August 2007

The Forth Railway Bridge viewed from the northern end

• ...that prior to the construction of the current Forth Bridge in Scotland, construction of a bridge designed by Tay Bridge designer Sir Thomas Bouch got as far as the laying of the foundation stone until the project was canceled in the wake of the Tay Bridge's collapse in 1879?

series 2600 electric car of Keihan Electric Railway Company

• ...that when Keihan Electric Railway started its operation between Osaka and Kyoto, Japan, in 1910, it was the first electric railway that connected these two cities, and the first line on the left bank of Yodo River?
• ...that the 27 new EMD SD70M locomotives exported from the United States to Companhia Vale do Rio Doce in Brazil constitute the first use of this locomotive model in South America and due to the railroad's 1600 mm (5 ft 3 in) rail gauge, EMD had to design a new wider bogie for the locomotives?

The cycle of a four stroke engine, showing each stroke: 1. suction, 2. compression, 3. power, and 4. exhaust

• ...that the EMD 265, a diesel engine for locomotive use, marks a major departure from decades of Electro-Motive Diesel two stroke engine design practice as it is a four-stroke design, and unlike the previous 567, 645, and 710 lines of engines, the designation refers to the bore of the cylinder in millimeters rather than the displacement of each cylinder in cubic inches?

Puffing Billy as seen from the front

• ...that the 194 year-old Puffing Billy is not only the oldest surviving steam locomotive in the world, it is also the first commercial adhesion locomotive, and the first locomotive to employ coupled driving wheels?
• ...that the LMS Princess Royal Class 4-6-2 steam locomotive of the London Midland and Scottish Railway formed the basis of the Turbomotive, a one-off prototype that featured turbines instead of conventional cylinders to drive its wheels?

A Slovenian 310 series train (IinterCity Slovenia) in Ljubljana, Slovenia

• ...that as part of a trend among European rail operators to utilise tilting train technology to increase speeds, the Slovenske železnice (Sž) has introduced the 200 km/h (125 mph) Sž 310 series InterCitySlovenija as a premium service between key destinations including Koper, Ljubljana, Zidani Most, Celje and Maribor?
• ...that the present-day Melbourne tram route 109 includes a light rail line converted in 1987 from the former Sandridge Railway, Australia's first locomotive-operated railway line?

Shenzhen Metro fare checking machine

• ...that China's Shenzhen Metro employs RFID tokens as part of its ticketing system that allow the system to determine both the origin and destination of the journey and the fare to be adjusted accordingly?

A streamlined locomotive used on the 20th Century Limited after 1938

• ...that the New York Central Railroad's luxury Twentieth Century Limited passenger train boasted on-board features such as secretarial services and a barbershop, and the service is even credited as the source of the term "red carpet treatment" for its well-known custom of rolling a plush red carpet across the platform for the benefit of boarding passengers?

Preserved electric locomotive ED62 17 at Omiya Works open day

• ...that the Japan National Railways (JNR) Class ED62 locomotives feature an unusual Bo-1-Bo wheel arrangement, being modified from conventional Bo-Bo locomotives with the addition of an unpowered central axle between the bogies to spread the weight and reduce the locomotive axle load?

Cutaway model of a turbocharger

• ...that the New Zealand Railways DF class locomotives of 1979 were rebuilt in the early 1990s with turbochargers, raising their power from 1,230 kW (1,650 hp) to 1,800 kW (2,400 hp)?

A Brussels Metro train at Rogier station

• ...that the Brussels Metro was originally inaugurated in 1969 as a "pre-metro", effectively a tramway or light rail system, ahead of a planned future infrastructure upgrade to a full metro system which was eventually undertaken in 1976?
• ...that Fairbanks-Morse retained the services of renowned industrial designer Raymond Loewy to create a visually impressive carbody for the company's Erie-built series of streamlined, cab-equipped dual service diesel locomotives?

"Euston Arch", the original entrance to Euston Station, c. 1851

• ...that from its opening in 1837 until its rebuilding in the 1960s, Euston railway station, London's first railway station, featured at its entrance the largest Doric propylaeum ever built?

KTM Komuter Class 83 EMU at Bank Negara Station

• ...that Malaysia's KTM Komuter electrified commuter train service which commenced in 1995 was built using existing lines with minor alterations (such as the replacement of wooden sleepers with concrete ones, and the replacement of wooden station buildings with brick and concrete structures)?

J^A 1271 with excursion consist climbing the Opapa incline in 2003

• ...that the NZR J^A class 4-8-2 J^A 1274 was the last steam locomotive to be built by NZR and in December 1956 became the last steam locomotive to enter service in New Zealand?
• ...that the Pullman Company built a company town, named Pullman, on 4,000 acres (16 km²) just south of the city limits of Chicago, and that company employees were required to live in Pullman, despite the fact that cheaper rentals could be found in nearby communities?
• ...that the ancestry of the Bombardier Double-deck Coach used by a number of European rail operators can be traced back to double-deck coaches built by Wumag at Görlitz, Germany for the Lübeck–Büchen–Hamburg railway in 1935?

Curzon Street Station as seen from the side.

• ...that the Curzon Street railway station building in Birmingham, United Kingdom, opened in 1838 and in use as a station until 1966, is the world's oldest surviving piece of monumental railway architecture?

A water crane on Bahnhof Stützerbach, Thüringen, Germany

• ...that a water crane, which is used to replenish the water supply in a steam locomotive, can deliver from one up to ten cubic metres of water per minute?

Pakistan Railway Headquarters building

• ...that Pakistan Railways has built its own locomotive factory in Risalpur, able to construct up to four diesel electric locomotives a month?

An Indian Railways WAP-5 locomotive and passenger train

• ...that the Village on Wheels is the name given to special tourist train services introduced by the Indian Railways to cater to the budget tourists, especially villagers, hence the name?

The only known photograph of the Paget locomotive is this official portrait.

• ...that the Midland Railway Paget locomotive, the United Kingdom's first 2-6-2 tender locomotive, was a one-off prototype that featured no fewer than eight cylinders (with rotary steam distribution valves placed over each) coupled to its six driving wheels?

Hiawatha Line light-rail vehicle #111 near Cedar/Riverside station

• ...that the Hiawatha Line, a 12-mile (19-kilometre) light-rail corridor in Hennepin County, Minnesota, USA which opened in 2004, carried 9.4 million passengers during 2006, an amount well over double the expected ridership?

German Class 101 locomotive pulling a EuroCity train consisting of Swiss and German coaches

• ...that prior to the 1985 Schengen treaty (which eliminated passport checks between the borders of 30 European nations), a key feature of the fast EuroCity international rail services was the checking of passports on-board the train while in motion?

The split between Dovrebanen and Raumabanen at Dombås. Raumabanen to the left.

• ... that Norway's Raumabanen (Rauma railway line) played a key role amidst the World War II invasion of Norway by Nazi Germany in April 1940 when it was used to smuggle Norway's gold reserves (totalling 3,000 bars, some 49 tons) from the Norges Bank in Oslo to waiting British battle cruisers at Åndalsnes for safekeeping out of the country?

In March 1971 the DR's afternoon Interzone express train departs Hamburg for Berlin

• ... that the Deutsche Reichsbahn, the national railway of the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany), continued to use steam locomotives until 28 May 1988, with much of the GDR's pre-war electrification having been dismantled after 1945 and the equipment sent to the Soviet Union as war reparations?

A preserved EMD E8 locomotive

• ... that of the estimated 58 EMD E8 locomotives to have survived into preservation, one, the former New York Central Railroad #4085, is notable for having hauled the last eastbound Twentieth Century Limited service from Chicago to New York City?
• ...that the Finland Station is famous for being the arrival point of Vladimir Lenin into Saint Petersburg, Russia on 3 April 1917, returning from exile to start what was to become the October Revolution?

German Baghdad Railway. Photo taken between 1900 and 1910

• ...that the Baghdad Railway, a railway line through Ottoman Empire territory intended to advance German and Ottoman economic and political interests, was not completed before the outbreak of The Great War in 1914 and the subsequent collapse of both Imperial powers?

The front entrance of the Seoul Station in Seoul, South Korea.

• ...that Seoul Station in South Korea, opened in 1900, underwent no fewer than three name changes between 1905 and 1947?

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• ...that the three stone arch bridges built by the Illinois Central Railroad contain no mortar?