The earliest recorded railway appears in Georgius Agricola's 1556 De re metallica, which shows a mine in Bohemia with a railway of about gauge. During the 16th century, railways were primarily restricted to hand-pushed, narrow-gauge lines in mines throughout Europe. In the 17th century, mine railways were extended to provide transportation above ground. These lines were industrial, connecting mines with nearby transportation points (usually canals or other waterways). These railways were usually built to the same narrow gauge as the mine railways from which they developed.
The earliest recorded railway appears in Georgius Agricola's 1556 De re metallica which shows a mine in Bohemia with a railway of about gauge During the 16th century railways were primarily restricted to hand-pushed narrow-gauge lines in mines throughout Europe In the 17th century mine railways were extended to provide transportation above ground These lines were industrial connecting mines with nearby transportation points (usually canals or other waterways) These railways were usually built to the same narrow gauge as the mine railways from which they developed