Why does putting a carriage on rails make it much easier to pull? As in, how were the first trams such an improvement from omnibuses when the same weight was still being pulled?

Question

Why does putting a carriage on rails make it much easier to pull? As in, how were the first trams such an improvement from omnibuses when the same weight was still being pulled?

In: 520

Answer 1

An order of magnitude less Rolling Resistance. Once a train is going, it takes very little energy to keep it going.

[Great video here](https://youtu.be/4Q22pcC98hY?t=121) about why rail has remained dominant over things like maglev – in which the presenter gives a good overview of why rail is good in the first place. The really important graphic is at [3:05](https://youtu.be/4Q22pcC98hY?t=180).