Railways of Canada

Canada is a country of railway companies. More than twenty-five hundred such companies have been chartered for the railway construction, as the railways are a vital element in the industrial power of the country.

Canada is a country of mountains and lakes that presents a tremendous problem of building a railway through this wild country. There was an idea to build a railway that would link the Atlantic and the Pacific Coasts. This idea seemed an impossible one.

Nevertheless, the construction work was being carried out for ten years and the railway line from the Ontario forests to the Pacific side of the Rocky Mountains through desolate regions was completed. In 1885, the single line that was under construction from both ends simultaneously (from the East and West) met. This railroad was called the Canadian Pacific Railway.

The 1920s and 1930s were the time of railway consolidation. Many railways were disappearing from public view, although they remained as separate legal entities held by other railways. The situation in the mid-1930s was similar although there were more independent carriers.

After 1938, the structure of the Canadian railway system changed significantly. The city of Toronto ordered bi-level cars from Hawker Siddlay C⁰. The engineers of the given company developed a new double-decker design to meet all passenger requirements.

Two-and-two seating was standard in all cars, but two-and-three was also possible. This very comfortable car could be used as a long-distance day coach. The entrance to the vestibule of the lower saloons was through the sliding doors. One could get to the upper saloons by a staircase. Different decorative materials were used for the interiors. Both the lower and upper saloons were air-conditioned.

The city of Toronto placed an order for a special diesel-hydraulic locomotive from the United States as well. This locomotive was designed for working in the Toronto subway. The locomotive had infinite speed control, complete duplication of all systems and exhaust gas purification. All this met the USA standards for underground operations.

In 1981 Canada introduced several LRC (Light, Rapid, Comfortable) trains into service between Montreal and Toronto. The trains were to have a maximum speed of 200 km/h but because of track limitations they didn’t run faster than about 150 km/h.

Nowadays, there are two major railways in the country – Canadian National and Canadian Pacific – plus a handful of regional carriers. Most of the other railways that were built have been abandoned or absorbed in the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific systems. The construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway is considered to be unparalleled in railway history.

Railways of Canada play the central role in the economic and political history of the country. The majority of the railway lines built are either private or governmental.

Finnish State Railways

Finland is situated in the north-western region of Europe, where climatic and ground conditions are very severe. Nearly half of the length of Finland lies to the north of the Arctic Circle. The most important industries of Finland are agriculture and wood-working industry. The Finland’s products are exported even as far away as to China, South Africa and South America.

The railways were rapidly developed in Europe at the beginning of the 19^th century. As to Finland the demands for speed of transport were considerably increasing with the expansion of industry and trade.

So, in 1849 the first project of building a railway in Finland was made. On March 4, 1857 the order was given for the construction of a railway from Helsinki to Hűmeenlinnna. The track gauge was to be 1,524 mm., which is still the gauge of the Finnish railway system. By the way, the Finnish gauge is larger than the one used in Western Europe. In January 1862 the first trial train ran through the whole line to the great pleasure of the railway fans. The first Finnish railway line Helsinki-Hűmeenlinna was opened for traffic. Due to the fact that Finland is a sparsely populated country there are 21 m of track per sq. km.

Being connected to Russia in those days, Finland contributed to the construction of the Riihimäki – St. Petersburg line that was opened as early as in 1870. The economic boom at the end of the 19^th century caused an ever-increasing need for transport and the Finnish railway network started growing by about 100 km a year. Most of the locomotives of the 19^th century were purchased from abroad – England, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and the USA. The first locomotive built in Finland was completed in 1874 at the State Railways workshops in Helsinki, but domestic locomotive industry gained more speed only before the First World War.

During the World War II the State Railways of Finland were confronted by immense transport problems. On the main lines there were no new and renewed coaches and wagons, which were on the European level. The extension of the railway network and the renewal of the rolling stock was started only at the beginning of the 1950s.

In the second half of the 20^th century domestic workshop industry of Finland became able to compete with foreign workshops. Thus, Finnish industry produced most of the steam and diesel locomotives ordered by the State Railways. The building of steam locomotives was completed by 1957. The dieselization was in constant progress and year-by-year the number of steam locomotives decreased giving way to the more economical diesel and electric locomotives.

At the beginning of the 1960s the first prototypes of German 25-metre all-steel passenger coaches were imported and their building in Finland started in 1963. The first new fast train sets, longer than the older ones, were completed and taken into operation in summer 1964. They also were built by Finnish workshops. The stock of passenger coaches was gradually becoming more and more comfortable. For example, the express train set consisted of two motor coaches and one trailer. The train set had 157-second class and 30 first class seats. The seats were reversible and their backs could be inclined. The trailer had a kitchen equipped with a liquid–gas stove and a refrigerator. The gangways between the coaches were entirely covered, the intermediary doors were auto-closing and the outer doors could be locked pneumatically from the driver’s cabin. The passenger compartments had loudspeakers for the indication of stations, stops and other information. The sleeping cars of the Finnish State railways were either the 1^st class, the 2^nd class or combined ones. The first class cabin had berths for two, the second class for three people. The cabins had washing facilities. The number of berths in a 1^st class car was 20, in a 2^nd class car 30, and in a combined car 25.

Now a great number of wagons are built for special purposes in Finland. Wagons with a heating device for products that do not stand cold and refrigerator wagons for the use in summer are absolutely necessary in the varying climate conditions of Finland.

Some years later, the new 126 km route between Kostomuksha and Lelmozero in Karelia near the Finnish border was completed. Constructed by a private company the line was designed to develop the mineral and forestry resources of the region. The company proposed the development of the second line, which in combination with the first one would establish the so-called North-West rail link from northest Russian to ice-free Finnish ports on the Baltic.

In another development, agreement was reached on a 68 km new line from Ruchei Kazelski to the border with northern Finland in Alakuzztti, a 6.5 km line on an abandoned track bed on the Finnish border side being reinstarted. This allowed mineral deposits in the Murmansk area to be developed. On April 16, 1996 the Russian–Finnish railway agreement was signed. Projects included upgrading of the St. Petersburg–Helsinki line for high-speed operation with Pendolino tilting trains.

International travel on this line grows from year to year and is forecast to reach 1 million passengers per year in the near future. Through high-speed trains to Turku are planned to be put into operation too.

The lakes give Finland an especially enchanting character. On the shores of the lakes there are large cities and industrial centres that need a highly developed railway transport system.

Date: 2015-01-02; view: 1077