Time for departure: A fine collection of model trains

In 1804, Richard Trevithick built the world's first steam locomotive. It was a monstrous contraption put together by Trevithick, and it took four hours to wheeze its way 20 kilometers. The locomotive encountered problems, and the rails broke. But four years later, the same engineer was able to offer a ride in London on a new locomotive and charged one shilling for a short trip. Many were fascinated by the black machine that belched thick clouds of steam. However, few understood the significance of this new vehicle. In a century that would be marked by rapid and all-encompassing industrialization, trains became indispensable - whether they chugged out of the modern cast-iron and glass railway stations of the big cities or traversed the prairies of the American continent. The railway paved the way into the future, even though the locomotives would later be electrified.