The History of Trains

Narrow gauge steam locomotive train -  Photo: Wikimedia

Today you see trains carrying cargo and people all over the world. They are also used as effective ways for people to commute to and from work instead of using the roadways. Looking at the efficiency of trains today, it is sometimes hard to imagine how different they were back in the 1800’s. While many different inventors attempted to create a train in the last 1700’s they weren’t successful.

In 1825 the first locomotive was successful in its attempt to safely transport people from two points in England. The popularity of this mode of transportation quickly made its way to the United States in 1830. It wasn’t long before the industrial revolution was born since trains could be used to transport materials faster and easier than ever before. By 1833 there were 380 miles of railroad tracks in the United States. Today there are more than 300,000 miles of track around the United States.

The United States government made good use of the trains during the Civil War to move troops to new locations and to get the supplies. This was the main reason behind adding more miles of railroad tracks from 1861 to 1865. By the end of the war, there were more than 30,000 miles of track available.

By this time railroads were considered to be the main means of transportation. Plans were in place to continue building faster locomotives and to clear areas for more tracks to be put into place. These early trains were powered by coal and steam. This process of expansion in the railway industry continued into 1916 with more than 250,000 miles of track laid out in the United States. 

One of the most historical locations along these miles of railroad tracks is in Utah and identified by a spike made from pure gold. This was to celebrate the completion of the first transcontinental railroad. This particular location was the connecting point between the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads. This remains a historical site today with thousands of people visiting the very location of that golden spike. 

Even with all the miles of railroad tracks by 1916, many of them are in poor condition. It is not uncommon for many trails to derail due to these conditions. Private owners of the railroads have invested so much money in the expansion they can’t afford the repairs. 

The repairs that do get done are the result of the United States government needed to repair them in order to move men and supplies during World War I. Even so, the growth of the railroad is significantly slowed forever around 1940. The Great Depression has made it difficult for the railroads to survive. There is also competition now with automobiles being manufactured. 

Yet the railroad industry sees renewed life in the late 1950’s when the retired steam-powered locomotives and replace them with diesel engines. In 1970 the United States government steps in again to take control of Amtrak. They still oversee it today but most of the miles of track that they operate on belong to other railway companies.

With modern technology, trains are able to operate more efficient today than ever. They are used to transport large amounts of merchandise, food supplies, equipment, hazardous materials, and even people. Trains offer a great way to get items delivered efficiently without having to place more of a burden on the trucking industry. Many travelers enjoy the convenience of taking a train instead of driving themselves or riding in an airplane. 

There have been plenty of advances in the area of trains and the railway industry in the last 100 years. It will be interesting to know how things change over the next 100 years. Luckily there are wonderful train museums that take the time to preserve all of the histories of trains from the beginning. This way future generations will be able to look back on it as well. 

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Know Your MUSCLE BUILDING Exercises - The Back

Pulldown exercise to the front (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Every bodybuilder and weight trainer will have his or her favorite exercises for each body part. That's how it should be - as you progress through the various stages of learning you'll understand what works best for you. It is useful, however, to take stock of your progress every so often and carry out an analysis of where you are and what changes, if any, are needed to move onwards and upwards.

Part of this analysis should include an assessment of the core exercises that make up your bodybuilding training program. In this article, we'll look at the back exercises that have proven their worth to serious bodybuilders for many years. Where appropriate a series of exercises suitable for achieving pre-exhaustion will be presented. All exercises should be performed to failure with one set of six to eight reps.

1. Lat machine pulldowns - this exercise has been chosen because it allows you to isolate the lats and rest the biceps for the compound exercise to follow.

- Take a shoulder-width grip.

- Pull arms towards the thighs keeping the arms straight.

- Pause.

- Return the bar slowly to the starting position.

2. Pulldowns - you can move straight on to this exercise if you are sufficiently experienced. Using the same machine, take an underhand grip because this will make better use of biceps strength thus maximizing the effects of the workout.

- Take a shoulder-width grip.

- Pull the bar to the chest area.

- Pause.

- Return the bar slowly to the starting position.

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Touring the Roots of Paris

Paris by Night - Photo: Pixabay

How to Tour Paris: 

Taking a tour to Paris is a staggering experience. Throughout the city, you will learn history, music, art, cultures, science, and more. If you are new to travel, perhaps you want to purchase a package online. Included in the package are tour guides that will walk you through the streets of Paris, informing you of its history. 

Tour guides often take through Louvre. You will walk around the streets and visit monuments, museums and more along the way. Along the way, you will enjoy many outstanding scenes, which include the popular water fountains. As you move along you will come upon the La Pyramid in Paris. The shape of this pyramid will leave you standing astonished. Louvre has the famous art museum, which was built in the early 1790s. The museum is Paris’s largest tourist attraction. Near the mid-1540s, this building was the Regal Palace that marked the fortress for kings and queens of Paris. In the 1700s, this building marked the Grand Museum Gallery of Paris. Throughout the museum, you will enjoy fine arts, fashionable courtyards, and pyramid glass with steel frames, Europe art, French paintings and more. During the night, you want to visit the area if possible to see the Pyramid lit up. The beauty of the lighted building will astound you. Once you are finished, you may visit the fabulous statute Buran at the Regal Paris.  

If you have the opportunity, go inside the Pyramid. Here you will view a beautiful staircase that winds straight and carries you to the top. Inside the pyramid is a wide array of shops. 

Want more: 

Visit the Palais Regal. Paris has a few halls, including the Palais des Exposition (Exhibit Hall), Palais des sports (Sports Stadium), le Palais Garnier (Paris’s old opera house), le Grand Palais, or le Petit Palais (Galleries) and so on. (Palais: means Palace and is linked to de Justice law-courts) As you visit the Royal Palace, you will enjoy the Le Jardin des Tuileries water fountain. In the existing area, you will also enjoy the Place de la Concorde. The Concord is Paris’s legendary squares near the right banks of VIIIE arondissement municipal (Municpaux) sited at the eastern edges of Champs-Elysées. In short, you will walk through the division of administration at the lower community level. 

Throughout the area, you will enjoy views of lighthouses, fountains and so on. As you travel you may visit the Les Champs-Elysées. Here you will walk through archways where lines of trees move to give your entryway. In this area is the train depot. 

Perhaps on your visit to Paris, you will walk through the Cabaret Montmartre of the beautiful Moulin Rouge. At the rood of this establishment is a fabulous windmill. This district of Paris is where people join to take in views of the moonlit while enjoying the fabulous structures and scenery. 

Along the channels of the French regal residency is the Tuileries Palace. Perhaps you would enjoy visiting this lovely area-neighboring Louvre. Sadly, this beautiful area was ruined by fire in the early 1870s, yet it was restructured by some of Paris’s finest designers. Today you will visit the beautiful Palais (Palace) where Catherine de Médicis bespoke the structure. At present, this lovely environment is filled with Paris’s most beautiful grounds filled with garden plants, flowers and more.  

Taking a tour around Paris is a staggering emotion that will lead you to many areas around France, which astounds you. If you are preparing a trip to Paris, be sure to check out the package deals online. 

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2008 Saturn VUE: Inspired by Opel

2008 Saturn VUE - Photo: Wikipedia

General Motors’ Saturn division is hard at work on building a replacement for its small SUV, the Saturn VUE. Currently based strictly on U.S. technology, the 2008 VUE is expected to be heavily based on Opel technology: Opel is General Motors’ principal European brand. This is good news for those who were concerned that GM would ditch the Saturn VUE. Instead, the SUV will get a new life and additional support via its new relationship with Opel. While it is too early to know all the details about the upcoming Saturn VUE makeover, there are some things we do know about this revamped model.

Ever since Saturn released the first “S Series” models back in 1990, the company has struggled to maintain a unique identity. Neglected by parent GM, the upstart Saturn brand had to wait nearly a decade before additional vehicles were added to its line including the Saturn VUE SUV. Along with the “L Series” midsize cars, the three vehicle lines [ION having replaced the S Series] fully comprised the Saturn line for several years. Unfortunately, none of the three models were stand out performers, so the brand suffered accordingly.

With the demise of Oldsmobile has come new life for Saturn. Now a fully integrated GM division, Saturn is getting additional vehicles to help beef up its line up. Drawing upon its highly regarded dealer network and high consumer satisfaction scores, Saturn is being quickly remade into a European style division. Saturn has Opel to thank for that.

Along with the coming Aura midsize sedan which is heavily based on an Opel design, the Saturn VUE will be based upon the Opel Antera GTC. An Antera concept has been making the rounds of auto shows across Europe and what we know about the Antera points to what we can expect to see with the VUE.

The Antera is slightly smaller in size than the current Saturn VUE; although the Antera reportedly will have only two doors, the Saturn VUE model will get four doors. Both vehicles are closer in size to the current Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V models, their chief competitors. This smaller size also permits Saturn to introduce a slightly larger 7 passenger SUV next year, the Outlook.

The 2008 Saturn VUE will feature both four and six-cylinder gas powered engines. Expect both AWD and RWD to be offered. The Antera’s front end will be redone to mesh with the current Saturn look. Beyond that, the VUE will likely incorporate current GM technology with upgraded safety and performance features included. A base price of around $20,000 for the FWD model is likely with fully loaded AWD versions retailing for as high as $30K.

The 2008 Saturn VUE will be built in Spring Hill, TN home of the original Saturn plant. Along with the Outlook, the Aura, the SKY roadster, the RELAY crossover, and the ION compact, new life is being breathed into Saturn thanks to Opel. This is good news for Saturn fans that have loyally supported the automaker since its inception more than 15 years ago. 

(The article was written in 2007)

Author: Matthew C. Keegan

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Alaska’s Fly Fishing Paradise

Photo: Pixabay

Have you dreamed of exploring the wilds of Alaska? Go fly fishing on the country’s vibrant waters? Searching for large rainbow tract? 

Well, join the Alaska Fly Fishing Float trips alongside Bristol Bay coastline of Alaska. Fly fishing float trips provided an exciting way to discover and go fly fishing in this immense wilderness. Fantasize camping on the bank of a distant stream, east strokes until midnight. 

Wake up to the soothing sound of salmons gushing and splashing their way up the stream. These float trip are intended for fishing only and most float trip adventures that focus on fly fish expeditions and a lot easier to fool fishes. 

Alaska float trips utilize numerous rivers in the region of Katmai Nation Park which includes the Grizzly Creek, Moraine Creek and the Alagnak River. Floating trips adventures like Ed Blank’s Adventures on the Fly have been floating these three rivers for almost 15 years now and they have huge confidence in the grade of their trips. These adventures, however, emphasize that fly fishing is all they do and thus, no spins fish is allowed.

A favorite way to fly fish is on Alaska float trip you can try any of the three distant float trips that the adventure package offers to the rivers in Katmai National Park. The adventure has the biggest run of salmon; the rainbow trout are hilariously wild and fight like it. The adventure can put you on three various rivers in Katmai. The Alagnak river features spring dry fly fishing for great salmon runs, rainbow trout, few of the huge trout in the world like those the moraine or the Grizzly Creek. The latter creek is the adventure’s secret tiny river that can perhaps challenge your endurance ability. The fly fishing float trips offer an exciting and fascinating way to discover this great fishing scenery.

As you know, a float trip includes camping. You will be boarding float plans fly to a lake located at the upfront of the river you have selected: it is comfortable camping considering that you can bring lots of gear. You can carry lots of sleep on, tents for easy stand-up shelter, a dining tent with weatherproof screen and much of tasty fresh food and a couple of wine that will confect any lodge on the land, for some, the camping may seen to be a little price to pay to experience a life around a river including the extra fun fishing sport and wildlife surfing time that really pays off.

One of the adventure’s favorite quarries is the trout especially the rainbow trout and the adventures love fly fishing for them. Few of the rivers are for fly fishing alone, however regardless of the river regulations. Alaska fly fishing policies need one hook, and strictly no barb for all rainbows, and release for these rainbows are required as well. 

The large rainbows weight range from 5 to 12 pounds and some fly fishes landed on fishes within the 15 pounds weight range. Various species of char, brayling and salmon adds to the exhilaration each day of the journey. Anything you want to do, whether you like to fly fish dry flies for rainbow trout or cast a ten weight for a king salmon weighing 60 pounds.

To enjoy this cool fly fishing escapade, you can simply join some adventure offerings for memories of a lifetime and the best rainbow trout, salmon, char and brayling fly fishing in Alaska. The adventure package offers the finest float trips in the whole of the country. Experience Alaska’s wild far away from the crowds, the place you desire to be.

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Travel To Rome, Italy

Colosseum - Photo: Pixabay

For new travelers who never been to Rome before could find out that it is very hard to imagine how Rome looks like and how to prepare themselves before visiting Rome. There is already plenty of this kind of information but this one probably the in-depth one that you are looking for. There are some good tips about what kind of attractions that you should visit when you are in Rome as they are particularly interesting even some of them may not be the highlighted attractions.

Rome is very well known among travelers of its attractive building, environment and fascinating culture. One you have a chance to visit Rome, you will be able to find out that Rome is not just a place for vacation and relax but it is also for anyone who wants to learn history and culture because Rome is the city that has very interesting history and diversity of culture. By visiting Rome, there are some tourist attractions that could not be missed.

General description of Rome

Rome is classified by tourists as one of the top destinations of the world. This is because the weather in Rome, which climate mild and rainy in winter rather than full of snow, usually accommodates all kind of vacation and activities, so these reasons make Rome can be visited throughout the year. Moreover, it is very easy to access in terms of immigration as you do not need a visa to visit Rome unless you will stay for longer than 90 days period. The best time to visit Rome is anytime that you want but you should be aware of time during between October and March when Rome in the off-peak months. When you decide to visit Rome, it is strongly suggested that you should find accommodation around the historic district.

However, before you go to Rome, it is also a good idea to make a forward planning of where you are going to visit and a checklist of what you have to do during the trip as this can help you to save time and money. Planning about transportation is also required, as there are many kinds of transport that you can choose, you may be taking Tram system, that goes around the city and it is strongly recommended for people who want to enjoy a sightseeing tour.

There are some highlighted attractions that you just could not miss. They are kind of “symbol” of Rome and people who visited Rome but missed this attraction is considered as they have never visited Rome. These attractions are Coliseum and the Roman Forum. Coliseum is the ancient stadium and it is the film shooting site of the movie Gladiator. However, the opening times of the Coliseum is not certain, depends on the time of the year, so you may have to check the information before you visit. The Roman Forum is the civic center of Ancient Rome where citizen joined and discussed economic, religious and political activities. You may hire a tour guide to provide more information about this attraction by pay just a little more money to get more knowledge.

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California Sports Fishing: The Big Catch

Sports Fishing - Photo: Pixabay

The State of California is known for its gigantic redwood forest, Hollywood, and the Golden Gate Bridge. Also, California is known for its vast stretches of white sand beaches and its sunny weather. Located on the western part of the United States, California is one paradise that you will definitely want to go to.

The next question would be how's the fishing? Today, sports fishing is becoming more and more popular in the State of California. No matter what your experience level is, you can be sure that you will find the right kind of fishing in the Golden State.

Aside from its beautiful scenery, California will be able to offer you abundant and diverse marine life that you will definitely want to get your tackle in to.

There are quite a lot of major fishing grounds in California that you can expect to provide you with big game fishes.

The fact that California has about 1,100 miles of ocean coastline and 220 thousand square miles of ocean waters as well as more than 4 thousand lakes and reservoirs and more than 30 thousand miles of streams, rivers, etc., you can be sure that you will be able to find the types of fishing you want.

Deep sea fishing is even becoming popular in California. From blue marlins to sailfish, you will be able to catch it in California. Whatever fish that you want to catch, California will be able to deliver. In fact, if you are lucky enough, you can even snag some great white sharks along the coastline of this state.

If you are into fly fishing, then California will be able to offer you hundreds of fly fishing sites. In Northern California, you will be able to enjoy one of the best fly fishing destinations in the world. You can try the Sierra Nevada for this kind of fishing. Aside from the lush unspoiled natural scenery, you will also be able to enjoy hundreds of fishing opportunities.

The Owens River is also a great place to fish for trout in California. Compared to anywhere else in the country, you will not be able to find a river like this one as it will offer one of the best fishing in the country.

You will also be able to get rainbow trout, particularly in the Lake Shasta. Also, the large big brown trout are abundant in this state.

So, if you are planning to go on a fishing holiday with your friends or your family, you can be sure that California is the place to go to. With its countless fishing grounds, you can be sure that you will be able to take advantage of the countless fishing opportunities that this state has to offer.

Just remember that you should try booking early for your fishing charters or reservations on lodges as fishing is becoming very popular in California that it is not uncommon for it to get fully booked.

Also, you might want to bring your camera with you and know about the local laws about fishing and the requirements, such as a fishing license. By preparing in advance, you can be sure that your fishing holiday in California will go without a hitch.

Remember these tips, and you can be sure that you will have a memorable and pleasurable trip during your fishing holiday in California.

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