Historic images: Journey of the railways

The oldest, man-hauled railways date to the 6th century BC, with Periander, one of the Seven Sages of Greece, credited with its invention.

Rail transport blossomed after the British development of the steam engine as a viable source of power in the 18th and 19th centuries. With steam engines, it was possible to construct mainline railways, which were a key component of the industrial revolution.

Let's take a look the amazing journey of railway.

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A miniature railway constructed for the amusement of King Louis XIV of France (1638-1715) and the Royal Family in the royal park at Marly-Le- Roi, near Paris, circa 1700.

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A Newcastle coal wagon of 1773 from 'A Picture History of Railways' by C Hamilton Ellis, showing a filled wagon with flanged wheels and a horse following behind on a down-gradient railway line.

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M Girard's hydraulic railway, 1820.

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The Manchester and Liverpool Railway at Newton, 1825. Drawing by Calvert, aquatint by Havell.

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The steam engine designed and built by George Stephenson (1781-1848).

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An early French railway locomotive powered by atmospheric pressure operating on a vacuum.

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A train passes under Rainhill Bridge on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, circa 1830. Built in 1829, the bridge was the first to cross a railway at an angle.

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Entrance of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway line at Edge Hill in Liverpool. Original Artwork: Drawing by TT Bury, engraved by H Pyall and published by Ackerman.

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A junction signal-man at work, circa 1835.

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The entrance to the London to Birmingham Railway Station at London (Euston), designed by Philip Hardwick, 1837.

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First passengers arriving on an early French railway, 1840.

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A sing-song organ in a luxurious carriage on the Union Pacific Railway, US, 1850.

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A locomotive drawing a tender laden with logs, which has the name Josiah Stickney along its side, 1858.

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A German steam engine designed by August Borsig of Berlin, 1860.

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Passengers waiting for their train on the platform of Baker Street Station, London, 1863.

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The first Metropolitan train on the underground line passing through Praed Street, London, 1863.

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The German built steam engine 'Kopernicus', fresh from the locomotive factory in Esslingen am Neckar, near Stuttgart, 1864. Factory workers stand on and around the new engine and on the left, wearing a suit, is most likely, Emil Kessler, the factory owner and founder.

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A station near Calcutta, 1867.

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A man rides across a stretch of the first elevated railway in America, 1867.

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A goods train on fire as it runs into an express mail train on the Caledonian Railway, 1867.

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Passengers in a Tourist Sleeping Car on the Canadian Pacific Railway, 1875.

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Passengers in a dining car on the 'Train De Luxe', travelling from Paris to the south of France, 1885.

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Customers watching a film starring Gary Cooper aboard a railway train, 1925.

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Two post office workers in Odessa, Russia, hold up the conductor of a train bound for the Austrian frontier, during the post office strike in Russia, 1906. Original Publication: The Graphic.

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Special trains, laid on for the King's garden party, leaving London's Paddington Station with guests, 1910.

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A commuter grabs a ride on the buffer of a train during the Great Railway Strike, when seats on board were scarce, 1919.

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View of commuters as they walk along the platform after getting off a train at the Stilwell Avenue BMT stop at Coney Island, New York, 1920s.

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Passengers relaxing in a 'chair car' on the Illinois Central streamline diesel train 'Green Diamond', 1935.

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British statesman Winston Churchill (1874-1965) and his wife Clementine (1885-1977) arrive at Waterloo Station in London, after a visit to the United States, November 1929.