 20th century thanks to the adoption of the Staggers Act, the railways companies were able to independently set contractual tariffs depending on the demand for transportation and the level of competition from other modes of transport, as well as to close and sell unprofitable low-performing lines. For the federal body, the Council for Land Transport (until 1996, the Interstate Communications Commission) in the field of pricing, only antimonopoly functions have been retained. Taking into account inflation, tariffs have decreased by 57% since 1980, labor productivity has increased 2.7 times. Safety conditions on the railways have significantly improved: the number of traffic accidents per year has decreased by 67%, industrial injuries have decreased by 71%. A large number of new regional and local railways have appeared. companies that often work on the infrastructure "torn away" by the first class railways. In 2001, the total length of the railway the lines on which regional and local companies carried out transportation amounted to 72.4 thousand km.

Development of a transport policy, including a policy in the field of railways. Transport, in the USA the Department of Transport is engaged, within the framework of which the issues of railways. The following main structural divisions are involved in transport:
The Federal Railroad Administration (FZHA) of the United States, which develops the industry regulatory and legal framework for railways. transport on the basis of federal transport legislation, responsible for ensuring safe operation on the railway. transport, the manager of n.-i. and design programs and projects, as well as overseeing the work of one of the world's largest Transport Equipment Testing Center in Pueblo, pcs. Colorado;

Federal Administration of Suburban and Urban Transportation, which oversees all types of public urban and suburban passenger transportation at the federal level;

The Council for Land Transport (SNT), which acts as a federal agency that, among other things, carries out economic regulation in relation to railways, and also resolves issues of unification and economic relations of railways with each other and with other modes of transport, reduction of railways. network and new construction, regulations for the inter-road exchange of wagons;

The Bureau of the General Safety Inspector, which is an independent body, including overseeing the activities of the FZhA to ensure the safe operation of railways. transport.

Almost all railways companies in the United States (and North America in general) are members of the Association of American Railways (AARA), which together with FJA represents the common interests of railways in government bodies (for example, in the US Congress). The Association acts as the coordinator of n.-i. and design programs, and oversees the Pueblo Transport Test Center.

In the USA (2001), there are actually two classifications of railways: traditionally used - SNT, and relatively recently introduced - AAD. According to the SNT classification, all railways, shunting and station companies are divided into 3 classes depending on the annual income from transportation, adjusted for inflation. The rates of return change periodically. In 2001, they corresponded to the following amounts: I class - from $ 266.7 million (up to 1992 - $ 92 million); II class - from $ 21.3 million to $ 266.7 million; III class - less than 21.3 million dollars. Regardless of income, the passenger transportation corporation (AMTRAC) is classified as class I.

The specificity of the AARR classification is that all railways. non-Class I companies are classified according to two criteria: profitability and network length. Income ranging from $ 40 million to $ 256.4 million and the length of the network at least 563 km allow the railway to be classified as a regional one. All other railways, as well as shunting and station companies, are classified as local. AMTRAC Corporation in this classification is conditionally assigned to the lowest category.

Of the total number of 573 railways. only 8 companies are assigned to class I, but they are the ones that dominate the market of railway transportation services. transport. This concerns their share in the total length of railways and in the total number of industry personnel, participation in the total freight turnover and total income from freight traffic.

Share of railways transport in the total freight turnover of the US transport system in 2001 amounted to 41.7%. Its participation in the volume of transportation (from domestic producers) of coal - 67%, grain - 26.4%. In 2001, the railway US transport has handled a turnover of 2,274 billion tonnes km, of which 2,193 billion tonnes km is accounted for by Class I railways. Over the past 20 years (1981-2001), freight turnover has grown in the country as a whole by more than 68%, and in the eastern regions it has grown by only 20%, and in the western regions by more than 90%. With the average freight density in the network in terms of gross freight turnover of 23 million t-km / km, the length of sections with a freight density of up to 5 million t-km / km is 30%, from 5 to 20 million t-km / km - 25%. Along with this, there are lines on which the traffic density is 120-130 million t-km / km.

On the train network on approximately 63% of its length, rails weighing 64.5-68.9 kg per linear meter are laid. 95% of the sleepers in the track are creosote-impregnated hardwood sleepers.

The locomotive fleet of class I railways, comprising 19,745 diesel locomotives, in the 1990s. updated by 33%; more than 40% of the fleet consists of diesel locomotives built before 1980. A restrained policy of replenishing the fleets with locomotives of higher power is being pursued, aimed at increasing operational efficiency, improving systems for diagnosing the technical condition of locomotives. The railways are actively purchasing powerful diesel locomotives with electric AC transmission, which amount to approx. 14% of the park. As a result, the average capacity of one section over the past 20 years has increased by 41% from 2326 to 3271 hp. with.

Approximately 1,315,000 freight cars operate on US railways, of which more than half belong to the railways, and the rest to shippers and railroad car companies. The average age of a freight car is 20.9 g. the car park has been renewed by 25%. It was assumed that in the next 10-12 years the park will be completely renovated. However, in 2001, the demand for freight cars fell to 34,260 units. compared to 70,000 units. at the end. 90s The decrease in demand for new cars is a consequence of the slowdown in the development of the US economy, the increased use of heavy-duty cars and an increase in the efficiency of their operation in the transportation process. Major US railways are also focusing on reducing their fleet of wagons. The average carrying capacity of a freight car is 84.5 tons, the average static load is 58.1 tons. The largest share in the car fleet is occupied by hoppers (41%) and tank cars (18%).

A distinctive feature of the US railways is the record average train weight, ensured by the high carrying capacity of the wagons, powerful traction and good track condition. In 2000, the average train weight (net) was 2726 tons, the average train weight (gross) was 5553 tons, and the average train composition was 68.5 wagons.

The largest railway systems in the United States are (2001) the combined railways Union Pacific / Southern Pacific (operational length 54.2 thousand km) and Burlington North / Santa Fe (53.2 thousand km). The process of unification of railways is due to the desire to improve their economic situation (by reducing the management staff, closing parallel and unprofitable lines) and competitiveness in relation to other modes of transport.

Rail transport in the United States is rather one-way oriented towards freight transportation. The specialized corporation AMTRAC, established in 1971 on the basis of the Law on Railway Passenger Transportation and supported by state funding (subsidies), is engaged in unprofitable, but socially necessary long-distance passenger transportation. The corporation is the only one in the country that operates long-distance railways. passenger transportation, operating 265 trains per day on a 36.5 thousand km range (approximately 20% of the total length of the class I railway network), connecting more than 500 stations. At the same time, AMTRAC directly owns only the specialized high-speed highway of the North-Eastern corridor (Washington-New York-Boston) with a length of 1,195 km, and otherwise uses the technical infrastructures of freight railways on a contractual basis. companies. The volume of long-distance transportation performed by the corporation per year is approx. 23.4 million passengers, passenger turnover approx. 9.0 billion passenger-km In addition, AMTRAC carries approximately 51 million commuters.

Suburban railways passenger traffic in the United States is carried out by 19 companies. The total length of lines on which suburban trains run is 14 thousand km, including the own lines of these companies, as well as lines leased from AMTRAC and freight companies. The volume of local and suburban railways transportation in the country as a whole is 3150 million passengers, passenger turnover is 13.3 billion passenger-km.

From the end. 1990s in the USA, interest in the railways, supported by state and public organizations, is reviving. passenger transportation, which is associated with the congestion of highways and the aggravation of environmental problems. Several states are planning to organize high-speed rail systems. transportation. The AMTRAC Corporation has introduced a new high-speed train "Eisla" with a design speed of 240 km / h in the North-Eastern corridor since 2001. The corporation offers the states the creation of a new high-speed regional transportation system, Eisla Reginal, on the railways they sponsor. corridors.

On the railways of the United States, special attention is paid to the introduction of modern information technologies. Under the auspices of the AARR, an improved system of automatic train control is gradually being introduced, which, with varying degrees of automation, provides optimal control of train flows on the railways it controls. polygons. Train traffic control is carried out from the enlarged road dispatch centers. Through the use of high-performance computing (in particular, microcomputers) devices and data transmission facilities, it became possible, for example, to control traffic on the railway from a single center in Omaha, Nebraska. networks with a length of about 60 thousand km. A network-wide implementation of a high-precision radio-technical system for automatic information reading from rolling stock, developed by the American corporation Amtech, is being carried out. The US Freight Railways have automated road clientele centers at their disposal, which promptly service customer inquiries regarding the status and progress of shipments, forwarding of goods, etc.