The World Railway History, Railway and Culture, Subway History
You will be surprised, but the first railway - if we can call it like that - was built in the 6th century BC. It transportes boats across Greece and was made of stone. Diolkos Railway ran until 900 AD - and that seems to be pretty long. Horse-drawn wagonways made from stone also appeared in in ancient times in Malta, Roman Empire and in modern times in England, before steel rails were introduced.
The earliest known record of a railway in Europe dates 1350. First wooden railways appeared in mines - coal, silver, salt and so on. They were quiet common to the midst of the sixteenth century. The first railways in Britain were Broomlands Wagonway in Irvine, Ayrshire and Broseley in Shropshire. The main inconvenience was that rails were wering out very quickly and it was necessary to replace them regularly.
Thó first railway in America was a railway built by British military engineer - John Montressor. Goods were moved over the Niagara Escarpment with the help of carts, wooden rails and ropes.