The governing fact is adhesion. Steel on steel produces very little grip, which is efficient on the level and useless on a slope - so the route must be flattened…
A railway looks like the most rigid thing in the landscape: steel lines running dead straight to the horizon, apparently welded to the earth. The reality underneath is the opposite,…
Source: Wikipedia
In an age of cramped flights and rushing from place to place, there is something deeply romantic about the great long-distance train journey. To board a train and roll…