స్టీము లోకోమోటివ్ చరిత్ర
మొదటి స్టీము లోకోమోటివ్ ఇంజనును రిచర్డ్ ట్రేవీతిక్ (Richard Trevithick) [1]తయారు చేసాడు.1801 లో మొదట రోడ్డు మీద నడిచే స్టీము లోకోమోటివ్ ఇంజనుఆవిష్కరించాడు.మూడు సంవత్సరాల తరువాత 1804 సంవత్సరం ఫిబ్రవరి 21 న లోకోమోటివ్ స్టీము ఇంజనును రూపొందించాడు.మొట్ట మొదటి వాణిజ్య లోకోమోటివ్ 1812-13 లో జాన్ బ్లేన్కిన్సొప్ (John Blenkinsop) [2]చే కనుగొనబడింది.దీనిని రాబర్ట్ స్టెపెన్సన్ అండ్ కంపెని తరుపున రాబర్ట్ స్టెపెన్సన్ మరియు అతని కుమారుడు రాబర్ట్ తయారు చేసారు.
చెన్నై బీచ్ రైల్వే స్టేషను
Until the introduction of the electric trains, the city had the single steam rail line between Harbour and Tambaram, used by both passenger and goods trains. The plan to electrify railway lines in Madras was first initiated in 1923 by Sir Percy Rothera, an agent of the South Indian Railways, who felt the need for such a service. This was in a time when the city was expanding, with largely agricultural areas such as Saidapet, St. Thomas Mount and Tambaram developing into residential quarters. However, the plan was realised only in the following decade. Plan to build a new line between Beach and Egmore and two lines between Egmore and Tambaram was announced as part of the suburban remodelling initiative of South Indian Railways. On 27 December 1930, the first consignment of 25 electric carriages from England was received by the railway. The trains were painted in dull green with a black wheel base and featured wide sliding doors, a better-designed seating arrangement, and thick glass fronts. The new carriages were parked in Tambaram station.
The first electrically operated rail service in Madras began on 2 April 1931 between Madras Beach and Tambaram, which became the earliest metre gauge to be electrified in the country. It was launched by Sir George Fredrick Stanley, the then governor of Madras, who was reported to have said at the opening ceremony that the new train services would transform "desolate south Madras into burgeoning garden cities". However, the service was opened to the public only a month later on 11 May 1931. The Madras Electricity Supply Corporation, which powered the railway lines, was aided by sub-stations in Egmore and Meenambakkam. Soon, the number of trains shuttling passengers was increased to 45 a day, running every 10 minutes at peak hours, and every 30 minutes, otherwise. The running time between Madras Beach and Tambaram stations, which was 2 hours until then, was reduced to 49 minutes. The train service was made available from 4:00 in the morning up to 12:00 at night.