History of Rail Transport: The Ancient Times
Rail transport definitely started in Europe. That is because the modern civilization we have today can be directly traced back to the development of rail networks in the continent. While it is said that development of early rails in the network can be rooted back to about 500 years ago, historians and researchers have established that there are historical evidences to claims that rail transport in the region began as early as 6 B.C. Remnants of such rails were found in Corinth isthmus, Greece. No wonder, during that time, Greek civilization was very much flourishing.
According to traces of evidences, the rails were operating then by the use of trucks, which were pushed and pulled by slaves. Such early forms of rails ran in grooves and were located on top of limestone, probably for easier and faster mobility. Those wagons were said to have been entirely moved by mechanical forces of slaves. Researchers have called that early discovered rail as the Diolkos wagonway. It has been in utilization for more than 1,300 years. it was on 9 A.D. that Diolkos wagonway was said to have ceased operations. During that time, horse-drawn wagonways started appearing and being used also in Greece.
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