History
The first Dutch railway was built and opened in 1839, on a short stretch between Amsterdam and Haarlem, and was quickly expanded to The Hague and Rotterdam. It was originally built to a broad gauge of 1,945 mm (6 ft 4 9⁄16 in), but was converted to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) (standard gauge) in 1866. Further expansion happened in the 19th century to connect the rest of the country. During the 20th century most of the main lines were electrified, starting in 1908 with the Hofpleinlijn.
Read more about this topic: Rail Transport In The Netherlands
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“The awareness that health is dependent upon habits that we control makes us the first generation in history that to a large extent determines its own destiny.”
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“Every generation rewrites the past. In easy times history is more or less of an ornamental art, but in times of danger we are driven to the written record by a pressing need to find answers to the riddles of today.... In times of change and danger when there is a quicksand of fear under men’s reasoning, a sense of continuity with generations gone before can stretch like a lifeline across the scary present and get us past that idiot delusion of the exceptional Now that blocks good thinking.”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)