Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania
Encyclopedia
Jim Thorpe is a borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....

 in Carbon County
Carbon County, Pennsylvania
As of the census of 2000, there were 58,802 people, 23,701 households, and 16,424 families residing in the county. The population density was 154 people per square mile . There were 30,492 housing units at an average density of 80 per square mile...

, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The population was 4,804 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

 of Carbon County
Carbon County, Pennsylvania
As of the census of 2000, there were 58,802 people, 23,701 households, and 16,424 families residing in the county. The population density was 154 people per square mile . There were 30,492 housing units at an average density of 80 per square mile...

. The town has been called the "Switzerland of America" due to the picturesque scenery, mountainous location, and architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

; as well as the "Gateway to the Poconos."

History

Jim Thorpe was founded as Mauch Chunk in 1818. Mauch Chunk ˌ was derived from the term "bear mountain" in the language of the native Lenape
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...

 people, an apparent reference to a local mountain that resembled a sleeping bear. The town was founded by Josiah White, founder of the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company. It rapidly became a railroad and coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...

-shipping center, and was home to the Mauch Chunk Switchback Gravity Railroad, generally acknowledged as the first roller coaster
Roller coaster
The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...

 in the United States. Mauch Chunk was the location of one of the trials of the Molly Maguires
Molly Maguires
The Molly Maguires were members of an Irish-American secret society, whose members consisted mainly of coal miners. Many historians believe the "Mollies" were present in the anthracite coal fields of Pennsylvania in the United States from approximately the time of the American Civil War until a...

 in 1876, which resulted in the hanging
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...

 of four men found guilty of murder. The population in 1900 was 4,020; in 1910, it was 3,952.

Following the 1953 death of renowned athlete and Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

 medal winner Jim Thorpe
Jim Thorpe
Jacobus Franciscus "Jim" Thorpe * Gerasimo and Whiteley. pg. 28 * americaslibrary.gov, accessed April 23, 2007. was an American athlete of mixed ancestry...

, Thorpe's widow and third wife, Patricia, was angry when the government of Oklahoma would not erect a memorial to honor him. When she heard that the boroughs of Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk were desperately seeking to attract business, she made a deal with civic officials. The boroughs merged, renamed the new municipality in Jim Thorpe's honor, bought the athlete's remains from his wife and erected a monument to the Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

 native, who began his sports career 100 miles southwest, as a student at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School
Carlisle Indian Industrial School
Carlisle Indian Industrial School was an Indian boarding school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1879 at Carlisle, Pennsylvania by Captain Richard Henry Pratt, the school was the first off-reservation boarding school, and it became a model for Indian boarding schools in other locations...

 in Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle is a borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The name is traditionally pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2010 census, the borough...

. The monument site contains his tomb, two statues of him in athletic poses, and historical markers describing his life story. The grave rests on mounds of soil from Thorpe's native Oklahoma and from the Stockholm Olympic Stadium in which he won his Olympic medals.

On June 24, 2010, one of Jim Thorpe's sons, Jack Thorpe, sued the town for his father's remains under a Federal law designed to return Native American artifacts to their tribal homelands.
The history of the borough is inscribed in the architecture that makes up its many 19th century styles. Former resident and architectural historian Hans Egli noted the vast range of architectural styles: Federalist
Federal architecture
Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the United States between c. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815. This style shares its name with its era, the Federal Period. The name Federal style is also used in association with furniture design...

, Greek Revival
Greek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...

, Second Empire, Romanesque Revival
Romanesque Revival architecture
Romanesque Revival is a style of building employed beginning in the mid 19th century inspired by the 11th and 12th century Romanesque architecture...

, Queen Anne
Queen Anne Style architecture
The Queen Anne Style in Britain means either the English Baroque architectural style roughly of the reign of Queen Anne , or a revived form that was popular in the last quarter of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century...

 and Richardsonian Romanesque
Richardsonian Romanesque
Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after architect Henry Hobson Richardson, whose masterpiece is Trinity Church, Boston , designated a National Historic Landmark...

. Most of these architectural examples remained intact beneath aluminum or vinyl siding
Vinyl siding
Vinyl siding is plastic exterior cladding for a house, used for decoration and weatherproofing, as an alternative to traditional wood siding or other materials such as aluminum or fiber cement siding. It is an engineered product, manufactured primarily from polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, resin, giving...

 that has since been removed.

Robert Venturi
Robert Venturi
Robert Charles Venturi, Jr. is an American architect, founding principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, and one of the major figures in the architecture of the twentieth century...

, renowned Philadelphia architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

, conducted a little-known planning study in the 1970s that attempted to understand the dynamics of historicism and tourism, notions that have come into their own in contemporary times. While Venturi's planning study was unique at the time, it has since become a critical factor in Jim Thorpe's rebound as a functioning and economically stable community. Jim Thorpe benefits from tourism initially spurred on by the celebration of its old architecture, which has developed new industries and modern creations. Two of these relative newcomers to the Jim Thorpe area are paintball
Paintball
Paintball is a sport in which players compete, in teams or individually, to eliminate opponents by tagging them with capsules containing water soluble dye and gelatin shell outside propelled from a device called a paintball marker . Paintballs have a non-toxic, biodegradable, water soluble...

 and white water rafting.

Mauch Chunk Switchback Gravity Railroad

In 1827, the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company, a coal mining and shipping company with operations in Summit Hill, Pennsylvania
Summit Hill, Pennsylvania
Summit Hill is a borough in Carbon County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,974 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Summit Hill is located at ....

, constructed an 8.7 miles (14 km) downhill track, known as a gravity railroad
Gravity railroad
A gravity railroad or Gravity railway is a railroad on a slope that allow cars carrying minerals or passengers to coast down the slope by the force of gravity alone. The cars are then hauled back up the slope using animal power or a stationary engine and a cable, chain or one or more wide, flat...

, to deliver coal (and a miner to operate the mine train's brake) to the Lehigh Canal
Lehigh Canal
The Lehigh Canal was constructed by the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company to carry anthracite from the upper Lehigh Valley to the urban markets of the northeast, especially Philadelphia...

 in Mauch Chunk. This helped open up the area to commerce, and helped to fuel the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...

 in the United States. By the 1850s, the "Gravity Road" (as it became known) was providing rides to thrillseekers for 50 cents a ride (equal to $ today). This is often designated as the first roller coaster in the United States. The Switchback Gravity Railroad Foundation was formed to study the feasibility of preserving and interpreting the remains of the Switchback Gravity Railroad on top of Mount Pisgah.

Geography

Jim Thorpe is located at 40°52′23"N 75°44′11"W.

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the borough has a total area of 14.8 square miles (38.3 km²), of which, 14.5 square miles (37.6 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square mile (0.776996433 km²) of it (2.03%) is water. Located adjacent to the Lehigh River
Lehigh River
The Lehigh River, a tributary of the Delaware River, is a river located in eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. Part of the Lehigh, along with a number of its tributaries, is designated a Pennsylvania Scenic River by the state's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources...

, Jim Thorpe is 3 miles north of Lehighton
Lehighton, Pennsylvania
Lehighton is a borough in Carbon County, Pennsylvania, north by west of Philadelphia. In the past, it developed early industries because of water power from the Lehigh River. With the location of a repair facility here and its regional operations, the Lehigh Valley Railroad became for years a...

 and 3 miles east of Nesquehoning
Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania
Nesquehoning is a borough in Carbon County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,288 at the 2000 census. The name is of Native American origin, commonly believed to signify "narrow valley;" however native language scholars translate the name as "at the black lick" or "at the dirty...

. Jim Thorpe's elevation is at 1519 feet above sea level.

Transportation

Although signed as a north-south route, U.S. 209
U.S. Route 209
U.S. Route 209 is a long U.S. highway in the states of Pennsylvania and New York. Although the route is a spur of U.S. Route 9, US 209 never intersects US 9, making the connection via U.S. Route 9W instead. The southern terminus of the route is at Pennsylvania...

 tends to follow an east-west route in Pennsylvania. In Jim Thorpe and Lehighton, U.S. 209 runs in directions opposite its signage—i.e., northbound U.S. 209 runs southbound and vice versa.
  • Intersects the Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension
    Pennsylvania Turnpike
    The Pennsylvania Turnpike is a toll highway system operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. The three sections of the turnpike system total . The main section extends from Ohio to New Jersey and is long...

     (Interstate 476
    Interstate 476
    Interstate 476 is a auxiliary Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania designated between Interstate 95 near Chester and Interstate 81 near Scranton, serving as the primary north–south Interstate corridor through eastern Pennsylvania....

    ) east of Lehighton, about 5 miles (8 km) southeast of Jim Thorpe.
  • Intersects PA 309
    Pennsylvania Route 309
    Pennsylvania Route 309 is a major highway which runs for 134 miles through Pennsylvania in the United States. It connects Philadelphia and its northern suburbs to Allentown, Hazleton, and Wilkes-Barre. A limited-access highway portion of PA 309 in the Wilkes-Barre area is known as the North...

     at Tamaqua
    Tamaqua, Pennsylvania
    Tamaqua is a borough in eastern Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The borough, located in Northeastern Pennsylvania's Coal Region, had a population of 7,107 as of the 2010 U.S...

    , about 14 miles (22.5 km) west of town.
  • About 3 miles (4.8 km) west of town, intersects PA 93
    Pennsylvania Route 93
    Pennsylvania Route 93 is a long state route located in northern Pennsylvania. The northern terminus of the route is at Pennsylvania Route 487 in Orangeville. The southern terminus is at U.S. Route 209 east of Nesquehoning...

    , a northwesterly route that intersects with Interstate 81
    Interstate 81
    Interstate 81 is an Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Island at the Canadian border, where the Thousand Islands Bridge connects it to Highway 401, the main freeway...

     near Hazleton
    Hazleton, Pennsylvania
    Hazleton is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 25,340 at the 2010 census, an increase of 8.6% from the 2000 census count .-Greater Hazleton:...

     and with Interstate 80
    Interstate 80
    Interstate 80 is the second-longest Interstate Highway in the United States, following Interstate 90. It is a transcontinental artery running from downtown San Francisco, California to Teaneck, New Jersey in the New York City Metropolitan Area...

     in Sugarloaf Twp
    Sugarloaf Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
    Sugarloaf Township is a township in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,652 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 21.9 square miles , of which, 21.9 square miles of it is land and...

    .
PA 903
Pennsylvania Route 903
Pennsylvania Route 903 is a long state highway located in Carbon and Monroe counties in Pennsylvania. The southern terminus is at US 209 in Jim Thorpe. The northern terminus is at PA 115 in Tunkhannock Township....

 has its southern terminus at U.S. 209 in Jim Thorpe. It is a north-south route that runs northeast of town.
  • Northern terminus 17 miles (27.4 km) northeast of town at PA 115
    Pennsylvania Route 115
    Pennsylvania Route 115 is a north–south state highway in eastern Pennsylvania. It stretches from U.S. Route 209 in Brodheadsville to Interstate 81 and Pennsylvania Route 309 near Wilkes-Barre. The road originated as the Sullivan Trail which later became known as the Easton and Wilkes-Barre...

     near the Pocono Raceway
    Pocono Raceway
    Pocono Raceway also known as the Tricky Triangle, is a superspeedway located in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania at Long Pond...

    . (PA 115 intersects Interstate 80 about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of its junction with PA 903.)
  • Intersects PA 534
    Pennsylvania Route 534
    Pennsylvania Route 534 is an long state highway located in Monroe and Carbon counties in Pennsylvania. The western terminus is at PA 940 in East Side. The eastern terminus is at US 209 in Polk Township....

     in Penn Forest Twp., about 12.5 miles (20.1 km) northeast of town.
  • Crosses Interstate 476 but currently has no interchange with that route, although one is under construction just north of the Hickory Run Service Plaza.

  • Demographics

    As of the census
    Census
    A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

    of 2000, there were 4,804 people, 1,967 households, and 1,335 families residing in the borough. The population density
    Population density
    Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

     was 332.1 people per square mile (128.2/km²). There were 2,193 housing units at an average density of 151.6 per square mile (58.5/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 98.36% White, 0.62% African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.04% from other races
    Race (United States Census)
    Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

    , and 0.62% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.83% of the population. A plurality of Jim Thorpe's residents are of Irish descent
    Irish people
    The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

    , typified by the connection to the Molly Maguires and large amount of Irish pride seen throughout the town (e.g. flags).

    There were 1,967 households of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18, 50.6% were married couples
    Marriage
    Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

     living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.1% were non-families. 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.93.

    In the borough the population was spread out with 21.0% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 17.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 95.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.9 males.

    The median income for a household in the borough was $35,976, and the median income for a family was $43,710. Males had a median income of $31,141 versus $23,490 for females. The per capita income
    Per capita income
    Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

     for the borough was $17,119. About 7.8% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.3% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.

    Recreation

    In a poll conducted by Budget Travel magazine, Jim Thorpe was recently awarded a top 10 spot on America’s Coolest Small Towns, Circa 2009. The town registered 3,920 votes to land the #7 spot on the list. Jim Thorpe is becoming a tourist destination, with many businesses catering to white water rafting
    Rafting
    Rafting or white water rafting is a challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. The development of this...

    , mountain biking
    Mountain biking
    Mountain biking is a sport which consists of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, using specially adapted mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain.Mountain biking can...

    , paintball
    Paintball
    Paintball is a sport in which players compete, in teams or individually, to eliminate opponents by tagging them with capsules containing water soluble dye and gelatin shell outside propelled from a device called a paintball marker . Paintballs have a non-toxic, biodegradable, water soluble...

     and hiking
    Hiking
    Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...

    . Along with these sports, Jim Thorpe is popular among railroading fans
    Railfan
    A railfan or rail buff , railway enthusiast or railway buff , or trainspotter , is a person interested in a recreational capacity in rail transport...

     and is known for its extraordinary architecture.

    The town is home to the Asa Packer
    Asa Packer Mansion
    The Asa Packer Mansion, in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, was the home of Asa Packer , coal and railroad magnate and founder of Lehigh University. It is one of the best preserved Italianate Villa homes in the United States.-History:...

     and Harry Packer Mansion
    Harry Packer Mansion
    The Harry Packer Mansion, is located in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. The mansion was built in 1874 in the Italianate style.The residence was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 20, 1974.-External links:*...

    s. The former was the founder of the Lehigh Valley Railroad
    Lehigh Valley Railroad
    The Lehigh Valley Railroad was one of a number of railroads built in the northeastern United States primarily to haul anthracite coal.It was authorized April 21, 1846 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and incorporated September 20, 1847 as the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuylkill and Susquehanna Railroad...

     and Lehigh University
    Lehigh University
    Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...

    ; the latter was Asa's son. Both mansions sit next to one another on a hill overlooking downtown Jim Thorpe. The Asa Packer Mansion is a museum and has been conducting tours since Memorial Day of 1956. The Harry Packer Mansion is a bed and breakfast
    Bed and breakfast
    A bed and breakfast is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast, but usually does not offer other meals. Since the 1980s, the meaning of the term has also extended to include accommodations that are also known as "self-catering" establishments...

    . The haunted mansion at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida is modeled after the Harry Packer Mansion.

    Jim Thorpe is home to the Anthracite Triathlon, an Olympic
    Olympic Games
    The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

     distance triathlon
    Triathlon
    A triathlon is a multi-sport event involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance events. While many variations of the sport exist, triathlon, in its most popular form, involves swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances...

     open to amateur and professional triathletes. The swim
    Swimming (sport)
    Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...

     portion occurs in Mauch Chunk Lake. The bike
    Bicycle
    A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....

     course takes riders through the mining
    Mining
    Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...

     towns of Summit Hill, Nesquehoning
    Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania
    Nesquehoning is a borough in Carbon County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,288 at the 2000 census. The name is of Native American origin, commonly believed to signify "narrow valley;" however native language scholars translate the name as "at the black lick" or "at the dirty...

    , Lansford
    Lansford, Pennsylvania
    Lansford is a borough in Carbon County, Pennsylvania, located northwest of Allentown and 9 miles south of Hazleton. Settled in 1845, Lansford was incorporated in 1876. In 1900, 4,888 people lived in Lansford; in 1910, 8,321 people inhabited it, and in 1940, 8,710 residents called Lansford home....

     and Jim Thorpe. The running
    Running
    Running is a means of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. It is simply defined in athletics terms as a gait in which at regular points during the running cycle both feet are off the ground...

     portion of the course is generally along the former alignment of a historic switchback
    Zig Zag (railway)
    A railway zig zag, also called a switchback, is a way of climbing hills in difficult country with a minimal need for tunnels and heavy earthworks. For a short distance , the direction of travel is reversed, before the original direction is resumed.A location on railways constructed e.g...

     railroad
    Rail transport
    Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...

    .

    External links

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