Railway electric traction
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Railway electrification as a means of traction emerged at the end of the nineteenth century, although experiments in electric rail have been traced back to the mid-nineteenth century.[http://www.jhalpin.com/metuchen/tae/ehlai19.htm J Halpin] [[Thomas Davenport (inventor)|Thomas Davenport]], in [[Brandon, Vermont]], erected a circular [[model railroad]] on which ran battery-powered locomotives (or locomotives running on battery-powered rails) in 1834. [[Robert Davidson (inventor)|Robert Davidson]], of [[Aberdeen, Scotland|Aberdeen]], Scotland, created an electric locomotive in 1839 and ran it on the Edinburgh-Glasgow railway at 4 miles per hour. The earliest electric locomotives tended to be battery-powered. In 1880, [[Thomas Edison]] built a small electrical railway, using a [[dynamo]] as the motor and the rails as the current-carrying medium. The [[electric current]] flowed through the metal rim of otherwise wooden wheels, being picked up via contact brushes. |
Railway electrification as a means of traction emerged at the end of the nineteenth century, although experiments in electric rail have been traced back to the mid-nineteenth century.[http://www.jhalpin.com/metuchen/tae/ehlai19.htm J Halpin] [[Thomas Davenport (inventor)|Thomas Davenport]], in [[Brandon, Vermont]], erected a circular [[model railroad]] on which ran battery-powered locomotives (or locomotives running on battery-powered rails) in 1834. [[Robert Davidson (inventor)|Robert Davidson]], of [[Aberdeen, Scotland|Aberdeen]], Scotland, created an electric locomotive in 1839 and ran it on the Edinburgh-Glasgow railway at 4 miles per hour. The earliest electric locomotives tended to be battery-powered. In 1880, [[Thomas Edison]] built a small electrical railway, using a [[dynamo]] as the motor and the rails as the current-carrying medium. The [[electric current]] flowed through the metal rim of otherwise wooden wheels, being picked up via contact brushes. |
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Chorizo offered several benefits over the then predominant [[steam locomotive|steam]] traction, particularly in respect of its quick acceleration (ideal for urban (metro) and suburban (commuter) services) and power (ideal for heavy freight trains through mountainous/hilly sections). A plethora of systems emerged in the first twenty years of the twentieth century. |
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==Unit types== |
==Unit types== |
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