Category Science

The Michaux-Perreaux bicycle of 1869 had a steam engine under its saddle. Wood or coal had to be put in the engine every few minutes to keep the water boiling, to work the engine.

Who put an engine above a front wheel?

The Werner brothers in France built a motorcycle in 1899. It was a safety bicycle with a petrol engine above the front wheel, in front of the handlebars.

Amazing! American engineer Lucius Copeland made a motorcycle by adding a small steam engine to a penny farthing. He rode the bicycle backwards, using the small wheel to steer. The machine could travel at 20 kph.

What did the first motorbike look like?

The first proper motorbike had a heavy wooden frame, wooden wheels with metal rims, and two stabilising wheels to stop it toppling over. It was the first motorbike to have a lightweight petrol engine, but it was very slow. It was built by German engineers Daimler and Maybach in 1885.

Is it true? Early motorcycles had pedals.

Yes. The engines on early motorcycles were not very powerful or reliable. So the bikes had pedals for going up hills or in case of a breakdown. Some modern bikes, such as mopeds, still have pedals.

In 1838, a Scottish blacksmith called Kirkpatrick Macmillan built the first bicycle with pedals. Before this, bicycle riders kicked the ground to move along.

What was a penny farthing?

A penny farthing was a bicycle of the 1870s, named after two British coins. It had an enormous front wheel (the penny) and a small rear wheel (the farthing).

Amazing! In the 1880s, couples often rode side by side on tricycles (cycles with three wheels) called sociables. Each person had a set of pedals, which turned the huge rear wheels.

Is it true? People raced tricycles.

Yes. In the 1880s, the tricycle was not just a cycle for children, as it is today. It was popular with adults too. Tricycle racing was one of the first forms of cycle racing. Race events were held on bumpy roads and wooden tracks.

What was a safety bicycle?

The safety bicycle was the first bicycle to look like today’s bikes. It appeared in 1885. It had two wheels the same size, a diamond-shaped metal frame, pedals that turned the rear wheel using a chain, and brakes worked by levers on the handlebars.

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Really fast future trains might not bother with wheels. They could ride on a cushion of air, like a hovercraft. The nose of the train squashes air underneath its belly as it jets along, and the squashed air lifts it above the ground. The Aerotrain already exists as an experimental vehicle.

What is a bullet train?

Japan’s fastest trains, the Shinkansen, were nicknamed bullet trains because of their pointy noses – and high speed! The fastest, Nozomi, travels at 300 kph. With no time wasted at airports, travelling by Nozomi can be quicker than flying by jet!

Amazing! One sled travelled at Mach 8. An unmanned rocket vehicle on rails achieved 9,851 kph in an American experiment in 1982. On straight track, it could make the eight-day Trans-Siberian trip in less than one hour!

Is it true? Some trains run on magnets.

Yes. Germany and Japan have both tested trains that use repelling magnets to float above the track. The track doesn’t wear out, and the trains can slip along at amazing speeds.

Are trains ‘green’?

Trains are less harmful to the environment than most other kinds of transport. They are particularly important in cities, where underground trains, trams and monorails can reduce pollution from cars, buses and taxis. For long distance journeys, trains use much less fuel than jet aircraft.

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The longest train ever was a freight train measuring 7.3 kilometers! The longest passenger train was a measly 1.7 kilometres, but the Belgian railway couldn’t find a platform long enough to park it!

Amazing! Eight men can lay 16 kilometers of track in a day! A team of eight track-layers in America set this world record on April 18, 1869.

Which train is fastest?

France pioneered fast trains after World War Two When Japan introduced the Shinkansen ‘bullet train’ in the 1960s, France responded with the TGV. An experimental TGV has reached 515 kph!

Is it true? A train can weigh more than the Eiffel Tower.

Yes. An Australian mine train was weighed in 1996 at 72,191 tonnes – that’s more than eight Eiffel Towers!

Which train travels farthest?

The once-daily service between Moscow and Vladivostok in Russia travels 9,350 kilometres, taking eight days. Known as the Trans-Siberian Express, or The Russia, the train has featured in several books and films. It is second only in fame to the Orient Express.

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In 1963 a train full of used banknotes was robbed in Buckinghamshire, England. The thieves got away with over £2.5 million, a huge sum of money even today.

Amazing! Trains at Mwatate Dam have to mind out for demons. The Kenyan villagers nearby, thought that trains were having a lot of accidents there because the local spirits were angry. Trains began pausing briefly to salute the spirits, and there hasn’t been a crash since!

Do trains crash?

Trains occasionally crash for a number of reasons — there might be a points failure, or a weak bridge. Amazingly, no one was killed when this cattle train crashed through the front of an Irish railway station. Rail travel is usually very safe though.

Did railway projects always work?

No. The English almost built a Channel Tunnel in 1883. They tunneled roughly two kilometres under the sea, but the government was worried the French would use the tunnel to invade England, so it was abandoned!

Is it true? Some trains are too big.

Yes. The Soviet Union made a locomotive in 1934 that was too long. Its non-swivelling wheels and heavy weight actually straightened out curves in the track, leaving it stuck in a ditch!

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Trains use big bridges or deep tunnels to cross the largest rivers. The Victorian engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, invented strong metal bridges to carry the weight of a train. Some bridges are so big that repainting them is a full-time job!

Is the Channel Tunnel longest?

Not quite. The Channel Tunnel is 49.8 kilometres in total. The Seikan, Japan’s tunnel between the main islands of Honshu and Hokkaido, travels an amazing 53.9 kilometres underground.

Where was the first raised city railway?

New York City had a serious traffic problem in the 1880s, and that was before cars! An ‘Elevated Railway’, known as ‘the L’ for short, was built above the streets. It still works today.

Amazing! You can take a train on a boat. Train ferries started operating in the late 1800s between England and France. Passengers stayed in their seats all the way from London to Paris!

Is it true? Box Hill tunnel knows its creator’s birthday.

Yes. Brunel built it at a special angle. Each year, only on his birthday, the sun shines right through the entire 3.2 kilometre tunnel in southern England.

Picture Credit : Google