age of rails

Iron rails were first implemented in 1740 at Whitehaven, Cumberland, and William Jessop's invention of the flanged wheel in 1789 was a major development in rail transportation. The steam engine was patented by Thomas Newcomen in 1705. Wooden railroads, called wagonways, were built in the United States starting from the 1720s. 1 2 In 1720, a railroad was reportedly used in the construction of the French fortress at Louisburg, Nova Scotia. 2 Between 1762 and 1764, a gravity railroad (mechanized tramway) called Montresor's Tramway was built by British military engineers up the steep riverside terrain near the Niagara River waterfall's escarpment. 2