Portal:Trains/Did you know/May 2010

May 2010

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Former Southern Railway USATC S100 class No. 65 preserved at the Kent and East Sussex Railway in 2009
 
The Chords Bridge in 2008
 
Map showing the proposed Japan-Korea tunnel route
  • ...that the proposal for a Japan–Korea Undersea Tunnel, under discussion since 1917, was followed with more concrete planning during the early 1940s then came under renewed discussions in 2008 by ten senior Japanese lawmakers who established a new committee to pursue it?
 
An Sm5 class EMU in Riihimäki, Finland, on a trial run in 2009
 
Admiralty Station on the Island Line in 2007
  • ...that all but two of the stations along the route of Hong Kong MTR's Island Line have their station names written in Chinese calligraphy as part of the stations' livery written in large fonts to alleviate the psychological effect caused by the narrow platforms and the curvature of the walls as well as to serve as an indication of the current station's name?
 
A steam locomotive injector
 
Ikawa Station platforms in 2007
 
An ICE-TD approaches Berlin Ostbahnhof in 2007
 
Huangsha Station entrance in 2008
 
Hoofddorp railway station platforms in 2007
 
JR Hokkaidō 785 series EMU in 2002
  • ...that at the time of its privatization in 1987, Hokkaido Railway Company (also known as JR Hokkaidō) operated 21 railway lines totaling 3,176.6 km (1,973.8 mi) of track, as well as a ferry service to Aomori, but since then that number has dwindled to just below 2,500 km (1,600 mi) as unprofitable lines have been shut down or spun off?
 
Cab Control Car of a GO Train with a view of the CN Tower in the background in 2006
  • ...that in the history of GO Transit, a system that now serves a 10,000 km2 (3,900 sq mi) area radiating in places more than 125 km (78 mi) from downtown Toronto, began operation as a three-year experiment running single-deck diesel multiple units on a single rail line along Lake Ontario's shoreline?
 
Hindley station platforms in 2008
 
A High Speed Grinding vehicle in operation in 2009
  • ...that unlike conventional railgrinders that are operated at 1 to 10 km/h (0.62 to 6.21 mph), High Speed Grinding vehicles recently developed in Germany can operate at up to 100 km/h (62 mph)?
 
Hidaka Main Line train at Samani Station in 2007
  • ...that the current 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge Hidaka Main Line operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaidō) in Japan was originally built as two separate 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) gauge railways, the Tomakomai Light Railway, opened in 1913, and the Hidaka Takushoku Railway, opened in 1924?
 
Heemstede-Aerdenhout station in 2006
 
Havre – Caumartin station platforms in 2008
  • ...that Havre – Caumartin station of the Paris Métro, serving both lines 3 and 9, takes the last half of its name from the Marquis de Saint-Ange, François Le Fèvre de Caumartin, who was a forerunner of the merchants of Paris during the 18th century?
 
Harcourt Street station circa 1910
 
Haparanda railway station in 2006
  • ...that the Haparanda station building, constructed in 1918 as the terminus of the newly completed Haparandabanan, is one of Sweden's largest station buildings although the regular passenger service at the station ended in 1992?
 
A series 0 Sanyo Shinkansen arrives at Hakata Station in 1998
 
One entrance to the Soumagne tunnel in 2008
  • ...that although construction was completed in 2007 on HSL 3, a Belgian high-speed rail line which includes the 6,505-metre (7,114 yd) long tunnel at Soumagne, the longest railway tunnel in Belgium, regular service on the line did not begin operation until June 14, 2009?
 
Greenwood Yard as seen in 2009
 
Trams built by Gothaer Waggonfabrik in the late 1920s
 
A portion of the Godavari rail bridge
 
The Georgetown Steam Plant building in 2007
 
An SNCF passenger train arriving at Gare de Bercy in 2007
  • ...that Gare de Bercy in Paris, France, occupies the site of a large former goods station once famous as the main arrival point and distribution centre for wine in Paris, but now the station specialises in auto-trains, which transport travelers' vehicles to another station which also specialises in auto-trains?
 
Preserved 63601 at Doncaster Works open day on 27 July 2003
 
Special train on Kalka–Simla railway
 
A train on the Fukuchiyama Line at Takarazuka in 2005
 
A Virginia Railway Express train on the Fredericksburg Line in 2009