Coal was a crucial piece in the puzzle of the development of railways and industry during the 1800s.

Coal is a fossil rock that is naturally found underground almost everywhere in the world and can be extracted through mining. It burns well, making it suitable for powering machinery and heating homes.

With the onset of the Industrial Revolution in Britain in the latter half of the 1700s, coal became a very common fuel. It was used in both steam engines and the first locomotives.

Thus, coal, together with the steam engine and the track, became the prerequisite that made the introduction of railways into society possible. For Sweden, the establishment of railways meant that coal became a used fuel throughout the country for the first time.

Coal helped revolutionize the world. Machines powered by it could replace manual labour, and humans were no longer as dependent on horses, which had been an important tool in various jobs for thousands of years.

By the beginning of the 1900s, coal had surpassed wood as the dominant fuel in the world. It would retain this position until the 1960s when oil took over the leading role.

Coal mining began as early as the 1100s. During the Middle Ages, coal was mainly used in forges, as fuel for lime burning, and for heating homes. From the 1500s and onwards, it became increasingly common to use coal as fuel in various manufacturing processes that required heating, especially in countries with limited access to wood and charcoal.