Double-Deck Railroads. Part-One.

Train lengths shortened.

The United States takes the bite in the biscuit when it comes to it new fleets of double-deck coaching stock. Four cars and a double height locomotive replaces the length of the original eight.

These high capacity units means loading more quickly and faster times between departures and arrivals. America has made the breakthrough thus far and a few other countries around the world have followed.

But it will be sometime before many escape the traditional mode of platform and train infrastructures? In the British Isles the choice has been to have back to back DMU/EMU stock, that overcomes the use of switching engines, but the high platform looks like it will stay on for some time yet.

Even HS2 will be of this conventional style that fits in with the Eurotunnel -TGV. 

Electric Trains. Part-One.

Europe First.

With the advent of electricity it was Europe that first cottoned on to developing electric trains. Many experiments were carried out from Trams to Monorails and then both France and Germany pioneered the field. 

The Paris Metro railway was well ahead of the London Underground by 1900, but England was to commit with Southern third rail and London-Eastern with the Electrical Multiple overhead units

Basically the U.K. was the first to develop overground electric suburban rail networks, Europe advanced with the electric locomotives and have maintained that lead ever since. TVG, Ice and many other high-speed trains are the fruits of electrification.