The first main line of electric railroads in the United States – the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad – opened in 1829. It was only a half dozen years before a London firm sent electric locomotives to be used on America's railways. This was soon followed by the Westinghouse Electric Company, which helped to lay down the tracks for a new rail line, the Buffalo-Niagara Falls, in 1831. It is ironic that a company from Buffalo, New York, would build the world's first electric railway line when they were trying to outdo – and ultimately abolish – the western steam locomotive.
The authors note that "the steam locomotive would not need the new high-voltage electric train system". But because the steam locomotive was so inefficient – with boilers that produced more steam than necessary and waste products that could be harmful to human beings – the railroad companies were more than happy to have the new system, as electric power was easier to control and handle.
"By the end of the 19th century, more than 30,000 miles of railroad lines in Europe and the United States used electric traction. But that number only included the traction systems that had locomotives". There were millions of miles of electric traction in America, but few locomotives as such.
Two railroads – the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad and the Lackawanna Railroad – developed commercial electric street railways that were eventually electrified. In America, the first company to lay down an electric line was the Pennsylvania Rail Road, which ran an electric line between Philadelphia and the nation's capital. The most extensive line ever was the electric light railway – the Rock Island Electric Railway – which ran almost 120 miles of tracks – from Chicago to Davenport, Iowa – using high-tension electric current.
After several years of electrifying America's railroads, the electric rail line was developed further in Europe, where the first electric train appeared on British roads – in 1868 – on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. This was followed by the Berlin – Cologne line in 1873. The French in the next few years would develop electric trains on a much more extensive scale, using both electricity and steam to help along.
The first electric locomotive was a Westinghouse-built electric locomotive, built for the Pennsylvania Railroad. The Westinghouse 50C Electric Locomotive arrived in October, 1887, just five years
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