Portal:Trains/Did you know/May 2007

May 2007

A drawing of an air shaft in the Kilsby Tunnel

• ...that construction of the Kilsby Tunnel on England's London and Birmingham Railway in the 1830s was slowed when the tunnel builders encountered unexpected quicksand which trial borings into the hill had not revealed?

Trivandrum Central station

• ...that Trivandrum Central station is the largest station in the Indian state of Kerala serving more than 200,000 passengers daily?

A Chemins de Fer de Provence train at Gare de Nice in 2006

• ...that the line operated by Chemins de Fer de Provence in France is 151 kilometers (94 mi) long and passes through 27 tunnels, including the 3,457 m (11,342 ft) long Tunnel de la Colle Saint-Michel, one exit of which is at 1,023 m (3,356 ft) high?
• ...that the newly renovated Shanghai South Railway Station in China features a circular design with a 270 meters (890 ft) diameter roof of polycarbonate and aluminium sunblades?

A troop kitchen car in Lafayette, Indiana, in 1947

• ...that during World War II, a large number of troop sleepers and troop kitchens were constructed by Pullman and American Car & Foundry in the United States either from existing boxcars or new based on then-current boxcar designs to transport military personnel and to feed them while en route?

Kolejka Parkowa Maltanka (Park Railway Maltanka) in Poznań, Poland

• ...that children's railways were built in the former Soviet Union as extracurricular educational institutions where teenagers learned various railway professions and that many are still in operation?

A FEVE 3500 class EMU arriving at Muros de Nalón station, on the way to Gijón, in 2006

• ...that after transferring control of a few lines to regional governments, the great majority of the narrow gauge lines still operated by FEVE are located along or near Spain's Atlantic Ocean and Bay of Biscay coastlines?

SAR 520 preserved at SteamRanger shops in 2006

• ...that South Australian Railways 520 class steam locomotives featured extravagant streamlining, in the style of the Pennsylvania Railroad's T1 in the United States?

DSB IC4 test train in Århus, Denmark

• ...that Danske Statsbaner hoped to introduce the new IC4 trains in Denmark by 2003 but their introduction has been delayed so long that the Danish minister of Traffic and Energy is routinely required to give the parliament updates on the project's progress?

A train on the former Chihuahua al Pacifico railroad in 2006

• ...that although the Chihuahua al Pacífico railroad was chartered in 1880 as part of an effort to develop a socialist colony in Mexico, railroad construction was not completed until 1961 due to the cost of building in a very rugged territory?

Kurobe Gorge Railway

• ...that the Kurobe Gorge Railway, also known as Kurotetsu, along the Kurobe River in the Kurobe gorge area of Toyama Prefecture, Japan, was originally built to serve the construction of the Kurobe dam for the Kansai Electric Power Company?

Logo of an Allersberg-Express coach

• ...that the Allersberg-Express in Germany needs 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) of clear line ahead after letting an ICE pass at Allersberg station due to restrictions in the LZB system at that station?

Fraser River Swing Bridge (below), as seen from the Skybridge

• ...that the Fraser River Swing Bridge connecting New Westminster with Surrey, British Columbia, in Canada was originally built with two decks where the lower deck was used for rail traffic, and the upper deck was used for automobile traffic?

A SAR NGG 16 class locomotive preserved on the Welsh Highland Railway

• ...that South African Railways NGG 13 and 16 class Garratt steam locomotives were not only the last Garratts built but were also the largest steam locomotives ever built for 2 ft (610 mm) gauge tracks?

An Alexandria Tram car passing Saad Zaghloul Square

• ...that the Alexandria Tram system in Egypt first opened in 1860 using horsecars, which makes it the oldest tram system in Africa and one of the oldest in the world?

München-Nürnberg-Express arriving at Kinding pulled by a Class 101 engine

• ...that the München-Nürnberg-Express, consisting of remodeled InterCity stock, is the only RegionalExpress train to travel at 200 km/h (125 mph), and therefore currently is Germany's fastest regional train?
• ...that National Rail, the brand name of the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) jointly owned by the passenger rail companies of Great Britain, continues to use the well-known "double arrow" logo of the now-defunct British Rail?

Victorian Railways Dde locomotive

• ...that the Australian Dde class 4-6-2T suburban passenger tank locomotives of 1908 were designed to be easily converted into Dd class 4-6-0 branch line tender locomotives (on which their design was based) after the electrification of Melbourne's suburban railways was complete?

T 2013 at Roanne on 12 December 2004, a month before withdrawal

• ...that with the recent withdrawal of SNCF Class T 2000 160 km/h (100 mph) turbotrains after over 30 years of service, the journey time from Lyon to Bordeaux, France increased from 7 hours 30 minutes to 9 hours?

Tiszai Railway Station

• ...that during construction of Tiszai Railway Station in Miskolc, Hungary, important archaeological findings were made, indicating a Celtic presence in the area?

Heathrow Express at Paddington Station, October 2004.

• ...that the Heathrow Express train service which connects Heathrow Airport to London's Paddington station is not part of Britain's National Rail system and is in fact operated by a wholly owned subsidiary of BAA Limited, the former British Airports Authority?

The Rt Hon. William Gladstone

• ...that the oldest line in the Bulgarian State Railways was constructed in 1865 by a British company, one of the investors being British Member of Parliament and later Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone?
• ...that since the Al Ayyat train disaster in 2002 when 373 people were killed in a fire aboard a train that was at double capacity, Egyptian National Railways has initiated a program to update equipment and improve safety?
• ...that the Siemens Desiro, part of a new generation of light, modular trains which have become widespread in many European countries, can be built as a diesel or electric multiple unit (DMU or EMU)?

Rack railway tracks on the Ferrocarril Trasandino Los Andes - Mendoza

• ...that the Ferrocarril Trasandino Los Andes - Mendoza (Transandine Los Andes - Mendoza Railway) is a metre gauge mountain railway and rack railway from Los Andes to Mendoza, connecting the broad gauge (1676 mm) railway networks of Chile and Argentina?

Victorian Railways J class locomotive

• ...that the Victorian Railways J class 2-8-0, introduced in 1954, was the final class of steam locomotive to enter service on the Victorian Railways network in Australia and locomotive J 550 was rostered for the very last steam-hauled revenue service for Victorian Railways on 25 May 1972?
• ...that the Gare do Oriente station in Lisbon, Portugal was designed by the award-winning architect Santiago Calatrava and finished in 1998 for the Expo '98 world's fair in Parque das Nações?
• ...that the New Zealand Railways' Ab class 4-6-2 was reputedly the first steam locomotive able to generate 1 horsepower (0.75 kW) for every 100 pounds of weight?

Trenitalia ALn501-502 Minuetto train

• ...that Trenitalia, the primary operator of trains within Italy, was created in 2000 following an EU directive on the deregulation of rail transport which led to the Ferrovie dello Stato being reorganised into separate divisions?

King George VI

• ...that after Canadian Pacific Railway 4-6-4 No. 2850 hauled the Royal Train 5,187 km (3,224 miles) across Canada without failure, King George VI gave the CPR permission to term locomotives of that class Royal Hudson and display Royal Crowns on their running boards?

Russian Railways VL10 class locomotive hauling a freight train

• ...that Russian Railways is one of the biggest railway companies in the world, with 85,500 km (53,100 miles) of track and 1.2 million employees, and handles almost 80% of all transportation in Russia, carrying 1.3 billion tonnes of freight and 1.3 billion passengers annually?