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Iron horse is an iconic literary term (currently transitioning into an archaic reference)
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originating in the early
Victorian cultureThe Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
(1825–35
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Iron Horse was used admiringly when comparing early road and railroad traction engines performance to slower, less powerful horse powered
tramwayTramway may refer to:* Tramway , a lightly laid railway for uses such as logging or mining * A system of trams * Aerial tramway...
s. The
Iron Horse term became widely popularized and found frequent use in the century and a half following the competition won by
George StephensonGeorge Stephenson was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who built the first public railway line in the world to use steam locomotives...
's Rocket in innumerable newsprint articles as well as in various novels. The term's place as a cultural icon is shown by the sheer number of references to things named after it above, use in films, etcetera. It began to decline in use, at least in North American colloquial expression, or as a reference term of art in the information industries with the decline in rail passenger service in the age of the U.S. Interstate Highway System.balls gaga