Duan Hailong, professor at the Institute for the History of Science and Technology, Inner Mongolia Normal University
Western railway technology has been introduced into China for more than 150 years. Most historians regard Chinese railway history as a branch of economic historyand they mainly focuson the impact of railwayson society.The study of railway history from the perspective of technology history is helpful to solvingkey issuesin railway history, and it is important partof modern technicalexchange history,industrialization and industrial heritage with unique academic value.
Railway technology has its own characteristics, and the study of railway history from the perspective of technology history also has its particularity.In the research of railway technology history, the content is rich and the research methodologies are diverse.
Railway technology can be roughly divided into four categories: line technology, rolling stock technology, auxiliary facilities construction technology and signal management technology. Line technology focuses on civil engineering technology, including survey, design, line selection, as well as material selectionandlaying technology. Bridgesand tunnelsconstitutethe difficulty of railway lineconstruction, which requires high professionalism asa complicated and arduous technical procedure. Even in the same historical period, withthe same level of technologyused,the implementation of engineering technology will present different forms because of different construction environment. This reality shows the richnessof the research of railway engineering technology history. Besides large-scale projects likebridge and tunnelconstruction, the processing and renewalof railway sleepers and the optimization of rail composition are also treasures that can be explored in the history of railway technology. The technology of locomotives, including steam locomotives, electric locomotives, diesel locomotive and multiple units, with complex structure, is developing veryfast,and it deserves a detailed description in the history of technology. Auxiliary facilitiesof railways, such as stationbuildings, are important places to ensure the normal operation of railways and transit transport of passengers and freight, involving construction technology, train operation management and so on. Railway operation is system engineering, witha variety of technologiesinvolved, such as management signals. In modern times,due to the factor offoreign countries, railwaylinesof China had inconsistent signals, resulting inafailure of intermodal transport between different railwaylines and a reduction ofefficiency of railway network transport. So thehistory of Chinese railways also contains thehistory of railway signals.
As railway technology is complex and diverse, it is necessary to master the knowledge of railway technology first rather thanseeking evidence from historical documents alone. Explorations of the development and innovation of railway technology as well as the interaction with society under the background of modernizationis a conventional methodologyto study the history of technology. In addition, it is also necessary to draw on research methodologiesof other disciplines. First, there are a lot of railway remains as aproductof industry, so the use of material objectsis an important methodologyto study the history of railway technology. Museums, especially professional museums likelocomotive museums, have preserved locomotives withimportant historical value, providing physical evidence for the study of locomotive technology history. Thedisusedlines are also evidence of previousroute design, track laying technology and rail and sleeperuse. Second, as witnesses and operators of modern technology, technical workers of railways, especially those who participated in major technical reforms, know aboutsome more historical facts besides written records, so oral history is particularly important. Oralhistory work should be done in a timely manner and should also be verified. The methodsof researching about railway history should be as diversified as possible.They can be used as long as they are scientific and reasonable and helpful to solving the issues in technological development.
Published on June 23, 2022