The railways proved to be the motor of German industrialisation. Their constructors enjoyed amazing success. The first railway line to go into operation was between Nuremberg and Fürth. Several years later firms in Munich and Berlin were building their own locomotives, soon began to overtake their British forerunners and went into the export business. Mechanical engineering was the third major pillar of the expanding economy alongside coal and steel. By the end of the 19th century German businesses had taken over a leading role in the modern areas of chemicals and electrical engineering.