TRANSPORT

TANSPORT The earliest mode of transport was the raft. A dry piece of wood floats. So we sat on a wood and rowed it along the sea coast and across the rivers. Fishing boats and then sailing boats and ships made their appearance. On land, the horse and horse cart were in use from prehistoric times. The rath of Ramayana is a horse cart only. On land, an innovation had to wait the for the industrial revolution. It was the train, pulled by steam engine that came first. It was a crude boiler heated by wood fuel. The steam was directed against the piston, which made the wheels to turn. Use of iron had become very common. At first people could not believe that rails could be laid across the land, for such long distances. When the first train came in Egypt, women brought their ill babies, to receive the blessings of this God! Steam ships brought the countries of the world nearer to each other. Internal combustion engine made rails unnecessary. The next high point was the aircraft; sattelite travel is still not a reality.