Portal:Trains/Did you know/April 2013

April 2013

Giant's Causeway Tram at Causeway Hotel terminus in the 1890s

• ...that the 3 ft (914 mm) gauge Giant's Causeway Tramway in present-day Northern Ireland was the world's first railway to be powered by hydroelectricity and was hailed as "the first long electric tramway in the world" upon its opening in 1883?

The Garden Road station in 2007

• ...that because the Peak Tram is a major Hong Kong tourist attraction, long queues are common in front of the turnstiles at Garden Road Terminus, one of only six stations on the line which originally opened in 1889?

Trenitalia electric multiple unit ETR 460.34 at Venezia Santa Lucia, Italy, in 2008

• ...that unlike the later ETR 470 and ETR 480 trains which were designed for dual voltage operation, Trenitalia's ETR 460 tilting electric multiple unit trains introduced by FIAT Ferroviaria in 1993 operate only on 3 kV DC lines?

Remnants of the Belmont line in 2007

• ...that the remains of the Redhead Tunnel, which now has lighting and paved footpath inside, as well as short sections of rail and station remnants are visible from the Fernleigh Track, a rail trail built from the right-of-way of the former Belmont railway line in New South Wales, Australia?

The platforms and tracks at Enniscorthy station in 2007

• ...that originally there was a turntable behind the second platform at Enniscorthy railway station in County Wexford, Ireland, which was used during the building of the tunnel under Enniscorthy town but was also used afterwards due to heavy traffic on Market Day?

The E331 series train at Soga Station in 2010

• ...that unlike other electric multiple unit trains in use for commuter services in and around Tokyo, Japan, the E331 series, of which only one prototype has been constructed, features articulated cars with shared bogies and using direct-drive motors?

The northbound platform of Doai station in 2010

• ...that The platform for northbound trains (to Echigo-Yuzawa and Nagaoka) at Doai Station, on JR East's Joetsu Line in Minakami, Gunma, Japan, is located 70 metres (230 ft) underground at the bottom of a 486-step staircase while the platform for southbound trains is at street level above ground?

The Dale Creek Bridge under construction in 1868

• ...that the 650-foot long (200 m) Dale Creek Crossing, in southeastern Wyoming Territory, presented engineers of the United States' first transcontinental railroad one of their most difficult challenges, being the longest bridge on the Union Pacific Railroad and requiring cutting through granite for nearly a mile for the bridge's approaches?

The deck of Corby Bridge from the north showing the footbridge addition in 2006

• ...that so many people were trespassing on the trackbed of Corby Bridge in order to cross the River Eden near Carlisle, in north-west England, that a cast iron footpath connecting Wetheral with Great Corby was added to the north face of the bridge in 1851?

The remains of Clapham station in 2008

• ...that during the renewal of the Belair railway line in suburban Adelaide, South Australia, in 2009, the top edge of the 'down' platform at Clapham railway station was removed because of the risk of trains hitting it and causing damage?

Guancunba Station on the Chengdu–Kunming Railway in 2007

• ...that in 1974 the Chinese government presented an ivory sculpture that depicts the rail bridge across the Dadu River commemorating the completion of the Chengdu–Kunming Railway as a gift to the United Nations, and the sculpture remains on display at the UN building in New York City?

The cover of a 1934 Great Western Railway brochure advertising camping coaches

• ...that camping coaches, in which surplus passenger cars were offered by many railway companies in the United Kingdom as accommodation for holiday makers in rural or coastal areas, were first introduced by the London and North Eastern Railway in July 1933?

The entrance to Box Hill station in 2004

• ...that other than the stations that make up the City Loop in central Melbourne, Australia, Box Hill railway station on the Belgrave and Lilydale railway lines is the only Melbourne metropolitan station to be located underground?

The Bangkok Noi station building in 2006

• ...that during World War II, Bangkok Noi Railway Station, which originally opened in 1903 in Bangkok, Thailand, became strategically important as the Japanese base of operations for supplying the construction of the Burma Railway?

ATB equipment installed on a DB class 189 locomotive

• ...that a design limitation of the early Automatische TreinBeïnvloeding (ATB) train protection system was its inability to enforce speed restrictions below 40 km/h (25 mph), which was a factor in several accidents at train stations and railroad yards when the driver failed to stop at a red signal and ATB did not intervene?

Preserved Arcade & Attica #18 on an excursion in 2009

• ...that in 1962 the Arcade and Attica Railroad in the U.S. state of New York purchased its steam locomotive #18 and two former Erie Lackawanna Railway commuter coaches with the intent of using them on excursion trains to generate revenue beyond the railroad's regular freight traffic?

An Akita Relay train at Akita station in January 1997

• ...that East Japan Railway Company introduced the Akita Relay limited express train service to ferry passengers between Kitakami on the Tōhoku Shinkansen and Akita via the Kitakami Line and Ōu Main Line while the Tazawako Line was undergoing gauge conversion from 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow gauge to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge for use by Akita Shinkansen services?

Ōsaka Abenobashi Station in 2005

• ...that in 2008, 175,002 passengers boarded and got off trains at Ōsaka Abenobashi Station, on the Kintetsu Minami-Osaka Line in Abeno-ku, Osaka, Japan, making it the busiest station by passenger boardings of all Kintetsu lines that year?