The 20th Century

The past century saw many new ideas in transport, from the electrification of railways, to the first man on the moon.

As the car, lorry and bus became more and more popular, railways were used less and less. But the changeover to diesel and then electric engines had led to faster, cleaner and more efficient rail journeys. Monorails, which save space, have been used in crowded cities such as Tokyo in Japan. At sea, giant ocean liners such as the Queen Mary were built after World War I. Smaller, less expensive models like the Queen Elizabeth II later replaced them. On shorter routes, hovercraft and hydrofoils have meant speedier travel because they are lifted clear of the water and do not waste power fighting against waves.

The most far-reaching change in the 20th century has been the coming of air travel. Powered aeroplane flight began in 1903 when the Wright Brothers flew their first machine in America. In 1919, a passenger service began between London and Paris and the first regular Atlantic crossings were made in 1937. The jet engine was successfully tried out during the Second World War and the first passenger jet aircraft was the Comet I of 1952. In 1976 Anglo-French Concorde brought with it supersonic passenger travel at twice the speed of sound.

But the most exciting travel of the 20th century has been in space. The first man in orbit was the Russian Yuri Gagarin in 1961, and the first man on the moon was American Neil Armstrong in Apollo II in 1969. Travel in the not too distant future could be inter-planetary.