Trains: past, present and future火车：前世、今世与来世
by John Russell
约翰·拉塞尔
Railways are not a modern invention as most of us think. The idea of transporting things and people on rails has been around for a long time. Rails were made of wood, and wagons were pulled by horses.
大部分人都会认为铁路其实并非现代世界的产物。利用工具来运输物品和乘客的想法由来已久。轨道以前是由木头等铸造，而车厢则是用马力进行拉动。
Why did railways develop?铁路发展究为何？
Railways are not a modern invention as most of us think. The idea of transporting things and people on rails has been around for a long time. Rails were made of wood, stone or metal, and railway wagons were pulled by horses, some were even wind powered and had sails. At the start of the Industrial Revolution in Britain, people needed to transport raw materials such as coal, so created a network of canals and rail links between towns. But canals and horsepower were a very slow way to move things around the country, so the speed of railway wagons needed to be increased.
大部分人都会认为铁路其实并非现代世界的产物。利用工具来运输物品和乘客的概念由来已久。路轨以前是由木头、石头以及金属铸造，而车厢则用马力来拉动，更有些地方还会给车厢装上帆，利用风力来带动。当工业革命刚刚在英国兴起的时候，人们需要将像煤炭这样的原材料运往各地，因此搭建各个城镇之间的运河和轨道网络成了当务之急。然而船运以及马车运输对于全国范围的交通运输而言，速度显得非常缓慢，所以提升轨道货运的速度是非常必要的。
How did steam engines help?蒸汽机显奇功
By 1800 many industries were using steam engines, designed by James Watt (from where we get the electrical measurement - Watt). Richard Trevithick, a Cornish engineer, refined Watts’ invention and after failing to build a steam powered road vehicle, he designed the first locomotive for an Iron Works in Wales. He called it a 'puffer' because of the noise it made, and on its first journey it travelled at almost 8 km/h an hour! Unfortunately, it was so heavy that it broke the rails - it only made three journeys. But it had shown that steam engines could be used to move trains, and speeds began to increase.
到了1800年，很多工业领域开始使用了詹姆斯?瓦特（电力功率单位“瓦特”正是以他的名字命名）发明的蒸汽机。一个名叫理查德?特雷威斯克的康沃尔郡工程师将瓦特的发明进行了改良。他原想设计出一个利用蒸汽动力运作的蒸汽公车，但无奈实验失败了，但他也因此为威尔士的一个铁工厂设计出了第一款火车头。他将这个火车头命名为“吹牛人”，因为每当这个火车头行驶运作就会发出巨大的轰鸣之声。“吹牛人”的第一次旅行就以每小时8千米的速度足足开了一个钟！但是不幸的是因为它过于沉重会压坏轨道，所以它这一辈子也就上了三次路。但是“吹牛人”的成功向人们展示出了蒸汽机可以带动火车，运输的速度开始有了提升。
When was the first accident? /en]史上第一起火车事故
史上第一起火车事故
[en]By 1829 locomotives were travelling at speeds of over 45km/h and the first public railway had been opened, the Stockton and Darlington Railway. The most famous early locomotive was The Rocket. In 1833 it won a competition organised by the owners of the Manchester and Liverpool railway, to find the best locomotive for their new line. Unfortunately, during the competition, a Member of Parliament wasn't careful as he crossed the tracks and The Rocket knocked him down. He died later. This was one of the first train accidents in history.
到了1829年火车的时速已经上升到了45千米每小时，而史上第一条公共铁路（斯托克顿-达灵顿铁路）也已经正式开放。在火车史早期，最为出名的火车当属“罗克特”了。在1833年的时候曼彻斯特和利物浦铁路曾经联合组织了一场比赛，比赛目的是为了给他们新开的铁路找到最佳的火车，而罗克特火车正是那场比赛的状元。但是不幸的是在那场比赛期间，一个下议院的议员因为自己横穿铁轨时不够小心而被罗克特撞到而死。这正是火车史上的第一起事故。
What was the Golden Age of Steam?蒸汽能源黄金时代
The next 130 years can be described as a Golden Age of Steam. Railways were built all over the world, and the size, speed and comfort of trains continued to increase. By 1870 it was possible to cross America by train, and the building of railways in many other countries allowed people and progress to move quickly across the world.
人们把接下来的130年称之为“蒸汽能源黄金时代”。铁路在全球各地铺设起来，不论是在规模上、速度上还是舒适度上，铁路行业都不断向上攀升。到了1870年，一位旅客可以乘火车穿越整个美利坚大陆，而其他国家的铁路建设，也在全球范围内让人们奔向外面的脚步以及社会的进步变得更快。
There were famous trains and famous journeys. The Orient Express started in 1883 and carried people in luxury through more than 13 countries between France and Turkey. The Flying Scotsman travelled non-stop from London to Edinburgh, between 1928 and 1963, and reached speeds of over 130 km/h. The Trans-Siberian railway was finished in 1916, and is still the longest railway line in the world. It goes between St. Petersburg and Vladivostok, is over 9000 km long and even today the journey takes over a week.The fastest steam train in the world was The Mallard. This locomotive travelled up and down the east coast of England between London and York, and in 1938 reached 202 km/h.
那个时代有很多著名的列车和旅途。启动于1883年的“东方快车”以奢华服务著称，它可以带着人们游览于法国和土耳其之间的十三个国家。而服役于1928年到1963年间的“急速苏格兰”则以超过130千米每小时的时速，永不停歇地穿梭于伦敦和爱丁堡之间。“特朗-西伯利亚”铁路建于1916年，至今它仍是世界上最长的火车旅线。这条铁路往返于彼得堡和符拉迪沃斯托克之间，即便在今天，这条长达9000千米的行程也需要花上一个星期。而世界上最快的蒸汽火车当属“马德拉号”，在1938年时这般列车奔上跑下于伦敦和约克之间的英格兰东海岸，速度达到了202千米每小时。
What replaced steam engines?蒸汽易位，何者担当
Although it is still possible to travel on the Trans-Siberian railway, and take the Orient Express from Paris to Vienna, steam trains such as the Mallard or Flying Scotsman, have not travelled regularly for almost 30 years in many countries. Diesel powered locomotives or trains running on electrified lines now run on most railways. Modern trains are cleaner and much faster than steam engines but many people still miss the puffing sound and the romance of steam.
尽管“特朗-西伯利亚”线仍在运行，而“东方快车号”也依旧往返于巴黎和维也纳之间，但是如“马德拉号”或“急速苏格兰号”蒸汽火车已经在各国退出历史舞台有三十来年了。柴油能源的机车和火车如今已经代替其位奔驰在电气化的铁路轨道之上了。现代的火车更加节能也更加迅速，但是还是有大把人会怀念蒸汽火车的鸣笛之声以及那份属于蒸汽时代的浪漫情怀。
How fast can trains travel now?当今列车，速度如何？
Quite a few countries now use high speed trains. The famous Bullet Train in Japan and the TGV in France can both carry passengers at speeds of over 300km/h. Journey times are now much shorter, and trains can travel on some unusual routes; up hills, through mountains, even under the sea. Euro-tunnel was opened in 1994 and connects Britain to France through a railway that goes under the sea.
如今极少数的几个国家已经配上了高速列车，其中最为著名的当属日本的“子弹头列车”以及法国的“巴黎-里昂高速列车”。这两班列车都可以载着乘客以300千米每小时的高速飞驰。如今火车旅程花费的时间越来越短，火车也可以穿梭于一些不同寻常的路线之上：上山爬坡、穿山而过甚至探入海底都不足为奇。像开设于1994年的欧洲海底隧道就连接了英法两国，而火车则可从中行驶。
How can trains further develop?火车发展的未来
The future of train travel could be in Maglev trains. These trains are supported by electro-magnets and hover off the ground. Some countries are already using this technology in cities, and others are planning to use it on longer journeys. At the moment they can go more than 500km/h, but some engineers think speeds of over 1000 km/h are possible – some even think they could be used to launch space shuttles! Trains have come a long way since Richard Trevithick’s puffer.
火车未来发展的趋势是磁悬浮列车，这种列车运用了电磁铁技术，可以悬空在地面之上。一些国家已经开始在部分城市使用了这种技术，更有些国家计划着运用这种技术开设长途火车路线。到了那时火车速度可以达到500千米每小时，还有一些工程师认为超过1000千米每小时甚至赶上航天飞机的速度都不是梦！自理查德?特雷为西斯的“吹牛人”起，火车发展之路漫漫长矣！