Portal:Trains/Did you know/June 2006

Builder's photo of LNER 2395

...that the first 2-8-0+0-8-2 Garratt locomotive was a single metre gauge locomotive built by Beyer Peacock in 1924 for the Burma Railways as their class GA.I, which was followed by the single Class U1 of the London and North Eastern Railway built in 1925?

...that the Sentosa Express monorail, scheduled to open in October 2006 in Singapore, is the first system to use Hitachi's "small" straddle-type monorail trains?

...that in addition to being the eastern terminus of Austrian Western Railway, Westbahnhof in Vienna, Austria, also serves the city's S-Bahn and U-Bahn systems?
...that despite being assigned to freight service, Pennsylvania Railroad's Q1 class duplex locomotive had streamlining and large driving wheels more befitting passenger service?

...that the sculptures on the façade of Bremen Hauptbahnhof in Germany, among other railway-related symbolisms, depict the coats of arms of the cities of Bremen and Hanover, the original destinations of the line served by the station?

...that railroads in Honduras were built in late 19th and early 20th centuries by two competing U.S. corporations – United Fruit and Standard Fruit – and they were built in the Caribbean coastal area and never reached the capital, Tegucigalpa?

A fireless 0-4-0 built by Porter

...that fireless locomotives were used in locations where the exposed fire of a steam locomotive was unsuitable or even dangerous?
...that the Pennsylvania Railroad's (PRR) N2sa class locomotives were USRA Heavy Santa Fe type steam locomotives rebuilt with PRR's ubiquitous Belpaire fireboxes?
...that during World War II the Minsk Terminal station building in present day Belarus was completely destroyed, and the rebuilt structure from 1946 remained in service until 1991?

...that Nobeyama Station in Nagano, Japan has the highest altitude of all JR stations at 1,345.67 metres (4,414.93 ft) above sea level?

...that the oldest line of Chemins de Fer de l'Ouest, connecting Paris and Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France, opened on 24 August 1837, and is still in use today as part of RER's line A?

...that the crowd gathered at Santa Fe Railroad's La Grande Station in Los Angeles, California, for the departure of the Scott Special in 1905 was estimated to consist of about 20,000 spectators?

Running gear with jackshaft

...that a jackshaft, which resembles an axle with no wheels, is a device for transferring power to the driving wheels of a locomotive?

...that the majority of Lithuanian Railways network is made up of 1524 mm (5 ft) broad gauge lines, although there are some narrow and standard gauge lines?

...that even though it is currently the largest train station in Asia, Beijing west railway station in the People's Republic of China is poorly constructed on an unstable foundation and will probably have a shorter useful life as a result?

...that the song Wreck of the Old 97, first performed by Vernon Dalhart, was based on an actual derailment, which occurred on September 27, 1903?

...that Zambia Railways was originally constructed as part of the Cape-Cairo railway which was intended to connect Cairo, Egypt, to the Cape of Good Hope region in present day South Africa?

...that among the collection of the National Railway Museum in York, England, are a Series 0 Shinkansen power car and a lock of Robert Stephenson's hair?

...that construction of the Shanghai Maglev Train cost 1.2 billion dollars (10 billion yuan) and the project took 2.5 years to complete the 19 mile (30.6 km) track?

...that as of 2006, Carleton Station is the only station with separate platforms for each direction in Ottawa's O-Train system?

RENFE Cercanías train

...that until 1988, new lines of Spanish railway company RENFE were built at the broad gauge of 5 ft 5½ in (1,668 mm)?

...that the NZR Class EF electric locomotives are the most powerful locomotives in New Zealand and the third class of locomotive in New Zealand to utilise the Bo-Bo-Bo wheel arrangement?

...that to try to inspire confidence in the American public after the launch of Sputnik in 1957, a Redstone missile was briefly installed in the lobby of Grand Central Terminal in New York City, requiring a hole to be cut in the ceiling?

...that Hungarian engineer Kálmán Kandó is sometimes called "the father of the electric train" for the three phase AC equipment he developed in the late 1800s?

Two DB class 103 locomotives

...that three of the four prototype DB Class 103 electric locomotives were used on passenger trains between Munich and Augsburg, Germany, at speeds up to 200 km/h (125 mph) during the Munich International Traffic Expo of 1965?

...that the 71-608 model tram built by the Russian Ust'-Katav Vagon-building plant is often referred to by its former model name of KTM-8?
...that in 1934, Union Pacific's streamliner M-10001 traveled from Oakland, California, to Grand Central Terminal in New York City in 57 hours, a record that has yet to be broken?
...that shrapnel damage from German World War II bombs is visible on the Furness Railway No. 3 steam locomotive preserved at the National Railway Museum in York, England?