Who Designed the Concept of the First Electric Tram?

At the end of the 19th century, 80% of people traveled on horses. That was the key local public transport. Other 20% used hackney carriages or trams (and several steam-powered buses) as the key transport on the road to reach from point A to B. However, due to the increase of population, especially in megapolises with their numerous commuters, traveling by horse soon gained its capacity limits.

Being the vehicle for long-distance travel, the steam locomotive didn't serve as an ideal solution as well because it turned out to be overly inflexible for city implementation. Moreover, the pollution resulted from the soot and fuss in urban areas was widespread.

Deeply realizing all those problems, both the German inventor and advanced researcher in the mobility aspect, Werner von Siemens, started to cherish the idea of designing eco-friendly elevated railways as a nod to changing technology trends .

If they ask “Who invented the first electric tram?” after considering all those “hard” means of traveling, they will point out the German inventor Werner von Siemens but with a slight remark. He would never do that without consulting with the Ukrainian inventor Fedir Pirotsky who proved the possibility to deliver traction current to rails.

Dating back to 1867, Werner von Siemens, impressed about the possible implementation of the dynamoelectric law he had found out in 1866, desired to develop railways on iron pillars with the opportunity to get operated with electricity for citizens to travel along the streets of Germany.

So, since the introduction of the dynamo-electric concept in 1866 by Werner von Siemens, he repeatedly made effort to use electric motors for the target to transport people and goods. Finally, on May 31, 1879, he succeeded in that! The manufacturer called Siemens & Halske demonstrated the first electric tram in Europe where electricity was delivered through the rails.

The world’s first electric tram, the Groß-Lichterfelde Tramway

What Did the Audience Witness at the Exhibition When They Demonstrated the First Electric Tram?

The inventor Werner von Siemens showed the world’s first electric tram to the audience at the exhibition called 1879 Berlin Commercial Exposition. What could people witness? The direct current (with approximately 149 volts) ran through both rails to the tram through the isolated plane metal rod installed between those rails. A small tram, on which the driver sat, demonstrated an electric vehicle of 3 little carriages with 3 people in each. They ran around a circular road with a length of 300 meters through the territory where the exhibition was held.

The first electric tram moving along the electric railway was the strong suit of the exhibition, and soon became the key topic for discussion throughout the whole Germany. People were admiring: a tiny tram delivered approximately 91 thousand passengers in 4 months!

However, the fact which exceeded their expectations was the moment when a tram passed by with zero steam and smoke as if coordinated along its path by an invisible hand. That year, the exhibition visitors witnessed the birth of the greatest tech solution. That was just the beginning!

Later, in 1881, Siemens designed the world's first electric tramway (up to 3 kilometers long) in Berlin using his finances. This event was followed by the first electric trolley, mine trams. This circle of success was completed by the first underground railway in Europe (Budapest).

To confirm their triumph, Siemens & Halske demonstrated their first electric streetcar at the event called the International Electricity Exhibition in Paris in 1881. Parisians were deeply excited by the trip in the vehicle for up to fifty passengers through the streets of Paris.

A Brief History of the Development of the Electric Vehicle

Electric transport is considered one of the most widespread and oldest means of travel around the globe. Starting from traveling by horse up to high-speed trams, the history of the world railway has witnesses a few significant moments in automotive engineering, when specialists designed numerous approaches to ideal train travel. Let's get acquainted with the brightest as well as the most important events in railway development:

· The very first railway.

Here, let's refer to the Corinthians who lived in 600 BC in Ancient Greece. They managed to design the forerunner of the railway solution. The railway resembles a set of slots dug into the ground which transported numerous carts along a 4-mile track over a paved path. The last was created to transport boats through a thin land bridge. It served as a brilliant option to substitute sailing around the Peloponnese peninsula;

· Mines and funiculars.

One more significant event in the railway travel evolution occurred approximately 2 thousand years later in Europe. In Austria, they designed the world's first funicular called the Reisszug. Its goal was to carry passengers and goods. Such vehicle was also a great solution for mineshafts: horses pulled funiculars through wooden rails, delivering mining equipment and components for mineshafts across Europe;

· Introducing the steam.

Most probably, the greatest modification in the railway was the multi-purposed as well as the powerful implementation of steam. The automotive engineer James Watt started using steam power, not for water pumps (as it was beforehand) but invented a reciprocating engine. In 1784, this solution, in combination with the inventor's research on the implementation of high-pressure steam on pistons, contributed to the introduction of the world's first steam tram;

· Using electricity.

In 1837, there appeared electric railways. They were constructed by a Scottish chemist Robert Davidson. His solution functioned on batteries. Later, Davidson worked those batteries into a big tram design called the galvani;

· Diesel and the high-speed.

The diesel-based railway brought this kind of travel to an absolutely new level, delivering a more efficient fuel on the contrary to the electricity and coal. In 1906, the first diesel railway was introduced in Switzerland.

After diesel, the recent innovation was the implementation of the high-speed train that can gain wonderfully high speeds up to 300 miles hourly. The first high-speed tram was constructed between Osaka and Tokyo. Then, the same solutions were introduced in China, France, and Great Britain.