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The very first trains used a system that depended on gravity, horses, and ropes.
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The early trains in North America were often powered by wood-burning engines as wood was plentiful and cheaper than coal.
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The first locomotives in Britain were powered by coal. Coal was burned to heat water that would create steam, which would power the pistons that caused the wheels to turn.
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Early North American trains had a device attached to the front of the engine called a 'cowcatcher' that would push unwanted obstacles off the tracks.
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The first underground railway was built in London, England. It opened in 1863 and the trains were powered by steam, which made the underground railway dirty and stinky.
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In the late 1800s trains began to be powered by electricity. By the mid-1900s most steam-powered trains had been replaced by electricity and diesel.
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Electric train systems either power the trains by an overhead cable or from a live rail on the tracks.
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Diesel-powered trains gained popularity after World War I ended. Diesel trains had more power than steam trains, and did not cause the same amount of pollution, and they were more suited to areas where electric trains didn't make economic sense.
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Most freight or cargo trains are powered by an engine at the front that pulls the freight cars. Some have an additional locomotive at the back to help push the freight cars from behind.
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Japan built a high speed train that started running in 1964. It was able to travel at speeds of 131 miles per hour. France built a high speed train in 2007 that could travel at 357 miles per hour.
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The first travel agency was established by an Englishman named Thomas Cook who took 540 parishioners on a train trip. The success of the train trip inspired him to start a travel agency that specialized in train travel.
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When trains were first built in the United States some people believed that a woman's internal reproductive organs would fly out when traveling at 50 miles an hour.
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The train used in the Harry Potter movies called the Hogwarts Express is a real train being used in Scotland.
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There are many different types of trains today including passenger trains, double decker passenger trains, inter-city trains, commuter trains, trams, monorails, railbuses, mine trains, heritage trains, subways, and atmospheric railways (which run on air pressure).
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