Roger G. Gilbertson of the Robot Store has managed to find a microfilm copy of Yuri Artsutanov's original article, "To the Cosmos by Electric Train" published by Pravda in 1960.

He has provided the Space Elevator Reference with a copy of the original story in Russian and an English translation he had commissioned. You can find "To the Cosmos by Electric Train" in our documents section.

Here's an excerpt: "Preparation for the cosmic launching of a contemporary rocket requires not one day, but more than one month. Yes, of course, these are just the first steps man is taking beyond the limits of his own planet. Still, in the future the construction of rockets will not change in principle, and even in the future the first stage of the flight of a cosmic liner will be accompanied by the furious effort of strained engines, by the immense expenditure of fuel, by protecting of passengers from high acceleration — which must be maximal in order to escape more quickly from the chains of Earth's gravity. Flight into the cosmos with the help of a rocket will never be like an outing on a boat or a trip on a tram."

The article by Artsutanov is credited as being the first to begin developing the Space Elevator concept. This is confirmed by Sir Arthur C. Clarke who describes the history of the Space Elevator in his 1981 paper "The Space Elevator: 'Thought Experiment', or Key to the Universe? ".