The history of rail transport goes back further than you think.
One of the most important rutways are located in the Isthmus of Corinth.
They were built in 600 BC and were in use until the 1st century AD.
A coal waggonway, circa 1870.
By the Middle Ages wooden wagons carrying coal and running on guided trackways had become standard mining practice underground.
These tubs, known as hunds, ran between two widely placed wooden rails.
A guide pin attached to the axle of the front wheels kept the hunds on course.
It was the worlds first overground wagonway.
From there the coal was taken onwards by road, to Trent Bridge and then further downstream by barge.
The wagonway increased coal transport by several orders.
Before long wooden waggonways had become the principal means of transporting coal from major collieries across Britain.
The transition from a horse-drawn wagonway to a fully steam-powered railway was a gradual evolution.
There was also some doubts whether smooth wheels could obtain a proper grip on smooth rails.
George Stephenson, who built the first steam locomotive in 1813, showed that grip was no problem.
In 1825, the Stockton and Darlington railway was completed.
The rest, as they say, is history.
A wagonway at Beamish.
Photo credit:beamishtransportonline.co.uk
Photo credit:europaresa.wordpress.com
Parts of the Willington Waggonway under excavation in 2013.
Sources:The Pont Valley online grid/Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums/Wikipedia
