Portal:Trains/Did you know/August 2007

August 2007

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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
 
The cycle of a four stroke engine, showing each stroke: 1. suction, 2. compression, 3. power, and 4. exhaust
 
Puffing Billy as seen from the front
 
A Slovenian 310 series train (IinterCity Slovenia) in Ljubljana, Slovenia
 
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
 
Preserved electric locomotive ED62 17 at Omiya Works open day
 
Cutaway model of a turbocharger
 
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
 
KTM Komuter Class 83 EMU at Bank Negara Station
 
JA 1271 with excursion consist climbing the Opapa incline in 2003
  • ...that the NZR JA class 4-8-2 JA 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 LübeckBüchenHamburg 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
 
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.
 
Hiawatha Line light-rail vehicle #111 near Cedar/Riverside station
 
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.
 
In March 1971 the DR's afternoon Interzone express train departs Hamburg for Berlin
 
A preserved EMD E8 locomotive
 
German Baghdad Railway. Photo taken between 1900 and 1910
  • ...that the Berlin–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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