铁路(railroad)
陆上运输的一种模式。装有凸缘轮的车辆由机车牵引或自备发动机推动，在两条平行的钢轨上运动。最早的铁路建於16世纪欧洲的矿区，使用人力或马力拉动轨道上的车辆。随着蒸汽机车的发明，1825年修建了第一条铁路，近代铁路就迅速发展起来。美国的第一条铁路，从巴尔的摩到俄亥俄，於1827年投入营运。後来为运送货物和乘客而制造出专门的车辆，包括1859年由普尔曼研制的卧铺车。在19世纪，铁路对每个国家的经济和社会发展都有着重要的影响。在美国，1869年完成了横贯大陆的铁路，开始了铁路扩张和巩固的时代，一些金融帝国建筑商都卷入进来，如范德比尔特、古尔德、哈里曼、希尔和史丹福等。20世纪初铁路在美国的重要性开始下降，但在欧洲、亚洲和非洲，铁路仍是国家内部以及国家之间充满活力的运输线。亦请参阅Orient-Express、Trans-Siberian Railroad。
English version：
railroad
Mode of land transportation in which flange-wheeled vehicles move over two parallel steel rails or tracks, drawn by a locomotive or propelled by self-contained motors. The earliest railroads were built in European mines in the 16th century, using cars pulled on tracks by men or horses. With the advent of the steam locomotive and construction of the first railway in 1825, the modern railroad developed quickly. The first U.S. railroad, the Baltimore and Ohio, began operation in 1827. Specialized railroad cars were built to transport freight and passengers, including the sleeping cars developed by George Pullman in 1859. In the 19th century the railroad had an important influence on every country's economic and social development. In the U.S. the transcontinental railroad, completed in 1869, began an era of railroad expansion and consolidation that involved such financial empire builders as Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jay Gould, Edward H. Harriman, James J. Hill, and Leland Stanford. The railroad's importance in the U.S. began to diminish from the early 20th century, but in Europe, Asia, and Africa it continues to provide vital transportation links within and between countries. See also Orient Express, Trans-Siberian Railroad.
