<text><span class="style10">ailways (3 of 5)Technical progress</span><span class="style7">Nineteenth-century innovations included automatic train brakes controlled from the locomotive and, in passenger service, corridor trains with toilet and dining facilities, steam heating, and electric lighting. Luxury trains, including sleeping cars with a high degree of personal service, have been successfully operated, mainly by the Pullman company in the USA and Wagons-Lits in Europe.In the 20th century the steam locomotive was gradually replaced by electric and diesel traction. Electrification enabled trains to run more cheaply, more cleanly, and in practice more often, while the greater power of electric locomotives allowed heavier trains and higher speeds. Diesel traction was particularly advantageous on lines where traffic was not heavy enough to justify the cost of electrification.To keep up with the image created by aircraft and racing cars, railways introduced streamlined trains - or 'streamliners' - in the 1930s, with trains such as the </span><span class="style19">Silver Jubilee</span><span class="style7"> in England averaging 112 km/h (70 mph) or more. In the USA many of the streamliners were diesel-powered.In some countries, including Britain but not the USA, freight traffic has diminished since the 1920s. Freight trains tended to become faster and more specialized. 'Piggyback' (road trailers carried on flatcars) and removable containers were widely used from the 1950s to combine the long-haul advantage of the train with the door-to-door advantage of the motor vehicle.In 1964 high-speed trains, running on special track, appeared in Japan. The French TGV service between Paris and Lyon began in 1981, and has running speeds of up to 270 km/h (168 mph). In Britain the 200 km/h (125 mph) High-Speed Train (HST) differs from the Japanese and French examples in that it is diesel, not electric, and runs on existing track. Maglev (magnetic levitation) trains, which dispense with the steel rail and flanged wheel, became technically feasible in the 1970s, but seem unlikely (at least in the short term) to prove economic except for specialized short-haul transit.</span><span class="style10">Gauge</span><span class="style7">The </span><span class="style19">gauge</span><span class="style7"> of a railway track - the distance between the two rails - is partly a matter of convention but can also be varied to suit particular purposes. The gauge used by Stephenson - 1435 mm (4 ft 8 1/2 in) - became known as </span><span class="style19">standard gauge</span><span class="style7">, and has been used for more than half of the railway track ever laid. The advantage of narrow gauge is that it is cheaper to build, especially in hilly terrain, and allows the use of smaller and lighter rolling stock, which is cheaper to operate. Broad gauge, on the other hand, is suitable for larger rolling stock and generally allows higher running speeds, because of greater lateral stability.The inconvenience of different gauges is exemplified by Australia, where Victoria and South Australia chose 1600 mm (5 ft 3 in), Western Australia and Queensland 1067 mm (3 ft 6 in), and New South Wales standard gauge. These gauges are still in use, but the mainland state capitals now have standard-gauge connections. Sometimes, to accommodate trains of different gauges, a third rail is laid to create </span><span class="style19">mixed gauge</span><span class="style7">.</span></text>
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<text>ΓÇó ENGINESΓÇó THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION</text>
