February 2017

Bucharest Metro trains at Piata Victoriei station in 2009

• ...that the Bucharest Metro network and the national rail network of Romania share the same track gauge (1,435 mm / 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) and loading gauge, making it possible for new metro cars to be transported cross country as unpowered railway cars?

BLF membership card of 1878

• ...that the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen was founded in 1873 as a mutual benefit society for workers employed as firemen for steam locomotives but expanded in 1907 because many of its members had been promoted to the job of engineer?

The tracks and platforms at Bromley-by-Bow station in 2008

• ...that in 2008 an unexploded bomb from World War II was found near Bromley-by-Bow tube station where the District and Hammersmith & City lines cross the Prescott Channel?

Broad gauge Great Western Railway locomotives awaiting scrapping in 1892

• ...that although the extra width of broad gauge track allowed bigger inside cylinders and greater power, the most powerful locomotives on standard gauge railways in North America and Scandinavia far exceeded the power of any broad gauge locomotive?

A train loaded with bombs being transported out of No. 21 Maintenance Unit at Fauld

• ...that the Ministry of Supply (MOS) Factory Dalbeattie 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge railway, one of many British military narrow-gauge railways, used a variety of bogie trucks mostly pushed by teams of three to six women?

A streetcar in Vancouver in 1906

• ...that British Columbia Electric Railway, which operated streetcar and interurban lines in southwestern British Columbia, was originally the parent company, and later a division, of BC Electric?

Bristol & Exeter Railway number 2002 in 1876 or 1877

• ...that the Bristol and Exeter Railway (B&ER) was leased to the Great Western Railway in 1841 so the B&ER could avoid the cost of purchasing new steam locomotives and other rolling stock?

The first trainset built for Brightline being hauled by a diesel locomotive for delivery to Florida in December 2016

• ...that when Brightline opens in mid-2017, it will be the first time a privately owned company in the United States has developed and operated an express passenger rail system since 1983?

Brighthope Railway locomotive "Winterpock" in 1883

• ...that the track used by the Brighthope Railway in Virginia, which became the main line of the Tidewater and Western Railroad, was pulled up in 1917 and sent to France for the World War I effort?

Calvin S. Brice

• ...that over his career as a railroad executive, Calvin S. Brice could lay claim to as many as ten different railroads in Ohio, including the Lake Erie and Western Railroad and Nickel Plate Road?

Class 1800 number 1805 in 2009

• ...that when delivered in 1968, CP's Class 1800 diesel-electric locomotives were the only diesel locomotives in Portugal authorised to run at 140 kilometres per hour (87 mph)?

Construction of the Royal Albert Bridge under the direction of Brereton

• ...that after Brunel's death, Robert Pearson Brereton took over his role as chief engineer for many railway companies, running his business from Brunel's old office in London, while Brunel's widow Mary continued to reside in the rooms above?

The tracks and platforms at Bradford Forster Square railway station in 2005

• ...that when Bradford Forster Square railway station in West Yorkshire, England, opened in 1846, the Leeds and Bradford Railway operated hourly services from it to Leeds Wellington Station, and through trains to London Euston via Derby and Rugby?

Oliver Cromwell pulls an excursion train in 2009

• ...that British Railways Standard Class 7 number 70013 Oliver Cromwell was selected to operate the last steam passenger train prior to the abolition of steam traction on British Railways lines?

The western portal of Box Tunnel in 2007

• ...that for the construction of Great Western Railway's Box Tunnel in Western England in 1838, candles provided the only lighting and were consumed at the rate of one tonne per week, equalled by the weekly consumption of explosives?

The Bowie Railroad Buildings while still in operation in 1977

• ...that the relocated and restored Bowie Railroad Buildings in Bowie, Maryland, which are now the Bowie Railroad Museum, served as the city's station from 1913 until 1989?

A preserved tram with a bow collector in Germany in 2005

• ...that unlike many trolley poles used for current collection on trams, the bow collector developed by Siemens in the late 19th century did not normally have a revolving base but was rather fixed centrally to the tramcar roof?

Boston and Maine Railroad #1, an FM P-12-42, at Boston Engine Terminal circa 1960

• ...that after a bankruptcy filing in December 1970 and reorganization, Boston and Maine Corporation was nearly liquidated and was offered to merge its properties into the new Conrail but opted out?

Construction equipment at the Boßler Tunnel western portal in December 2016

• ...that when completed, the Boßler Tunnel between Aichelberg and Mühlhausen im Täle will be the longest tunnel on the Wendlingen–Ulm high-speed railway and the fifth longest tunnel in Germany?

Bilevel cars of NJ Transit manufactured by Bombardier

• ...that the core of Bombardier Transportation, now one of the world's largest rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing companies, was formed with the purchase of Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) in 1975?

The Bochum-Dahlhausen freight yard and locomotive depot in 1975

• ...that since 1977, the former locomotive depot at Bochum-Dahlhausen station has housed the Bochum Dahlhausen Railway Museum, the last fully preserved steam locomotive depot in Germany?

A Metro Rail Blue Line train approaches Slauson station in 2011

• ...that the Los Angeles County Metro Rail's Blue Line, which became the first line opened in the system in 1990, follows the route of the last former Pacific Electric Railway line that was closed in 1961?

Lafayette Street platform in 2013

• ...that although all the New York City Subway's combined Bleecker Street/Broadway–Lafayette Street station station complex opened in 1957, a transfer to the IRT Lexington Avenue Line from the IND Sixth Avenue Line platform was only possible in the southbound direction until late September 2012?

Two double-deck trams on the Blackpool tram network in 2006

• ...that the Blackpool Transport tram system opened in 1885 using a conduit system to convey electricity to the trams but was rebuilt in 1899 to use 550 V overhead lines?

Engen station on the Black Forest Railway circa 1900

• ...that the Black Forest Railway in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, connecting Offenburg with Singen, is the only true mountain railway in Germany to be built with two tracks?