Portal:Trains/Did you know/April 2008

A locomotive of the West Coast Wilderness Railway being turned on the turntable

...that the construction of the West Coast Wilderness Railway was funded partly by money allocated to the Tasmanian government as compensation for the cancellation of the controversial Franklin Dam?

Railway Express sign, on display in Snoqualmie Depot, Washington, USA

...that Railway Express Agency was originally formed by the United States Railroad Administration in 1917 as the merger of Adams Express Company, American Express Company, Southern Express Company, and Wells Fargo and Company Express?
...that the last of the Northern Counties Committee class WT 2-6-4T locomotives in Northern Ireland were withdrawn in 1971, making them the last steam locomotives in mainline operation in the British Isles?

Last vehicle indicators on an Indian Railways train

...that a last vehicle board is used on Indian Railways to indicate the last vehicle in a train so that if a train passes a control point without this indicator, the operators can assume that the train has separated and appropriate emergency plans can be implemented?

JR 415 series EMU on the Nanao Line

...that JR West owns the assets of the entire Nanao Line (between Tsubata and Anamizu, 87.5 km or 54.4 mi) in Japan, but it only operates the southern section (south of Wakura Onsen) and lets Noto Railway operate on the rest of the line?

UP 6936 pulling an excursion train near Ankeny, Iowa

The station and yard at Skikda, Algeria

...that SNTF, the national railway of Algeria, currently operates over 3,572 kilometres (2,220 mi) of track, but in 1946 the country's rail network spanned 5,014 km (3,116 mi)?

Trondheim Central Station

...that south of Trondheim Central Station in Norway the railway is electrified while it is not north of the station, so trains must change locomotives at the station?

Map of the Gyeongbu Line in Korea

...that the fully electrified, 441.7 km (274.5 mi) long Gyeongbu Line connecting Seoul to Busan, South Korea, is double track from Busan to Cheonan, then four tracks to Guro and finally six tracks to Seoul?

SSW 9673, an EMD GP60 at Caliente, California, in the late 1980s

...that the GP60 model diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD) between 1985 and 1994 included microprocessors to monitor and manage a host of engine, cooling system and control functions, that made it the first of EMD's third-generation diesel locomotives?

Ferrovia Trento-Malè EMUs in 2006

...that Ferrovia Trento-Malè, which connects its namesake cities in Italy, was originally built in 1907 opened in 1909 as a 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) narrow gauge tramway with extensive street trackage?

Southampton Corporation Tram No.45

...that Southampton Corporation Tramways tram No.45 was purchased for preservation by the Light Railway Transport League?

Eastern and Oriental Express at the old Kuala Lumpur Railway Station, Malaysia

...that the cars used on the Eastern and Oriental Express between Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand were originally built in Japan and were used on the Silver Star in New Zealand?

The Kozani-Amyntaio line and the future extension to central Greece

...that due to disagreements between the Greek government and the Belgian company contracted to build the Kozani-Amyntaio railway line in the 1950s, in Kozani, it has become common to refer to a project that is unlikely to be finished as being like the train from Kalampaka.
...that the Satellite Transit System at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is the second oldest airport people mover system in the United States?

Union of South Africa in British Railways green livery at Bridgnorth railway station on the Severn Valley Railway

...that the livery on LNER Class A4 4488 Union of South Africa was amended during World War II to remove the "L" and "R", leaving the all-black locomotive with just "NE" on the tender, to confuse potential spies?

A Tren de la Costa train in operation

...that the line over which the light rail Tren de la Costa operates in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was originally constructed in the 1890s as part of the Buenos Aires and Rosario Railway?

Willison railway station, Melbourne

...that when Willison railway station in Melbourne, Australia, first opened, the station was known as Golf Links, and existed to serve the Riversdale Golf Club, which was originally adjacent to the site?

Santa Fe's California Limited at the summit of Cajon Pass in 1908

...that the California Southern Railroad, which was created and operated as a subsidiary of the Santa Fe Railroad in the 1880s, was the first railroad to build tracks through Cajon Pass in southern California?

BM73 in Kristiansand

...that the BM73 electric multiple units delivered to Norges Statsbaner in Norway included tilting train technology to allow the trains to operate at speeds up to 210 kilometres per hour (130 mph) under the NSB Signatur brand name?

Ngaio railway station, looking north in the direction of Awarua Street station in 2007

...that Ngaio Railway Station, north of Wellington, New Zealand, was one of the last stations on what is now the Johnsonville Branch to have included a signal box from which the points at the station were manually operated?

Map of the lines between Melbourne, Shepparton and Albury

...that the North East railway line in Victoria, Australia, consists of parallel broad gauge and standard gauge tracks from Melbourne to Albury and although a gauge conversion project was announced in 2001 work has not begun on the conversion as of 2008?

Amtrak Amfleet I coaches at Iselin (Metropark), NJ, in March 2006

...that the Amfleet passenger cars first built by Budd for Amtrak in the 1970s were designed to be able to work in the Northeast Corridor at speeds of up to 120 miles per hour (190 km/h)?

GWR Hall Class, no. 5972 "Olton Hall" on display at Doncaster Works open day on July27, 2003

...that the steam locomotive used for the Hogwarts Express in the Harry Potter films is the Great Western Railway Hall Class locomotive 5972 Olton Hall which is preserved at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway?
...that the plot of the 1931 film "Danger Lights" concerns railroading on the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, and the movie was largely filmed along that railroad's lines in Montana?
...that the song "Chattanooga Choo Choo" was written by the team of Mack Gordon and Harry Warren while traveling on the Southern Railway's Birmingham Special passenger train?
...that Thomas the Tank Engine is based on the E2 Class 0-6-0 T locomotives built for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway in England between 1913 and 1916?