Flawil is a municipality in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland with slightly over 10,000 inhabitants.
95-545: It is the regional centre of Untertoggenburg , but belongs to the Wahlkreis (constituency) of Wil . Flawil is first mentioned in 858 as Flawilare marcho . Several of the surrounding hamlets were also mentioned in about the same era. Alterswil was first mentioned in 858 as Altiricheswilae , Oberglatt in 731 as villa Clata and in 1316 as Obren Glat and Burgau in 964 as Purchouva . Flawil has an area, as of 2006, of 11.5 km (4.4 sq mi). Of this area, 53.1%
190-698: A Methodist community. From the 2000 census, 4,295 or 46.1% are Roman Catholic , while 2,755 or 29.6% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church . Of the rest of the population, there is 1 individual who belongs to the Christian Catholic faith, there are 420 individuals (or about 4.51% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 190 individuals (or about 2.04% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There are 4 individuals (or about 0.04% of
285-400: A Tertiary school, and 2,291 (5.0%) are not in school. The remainder did not answer this question. As of October 2009 the average unemployment rate was 2.9%. From the 2000 census , 21,238 or 46.3% are Roman Catholic , while 15,930 or 34.7% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church . Of the rest of the population, there are 29 individuals (or about 0.06% of the population) who belong to
380-437: A Tertiary school, and 520 (5.6%) are not in school. The remainder did not answer this question. The historical population is given in the following table: Flawil has a train station, with half-hourly long-distance train service in the direction of Zürich and St.Gallen . The ride takes exactly one hour to Zurich and 15 minutes to St.Gallen (as of 2008). Additionally, there are local commuter trains . The next access to
475-408: A crank on a driving axle. Steam locomotives have been phased out in most parts of the world for economical and safety reasons, although many are preserved in working order by heritage railways . Electric locomotives draw power from a stationary source via an overhead wire or third rail . Some also or instead use a battery . In locomotives that are powered by high-voltage alternating current ,
570-586: A dining car . Some lines also provide over-night services with sleeping cars . Some long-haul trains have been given a specific name . Regional trains are medium distance trains that connect cities with outlying, surrounding areas, or provide a regional service, making more stops and having lower speeds. Commuter trains serve suburbs of urban areas, providing a daily commuting service. Airport rail links provide quick access from city centres to airports . High-speed rail are special inter-city trains that operate at much higher speeds than conventional railways,
665-731: A fourth rail system in 1890 on the City and South London Railway , now part of the London Underground Northern line . This was the first major railway to use electric traction . The world's first deep-level electric railway, it runs from the City of London , under the River Thames , to Stockwell in south London. The first practical AC electric locomotive was designed by Charles Brown , then working for Oerlikon , Zürich. In 1891, Brown had demonstrated long-distance power transmission, using three-phase AC , between
760-542: A funicular railway at the Hohensalzburg Fortress in Austria. The line originally used wooden rails and a hemp haulage rope and was operated by human or animal power, through a treadwheel . The line is still operational, although in updated form and is possibly the oldest operational railway. Wagonways (or tramways ) using wooden rails, hauled by horses, started appearing in the 1550s to facilitate
855-492: A hydro-electric plant at Lauffen am Neckar and Frankfurt am Main West, a distance of 280 km (170 mi). Using experience he had gained while working for Jean Heilmann on steam–electric locomotive designs, Brown observed that three-phase motors had a higher power-to-weight ratio than DC motors and, because of the absence of a commutator , were simpler to manufacture and maintain. However, they were much larger than
950-431: A steam engine that provides adhesion. Coal , petroleum , or wood is burned in a firebox , boiling water in the boiler to create pressurized steam. The steam travels through the smokebox before leaving via the chimney or smoke stack. In the process, it powers a piston that transmits power directly through a connecting rod (US: main rod) and a crankpin (US: wristpin) on the driving wheel (US main driver) or to
1045-469: A transformer in the locomotive converts the high-voltage low-current power to low-voltage high current used in the traction motors that power the wheels. Modern locomotives may use three-phase AC induction motors or direct current motors. Under certain conditions, electric locomotives are the most powerful traction. They are also the cheapest to run and provide less noise and no local air pollution. However, they require high capital investments both for
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#17327918091841140-550: A diesel locomotive from the company in 1909. The world's first diesel-powered locomotive was operated in the summer of 1912 on the Winterthur–Romanshorn railway in Switzerland, but was not a commercial success. The locomotive weight was 95 tonnes and the power was 883 kW with a maximum speed of 100 km/h (62 mph). Small numbers of prototype diesel locomotives were produced in a number of countries through
1235-478: A double track plateway, erroneously sometimes cited as world's first public railway, in south London. William Jessop had earlier used a form of all-iron edge rail and flanged wheels successfully for an extension to the Charnwood Forest Canal at Nanpantan , Loughborough, Leicestershire in 1789. In 1790, Jessop and his partner Outram began to manufacture edge rails. Jessop became a partner in
1330-421: A household made up of relatives, 198 people who lived in a household made up of unrelated persons, and 2,050 who are either institutionalized or lived in another type of collective housing. Out of the total population in the region, as of 2000 , the highest education level completed by 11,393 people (24.8% of the population) was Primary , while 15,123 (32.9%) have completed Secondary , 3,627 (7.9%) have attended
1425-598: A household made up of relatives, 51 who lived household made up of unrelated persons, and 181 who are either institutionalized or live in another type of collective housing. In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 31.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (19.9%), the CVP (16.6%) and the SP (15%). The entire Swiss population
1520-437: A large turning radius in its design. While high-speed rail is most often designed for passenger travel, some high-speed systems also offer freight service. Since 1980, rail transport has changed dramatically, but a number of heritage railways continue to operate as part of living history to preserve and maintain old railway lines for services of tourist trains. A train is a connected series of rail vehicles that move along
1615-498: A larger locomotive named Galvani , exhibited at the Royal Scottish Society of Arts Exhibition in 1841. The seven-ton vehicle had two direct-drive reluctance motors , with fixed electromagnets acting on iron bars attached to a wooden cylinder on each axle, and simple commutators . It hauled a load of six tons at four miles per hour (6 kilometers per hour) for a distance of one and a half miles (2.4 kilometres). It
1710-423: A locomotive. This involves one or more powered vehicles being located at the front of the train, providing sufficient tractive force to haul the weight of the full train. This arrangement remains dominant for freight trains and is often used for passenger trains. A push–pull train has the end passenger car equipped with a driver's cab so that the engine driver can remotely control the locomotive. This allows one of
1805-477: A number of trains per hour (tph). Passenger trains can usually be into two types of operation, intercity railway and intracity transit. Whereas intercity railway involve higher speeds, longer routes, and lower frequency (usually scheduled), intracity transit involves lower speeds, shorter routes, and higher frequency (especially during peak hours). Intercity trains are long-haul trains that operate with few stops between cities. Trains typically have amenities such as
1900-676: A piece of circular rail track in Bloomsbury , London, the Catch Me Who Can , but never got beyond the experimental stage with railway locomotives, not least because his engines were too heavy for the cast-iron plateway track then in use. The first commercially successful steam locomotive was Matthew Murray 's rack locomotive Salamanca built for the Middleton Railway in Leeds in 1812. This twin-cylinder locomotive
1995-465: A pivotal role in the development and widespread adoption of the steam locomotive. His designs considerably improved on the work of the earlier pioneers. He built the locomotive Blücher , also a successful flanged -wheel adhesion locomotive. In 1825 he built the locomotive Locomotion for the Stockton and Darlington Railway in the northeast of England, which became the first public steam railway in
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#17327918091842090-439: A revival in recent decades due to road congestion and rising fuel prices, as well as governments investing in rail as a means of reducing CO 2 emissions . Smooth, durable road surfaces have been made for wheeled vehicles since prehistoric times. In some cases, they were narrow and in pairs to support only the wheels. That is, they were wagonways or tracks. Some had grooves or flanges or other mechanical means to keep
2185-739: A single lever to control both engine and generator in a coordinated fashion, and was the prototype for all diesel–electric locomotive control systems. In 1914, world's first functional diesel–electric railcars were produced for the Königlich-Sächsische Staatseisenbahnen ( Royal Saxon State Railways ) by Waggonfabrik Rastatt with electric equipment from Brown, Boveri & Cie and diesel engines from Swiss Sulzer AG . They were classified as DET 1 and DET 2 ( de.wiki ). The first regular used diesel–electric locomotives were switcher (shunter) locomotives . General Electric produced several small switching locomotives in
2280-407: A standard. Following SNCF's successful trials, 50 Hz, now also called industrial frequency was adopted as standard for main-lines across the world. Earliest recorded examples of an internal combustion engine for railway use included a prototype designed by William Dent Priestman . Sir William Thomson examined it in 1888 and described it as a "Priestman oil engine mounted upon a truck which
2375-632: A terminus about one-half mile (800 m) away. A funicular railway was also made at Broseley in Shropshire some time before 1604. This carried coal for James Clifford from his mines down to the River Severn to be loaded onto barges and carried to riverside towns. The Wollaton Wagonway , completed in 1604 by Huntingdon Beaumont , has sometimes erroneously been cited as the earliest British railway. It ran from Strelley to Wollaton near Nottingham . The Middleton Railway in Leeds , which
2470-408: A wheel. This was a large stationary engine , powering cotton mills and a variety of machinery; the state of boiler technology necessitated the use of low-pressure steam acting upon a vacuum in the cylinder, which required a separate condenser and an air pump . Nevertheless, as the construction of boilers improved, Watt investigated the use of high-pressure steam acting directly upon a piston, raising
2565-472: Is capital-intensive and less flexible than road transport, it can carry heavy loads of passengers and cargo with greater energy efficiency and safety. Precursors of railways driven by human or animal power have existed since antiquity, but modern rail transport began with the invention of the steam locomotive in the United Kingdom at the beginning of the 19th century. The first passenger railway,
2660-479: Is 100 or more. In 2000 there were 4,967 persons (or 10.8% of the population) who were living alone in a private dwelling. There were 8,910 (or 19.4%) persons who were part of a couple (married or otherwise committed) without children, and 27,097 (or 59.0%) who were part of a couple with children. There were 2,202 (or 4.8%) people who lived in single parent home, while there are 318 persons who were adult children living with one or both parents, 165 persons who lived in
2755-461: Is August during which time Flawil receives an average of 149 mm (5.9 in) of rain or snow. During this month there is precipitation for an average of 13.3 days. The month with the most days of precipitation is May, with an average of 14.2, but with only 136 mm (5.4 in) of rain or snow. The driest month of the year is October with an average of 76 mm (3.0 in) of precipitation over 13.3 days. Toggenburg Toggenburg
2850-620: Is a region of Switzerland . It corresponds to the upper valley of the River Thur and that of the Necker , one of its afluents. Since 1 January 2003, Toggenburg has been a constituency ( Wahlkreis ) of the canton of St. Gallen ( SFOS number 1727). The valley descends in a northwestern direction from the watershed between the Rhine and the Thur, and is enclosed on the northeast by the chain of
2945-410: Is a single, self-powered car, and may be electrically propelled or powered by a diesel engine . Multiple units have a driver's cab at each end of the unit, and were developed following the ability to build electric motors and other engines small enough to fit under the coach. There are only a few freight multiple units, most of which are high-speed post trains. Steam locomotives are locomotives with
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3040-399: Is dominant. Electro-diesel locomotives are built to run as diesel–electric on unelectrified sections and as electric locomotives on electrified sections. Alternative methods of motive power include magnetic levitation , horse-drawn, cable , gravity, pneumatics and gas turbine . A passenger train stops at stations where passengers may embark and disembark. The oversight of the train is
3135-513: Is evidenced by a substantial substrate of Romance toponyms in the upper Toggenburg (upstream of Stein ). The name of the region is derived from that of the House of Toggenburg (named for their castle near Kirchberg ) who ruled over parts of the Toggenburg region since the 12th century, in the 13th century taking the title of counts ( comes ) and extending their domain to include all of
3230-501: Is generally well educated. In Flawil about 64.7% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule ). Out of the total population in Flawil, as of 2000, the highest education level completed by 2,070 people (22.2% of the population) was Primary , while 3,308 (35.5%) have completed Secondary , 854 (9.2%) have attended
3325-477: Is one of the two primary means of land transport , next to road transport . It is used for about 8% of passenger and freight transport globally, thanks to its energy efficiency and potentially high speed . Rolling stock on rails generally encounters lower frictional resistance than rubber-tyred road vehicles, allowing rail cars to be coupled into longer trains . Power is usually provided by diesel or electrical locomotives . While railway transport
3420-472: Is particularly known for the production of Swiss chocolate , in particular the Maestrani, Munz and Minor brands. Further industrial firms include FLAWA AG, producing cotton wool products and bandage material, SFS intec AG, specialised in deep drawing and impact extrusion, and BÜCHI Laboratory Equipment. As of 2007, Flawil had an unemployment rate of 2.69%. As of 2005, there were 113 people employed in
3515-592: Is used for agricultural purposes, while 22.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 23% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (1.3%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes). The municipality is located in the Wil Wahlkreis. It was the capital of the earlier Bezirk . To the north-east it is bordered by the Wissbach valley and the Glatt river. It consists of the extended linear village of Flawil and
3610-556: Is worked on a temporary line of rails to show the adaptation of a petroleum engine for locomotive purposes." In 1894, a 20 hp (15 kW) two axle machine built by Priestman Brothers was used on the Hull Docks . In 1906, Rudolf Diesel , Adolf Klose and the steam and diesel engine manufacturer Gebrüder Sulzer founded Diesel-Sulzer-Klose GmbH to manufacture diesel-powered locomotives. Sulzer had been manufacturing diesel engines since 1898. The Prussian State Railways ordered
3705-811: The A1 national motorway are located in neighbouring towns Gossau and Uzwil The Old Town Council building German : Altes Rathaus in Burgau and the Hotel-Restaurant Hirschen German : Gasthof Hirschen in Oberglatt are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance . The hamlets of Burgau, Raaschberg and Oberglatt are designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites . The local economy used to be strongly based on industry, which has been declining, however. It
3800-424: The Christian Catholic denomination, there are 939 individuals (or about 2.05% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 1,033 individuals (or about 2.25% of the population) who belong to another denomination. There are 11 individuals (or about 0.02% of the population) who are Jewish , and 2,889 (or about 6.29% of the population) who are Islamic . There are 245 individuals (or about 0.53% of
3895-541: The Stockton and Darlington Railway , opened in 1825. The quick spread of railways throughout Europe and North America, following the 1830 opening of the first intercity connection in England, was a key component of the Industrial Revolution . The adoption of rail transport lowered shipping costs compared to water transport, leading to "national markets" in which prices varied less from city to city. In
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3990-703: The Säntis (8,216 ft [2,504 m]) and on the southwest by that of the Churfirsten (7,566 ft [2,306 m]) and of the Speer (6,411 ft [1,954 m]). It is a fertile valley of about 45 kilometres (28 mi) in length from the source of the river to Wil . At Wildhaus , the highest village (3,632 ft [1,107 m]), the house wherein Huldrych Zwingli , the Swiss Reformer,
4085-615: The United Kingdom , South Korea , Scandinavia, Belgium and the Netherlands. The construction of many of these lines has resulted in the dramatic decline of short-haul flights and automotive traffic between connected cities, such as the London–Paris–Brussels corridor, Madrid–Barcelona, Milan–Rome–Naples, as well as many other major lines. High-speed trains normally operate on standard gauge tracks of continuously welded rail on grade-separated right-of-way that incorporates
4180-647: The Wil–Ebnat-Kappel railway line runs through the lower part of the valley between Lütisburg and Ebnat-Kappel . In addition, the Uznach–Wattwil railway line links Wattwil with the Linth Plain via the Ricken Tunnel . Wattwil station is the major hub for train and bus services in the Toggenburg. The lines are operated by regional trains of St. Gallen S-Bahn . The S2 and S4 operate on
4275-669: The canton of St. Gallen in 1803. Schüblig , a type of sausage is a tradition in the area. The Toggenburg Wahlkreis has a population of 46,954 (as of 31 December 2020). Of the foreign population, (as of 2000 ), 584 are from Germany , 952 are from Italy , 3,124 are from ex- Yugoslavia , 167 are from Austria , 1,137 are from Turkey , and 1,123 are from another country. Of the Swiss national languages (as of 2000 ), 41,718 speak German , 107 people speak French , 673 people speak Italian , and 47 people speak Romansh . The age distribution, as of 2000 , is; 6,296 children or 13.7% of
4370-578: The hamlets of Botsberg, Alterswil, Grobenentschwil, Langenentschwil, Raschberg, Egg, Oberglatt and Burgau as well as scattered farm houses. The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Chequy Argent and Gules and a Chief Or. Flawil has a population (as of 31 December 2020) of 10,510. As of 2007, about 26.5% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Of the foreign population, (as of 2000), 138 are from Germany , 516 are from Italy , 964 are from ex- Yugoslavia , 64 are from Austria , 138 are from Turkey , and 516 are from another country. Over
4465-414: The overhead lines and the supporting infrastructure, as well as the generating station that is needed to produce electricity. Accordingly, electric traction is used on urban systems, lines with high traffic and for high-speed rail. Diesel locomotives use a diesel engine as the prime mover . The energy transmission may be either diesel–electric , diesel-mechanical or diesel–hydraulic but diesel–electric
4560-408: The primary economic sector and about 44 businesses involved in this sector. 1,705 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 104 businesses in this sector. 1,896 people are employed in the tertiary sector , with 276 businesses in this sector. As of October 2009 the average unemployment rate was 4.7%. There were 428 businesses in the municipality of which 111 were involved in
4655-458: The puddling process in 1784. In 1783 Cort also patented the rolling process , which was 15 times faster at consolidating and shaping iron than hammering. These processes greatly lowered the cost of producing iron and rails. The next important development in iron production was hot blast developed by James Beaumont Neilson (patented 1828), which considerably reduced the amount of coke (fuel) or charcoal needed to produce pig iron. Wrought iron
4750-418: The rotary phase converter , enabling electric locomotives to use three-phase motors whilst supplied via a single overhead wire, carrying the simple industrial frequency (50 Hz) single phase AC of the high-voltage national networks. An important contribution to the wider adoption of AC traction came from SNCF of France after World War II. The company conducted trials at AC 50 Hz, and established it as
4845-540: The 1880s, railway electrification began with tramways and rapid transit systems. Starting in the 1940s, steam locomotives were replaced by diesel locomotives . The first high-speed railway system was introduced in Japan in 1964, and high-speed rail lines now connect many cities in Europe , East Asia , and the eastern United States . Following some decline due to competition from cars and airplanes, rail transport has had
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#17327918091844940-521: The 1930s (the famous " 44-tonner " switcher was introduced in 1940) Westinghouse Electric and Baldwin collaborated to build switching locomotives starting in 1929. In 1929, the Canadian National Railways became the first North American railway to use diesels in mainline service with two units, 9000 and 9001, from Westinghouse. Although steam and diesel services reaching speeds up to 200 km/h (120 mph) were started before
5035-508: The 1960s in Europe, they were not very successful. The first electrified high-speed rail Tōkaidō Shinkansen was introduced in 1964 between Tokyo and Osaka in Japan. Since then high-speed rail transport, functioning at speeds up to and above 300 km/h (190 mph), has been built in Japan, Spain, France , Germany, Italy, the People's Republic of China, Taiwan (Republic of China),
5130-464: The 40 km Burgdorf–Thun line , Switzerland. Italian railways were the first in the world to introduce electric traction for the entire length of a main line rather than a short section. The 106 km Valtellina line was opened on 4 September 1902, designed by Kandó and a team from the Ganz works. The electrical system was three-phase at 3 kV 15 Hz. In 1918, Kandó invented and developed
5225-637: The Abbey's plans to build a road across the Ricken Pass , which was seen as a strategic arrangement towards a Catholic military alliance. The ensuing Toggenburg war of 1712 resulted in a balance of power between Catholic and Protestant cantons, ultimately leading to the formation of Switzerland as a federal state . In the Helvetic Republic , the Toggenburg was divided between the cantons of Säntis and Linth . The parts were re-united as part of
5320-619: The Bodensee–Toggenburg railway, with the latter diverting from it at Wattwil and continuing to Uznach / Rapperswil . The S9 links Wattwil with the lower part of the valley. Additionally, the InterRegio Voralpen-Express provides long-distance services, from Wattwil to St. Gallen and to Arth-Goldau and Luzern , bypassing Zürich. The BLWE provides bus services between Lichtensteig, Wattwil and Ebnat-Kappel. PostBus Switzerland provides bus services to
5415-530: The Butterley Company in 1790. The first public edgeway (thus also first public railway) built was Lake Lock Rail Road in 1796. Although the primary purpose of the line was to carry coal, it also carried passengers. These two systems of constructing iron railways, the "L" plate-rail and the smooth edge-rail, continued to exist side by side until well into the early 19th century. The flanged wheel and edge-rail eventually proved its superiority and became
5510-514: The DC motors of the time and could not be mounted in underfloor bogies : they could only be carried within locomotive bodies. In 1894, Hungarian engineer Kálmán Kandó developed a new type 3-phase asynchronous electric drive motors and generators for electric locomotives. Kandó's early 1894 designs were first applied in a short three-phase AC tramway in Évian-les-Bains (France), which was constructed between 1896 and 1898. In 1896, Oerlikon installed
5605-430: The duty of a guard/train manager/conductor . Passenger trains are part of public transport and often make up the stem of the service, with buses feeding to stations. Passenger trains provide long-distance intercity travel, daily commuter trips, or local urban transit services, operating with a diversity of vehicles, operating speeds, right-of-way requirements, and service frequency. Service frequencies are often expressed as
5700-402: The end of the 19th century, because they were cleaner compared to steam-driven trams which caused smoke in city streets. In 1784 James Watt , a Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer, patented a design for a steam locomotive . Watt had improved the steam engine of Thomas Newcomen , hitherto used to pump water out of mines, and developed a reciprocating engine in 1769 capable of powering
5795-471: The end of the 19th century, improving the quality of steel and further reducing costs. Thus steel completely replaced the use of iron in rails, becoming standard for all railways. The first passenger horsecar or tram , Swansea and Mumbles Railway , was opened between Swansea and Mumbles in Wales in 1807. Horses remained the preferable mode for tram transport even after the arrival of steam engines until
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#17327918091845890-527: The engine by one power stroke. The transmission system employed a large flywheel to even out the action of the piston rod. On 21 February 1804, the world's first steam-powered railway journey took place when Trevithick's unnamed steam locomotive hauled a train along the tramway of the Penydarren ironworks, near Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales . Trevithick later demonstrated a locomotive operating upon
5985-475: The era of great expansion of railways that began in the late 1860s. Steel rails lasted several times longer than iron. Steel rails made heavier locomotives possible, allowing for longer trains and improving the productivity of railroads. The Bessemer process introduced nitrogen into the steel, which caused the steel to become brittle with age. The open hearth furnace began to replace the Bessemer process near
6080-522: The first commercial example of the system on the Lugano Tramway . Each 30-tonne locomotive had two 110 kW (150 hp) motors run by three-phase 750 V 40 Hz fed from double overhead lines. Three-phase motors run at a constant speed and provide regenerative braking , and are well suited to steeply graded routes, and the first main-line three-phase locomotives were supplied by Brown (by then in partnership with Walter Boveri ) in 1899 on
6175-438: The last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 4.2%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (84.5%), with Italian being second most common ( 3.4%) and Serbo-Croatian being third ( 3.4%). Of the Swiss national languages (as of 2000), 7,872 speak German , 27 people speak French , 313 people speak Italian , and 10 people speak Romansh . The age distribution, as of 2000, in Flawil is; 1,216 children or 13.0% of
6270-1230: The limit being regarded at 200 to 350 kilometres per hour (120 to 220 mph). High-speed trains are used mostly for long-haul service and most systems are in Western Europe and East Asia. Magnetic levitation trains such as the Shanghai maglev train use under-riding magnets which attract themselves upward towards the underside of a guideway and this line has achieved somewhat higher peak speeds in day-to-day operation than conventional high-speed railways, although only over short distances. Due to their heightened speeds, route alignments for high-speed rail tend to have broader curves than conventional railways, but may have steeper grades that are more easily climbed by trains with large kinetic energy. High kinetic energy translates to higher horsepower-to-ton ratios (e.g. 20 horsepower per short ton or 16 kilowatts per tonne); this allows trains to accelerate and maintain higher speeds and negotiate steep grades as momentum builds up and recovered in downgrades (reducing cut and fill and tunnelling requirements). Since lateral forces act on curves, curvatures are designed with
6365-429: The locomotive-hauled train's drawbacks to be removed, since the locomotive need not be moved to the front of the train each time the train changes direction. A railroad car is a vehicle used for the haulage of either passengers or freight. A multiple unit has powered wheels throughout the whole train. These are used for rapid transit and tram systems, as well as many both short- and long-haul passenger trains. A railcar
6460-569: The main portion of the B&;O to the new line to New York through a series of tunnels around the edges of Baltimore's downtown. Electricity quickly became the power supply of choice for subways, abetted by the Sprague's invention of multiple-unit train control in 1897. By the early 1900s most street railways were electrified. The London Underground , the world's oldest underground railway, opened in 1863, and it began operating electric services using
6555-433: The mid-1920s. The Soviet Union operated three experimental units of different designs since late 1925, though only one of them (the E el-2 ) proved technically viable. A significant breakthrough occurred in 1914, when Hermann Lemp , a General Electric electrical engineer, developed and patented a reliable direct current electrical control system (subsequent improvements were also patented by Lemp). Lemp's design used
6650-412: The noise they made on the tracks. There are many references to their use in central Europe in the 16th century. Such a transport system was later used by German miners at Caldbeck , Cumbria , England, perhaps from the 1560s. A wagonway was built at Prescot , near Liverpool , sometime around 1600, possibly as early as 1594. Owned by Philip Layton, the line carried coal from a pit near Prescot Hall to
6745-649: The population are between 0 and 9 years old and 1,248 teenagers or 13.4% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 1,209 people or 13.0% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 1,514 people or 16.2% are between 30 and 39, 1,279 people or 13.7% are between 40 and 49, and 1,127 people or 12.1% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 790 people or 8.5% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 548 people or 5.9% are between 70 and 79, there are 333 people or 3.6% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 56 people or 0.6% who are between 90 and 99. In 2000 there were 1,198 persons (or 12.9% of
6840-622: The population are between 0 and 9 years old and 7,444 teenagers or 16.2% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 5,046 people or 11.0% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 6,784 people or 14.8% are between 30 and 39, 6,390 people or 13.9% are between 40 and 49, and 4,926 people or 10.7% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 3,773 people or 8.2% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 3,269 people or 7.1% are between 70 and 79, there are 1,652 people or 3.6% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 326 people or 0.7% who are between 90 and 99, and 1 person who
6935-540: The population) who are Jewish , and 666 (or about 7.15% of the population) who are Islamic . There are 168 individuals (or about 1.80% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 506 (or about 5.43% of the population) belong to no church, are agnostic or atheist , and 315 individuals (or about 3.38% of the population) did not answer the question. Flawil has an average of 146.8 days of rain or snow per year and on average receives 1,280 mm (50 in) of precipitation . The wettest month
7030-549: The population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 2,183 (or about 4.76% of the population) belong to no church, are agnostic or atheist , and 1,410 individuals (or about 3.07% of the population) did not answer the question. Since 1 January 2013, the Toggenburg district has consisted of ten municipalities: The Toggenburg is traversed by the southern section of the Bodensee–Toggenburg railway line between Mogelsberg and Nesslau-Neu St. Johann , while
7125-410: The population) who were living alone in a private dwelling. There were 1,951 (or 20.9%) persons who were part of a couple (married or otherwise committed) without children, and 5,350 (or 57.4%) who were part of a couple with children. There were 491 (or 5.3%) people who lived in single parent home, while there are 55 persons who were adult children living with one or both parents, 43 persons who lived in
7220-525: The possibility of a smaller engine that might be used to power a vehicle. Following his patent, Watt's employee William Murdoch produced a working model of a self-propelled steam carriage in that year. The first full-scale working railway steam locomotive was built in the United Kingdom in 1804 by Richard Trevithick , a British engineer born in Cornwall . This used high-pressure steam to drive
7315-574: The secondary sector of the economy while 278 were involved in the third. As of 2000 there were 2,199 residents who worked in the municipality, while 2,571 residents worked outside Flawil and 1,648 people commuted into the municipality for work. Flawil has a cantonal hospital. Major religious activity is found in the Roman-Catholic parish St.Laurentius and the Protestant church. Additionally there are numerous smaller churches, including
7410-441: The standard for railways. Cast iron used in rails proved unsatisfactory because it was brittle and broke under heavy loads. The wrought iron invented by John Birkinshaw in 1820 replaced cast iron. Wrought iron, usually simply referred to as "iron", was a ductile material that could undergo considerable deformation before breaking, making it more suitable for iron rails. But iron was expensive to produce until Henry Cort patented
7505-475: The time, was Liverpool and Manchester Railway , built in 1830. Steam power continued to be the dominant power system in railways around the world for more than a century. The first known electric locomotive was built in 1837 by chemist Robert Davidson of Aberdeen in Scotland, and it was powered by galvanic cells (batteries). Thus it was also the earliest battery-electric locomotive. Davidson later built
7600-543: The track. Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate locomotive or from individual motors in self-propelled multiple units. Most trains carry a revenue load, although non-revenue cars exist for the railway's own use, such as for maintenance-of-way purposes. The engine driver (engineer in North America) controls the locomotive or other power cars, although people movers and some rapid transits are under automatic control. Traditionally, trains are pulled using
7695-471: The transport of ore tubs to and from mines and soon became popular in Europe. Such an operation was illustrated in Germany in 1556 by Georgius Agricola in his work De re metallica . This line used "Hund" carts with unflanged wheels running on wooden planks and a vertical pin on the truck fitting into the gap between the planks to keep it going the right way. The miners called the wagons Hunde ("dogs") from
7790-598: The upper Thur valley. The extinction of the main line of the counts of Toggenburg (1436) led to the Old Zürich War (1440–46) ultimately resulting in the temporary expulsion of Zürich from the Swiss confederacy. Eventually, the Toggenburg passed to the lord of Raron (in Valais ), who sold it to the abbot of St. Gall in 1468. Part of the Toggenburg followed the Swiss Reformation led by Zwingli, and
7885-493: The upper part of the valley (e.g. to Unterwasser or Wildhaus). From Unterwasser, the Iltiosbahn , a funicular railway, takes passengers to Iltios, from where an aerial tram continues to Chäserrugg ( Churfirsten ). Railways Rail transport (also known as train transport ) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks , which usually consist of two parallel steel rails . Rail transport
7980-460: The valley declared itself independent in 1530, but was forced to re-submit to the Abbot of St. Gall in 1538. The Abbot was, however, pressured into toleration of either confession, so that the Toggenburg became one of the few regions of Switzerland , where Catholicism and Protestantism have a tradition of co-existence. In 1707, the Toggenburg again declared its independence of St. Gall, in reaction to
8075-629: The wheels on track. For example, evidence indicates that a 6 to 8.5 km long Diolkos paved trackway transported boats across the Isthmus of Corinth in Greece from around 600 BC. The Diolkos was in use for over 650 years, until at least the 1st century AD. Paved trackways were also later built in Roman Egypt . In 1515, Cardinal Matthäus Lang wrote a description of the Reisszug ,
8170-622: The world in 1825, although it used both horse power and steam power on different runs. In 1829, he built the locomotive Rocket , which entered in and won the Rainhill Trials . This success led to Stephenson establishing his company as the pre-eminent builder of steam locomotives for railways in Great Britain and Ireland, the United States, and much of Europe. The first public railway which used only steam locomotives, all
8265-512: Was a soft material that contained slag or dross . The softness and dross tended to make iron rails distort and delaminate and they lasted less than 10 years. Sometimes they lasted as little as one year under high traffic. All these developments in the production of iron eventually led to the replacement of composite wood/iron rails with superior all-iron rails. The introduction of the Bessemer process , enabling steel to be made inexpensively, led to
8360-602: Was accomplished by the distribution of weight between a number of wheels. Puffing Billy is now on display in the Science Museum in London, and is the oldest locomotive in existence. In 1814, George Stephenson , inspired by the early locomotives of Trevithick, Murray and Hedley, persuaded the manager of the Killingworth colliery where he worked to allow him to build a steam-powered machine. Stephenson played
8455-595: Was born in 1484, is still shown. Other villages are Lichtensteig , Kirchberg and Wattwil . There are traces of the paleolithic Mousterian Industry throughout the Appenzell Alps , in the Toggenburg notably in Wildenmannlisloch cave. The upper Thur valley was part of the province of Raetia in the Roman era , and was reached by Alemannic-speaking settlers only in the early medieval period. This
8550-514: Was built by Siemens. The tram ran on 180 volts DC, which was supplied by running rails. In 1891 the track was equipped with an overhead wire and the line was extended to Berlin-Lichterfelde West station . The Volk's Electric Railway opened in 1883 in Brighton , England. The railway is still operational, thus making it the oldest operational electric railway in the world. Also in 1883, Mödling and Hinterbrühl Tram opened near Vienna in Austria. It
8645-706: Was built in 1758, later became the world's oldest operational railway (other than funiculars), albeit now in an upgraded form. In 1764, the first railway in the Americas was built in Lewiston, New York . In the late 1760s, the Coalbrookdale Company began to fix plates of cast iron to the upper surface of the wooden rails. This allowed a variation of gauge to be used. At first only balloon loops could be used for turning, but later, movable points were taken into use that allowed for switching. A system
8740-548: Was introduced in which unflanged wheels ran on L-shaped metal plates, which came to be known as plateways . John Curr , a Sheffield colliery manager, invented this flanged rail in 1787, though the exact date of this is disputed. The plate rail was taken up by Benjamin Outram for wagonways serving his canals, manufacturing them at his Butterley ironworks . In 1803, William Jessop opened the Surrey Iron Railway ,
8835-489: Was light enough to not break the edge-rails track and solved the problem of adhesion by a cog-wheel using teeth cast on the side of one of the rails. Thus it was also the first rack railway . This was followed in 1813 by the locomotive Puffing Billy built by Christopher Blackett and William Hedley for the Wylam Colliery Railway, the first successful locomotive running by adhesion only. This
8930-762: Was tested on the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway in September of the following year, but the limited power from batteries prevented its general use. It was destroyed by railway workers, who saw it as a threat to their job security. By the middle of the nineteenth century most european countries had military uses for railways. Werner von Siemens demonstrated an electric railway in 1879 in Berlin. The world's first electric tram line, Gross-Lichterfelde Tramway , opened in Lichterfelde near Berlin , Germany, in 1881. It
9025-636: Was the first tram line in the world in regular service powered from an overhead line. Five years later, in the U.S. electric trolleys were pioneered in 1888 on the Richmond Union Passenger Railway , using equipment designed by Frank J. Sprague . The first use of electrification on a main line was on a four-mile section of the Baltimore Belt Line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) in 1895 connecting
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