GLOBAL EXTENSIONS OF THE HISTORIC SILK ROAD IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY WILL BE A CHALLENGE TO 20TH CENTURY TERRAIN-VEHICLE SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY

摘要

This paper addresses the evolutionary and revolutionary periods of wheeled transportation utilizing the "Silk Road" and its many global arteries. It identifies domesticated animals as the locomotive power propelling the wheels over the Silk Road from 3500 BC to 1880 AD. The source of revolutionary change in locomotive power after more than 5000 years was the steam engine and iron rails replacing animals and unstable roads. In the 100 years separating the inauguration of the first steam powered railway and the beginning of the "Great. Depression", steam powered trains of freight carrying cars traveling on steel rails encircled the civilized globe. In the latter half of this period, fossil fuel powered automobiles and trucks were invented and manufactured for sale around the world. Truck powered containerized road trains lag behind the rate at which rail trains increased in payload capacity during their development. Revolutionary advancements in the design of truck powered containerized road trains will accelerate the use and need of these systems for global service during the twenty-first century.