Portal:Trains/Did you know/November 2014

November 2014

A Nara-bound 105 series train on the Sakurai Line in 2007

• ...that JR West's Sakurai Line, which connects Nara on the Yamatoji Line to Takada on the Wakayama Line in Japan, is referred to by the nickname "Manyō-Mahoroba Line" (万葉まほろば線, Man-yō Mahoroba sen) in reference to the large number of ancient landmarks along the line's route?

The tracks and platforms at Redwood station in 2007

• ...that the platforms at Redwood Railway Station on the North Island Main Trunk Railway in New Zealand are staggered with the up platform (north, towards Waikanae) on the north side of the Tawa Street level crossing, and the down platform (towards Wellington) on the south?

Quaker Ridge station upon completion in 1912

• ...that the former New York, Westchester and Boston Railway's Quaker Ridge station in New Rochelle, New York, was purchased by a local artist in the mid-1950s and converted to be a residence, and the building still retains most of its original details including the two original passenger platforms?

The track leading to Port Island Line's Sannomiya Station in 2011

• ...that although the Véhicule Automatique Léger system which opened in 1983 in Lille, France, is sometimes claimed to be the first commercial automated guideway transit (AGT) system, the Port Island Line system in Kobe, Japan, opened in 1981, making it the first commercial AGT system in the world?

Adler replica and train in 2008

• ...that patentee type of 2-2-2 steam locomotives was the first type operated in Germany (Adler) and the first type built in Belgium (Le Belge) and by 1838 had become the standard passenger locomotive design of Robert Stephenson and Company?

Bude station in 1964

• ...that with the completion of the Okehampton to Bude Line in Devon and Cornwall, the London and South Western Railway marketed Bude strongly as a resort destination, but the journey from London and the Midlands was very long and although Bude developed, it never became a resort to challenge the South Devon seaside towns?

Three Plan V trains coupled together in 2003

• ...that the Plan V Mat '64 electric multiple units built by Werkspoor and later by Düwag and Waggonfabrik Talbot between 1961 and 1976 are now the oldest trains used in regular operations by Nederlandse Spoorwegen?

Builder's photo of Natal Railway 0-4-0ST Durban in 1865

• ...that Natal Railway Company's 0-4-0ST Durban, built by Kitson and Company in 1865, was one of only two locomotives operated by the railway for the next ten years, but its disposition is not known following the 1875 formation of Natal Government Railways?

The Monrovia station building in 2006

• ...that the site of Los Angeles County Metro Rail's future Gold Line station at Monrovia, which will use the restored former Santa Fe station, was once a terminus for the mule-drawn Myrtle Avenue Railroad?

A B2 class tram on route 8 in Swanston Street in 2008

• ...that stop number 1 on Melbourne tram route 8 in Australia is located in the middle of the route with stop numbers increasing in both directions because the route used to be two separate routes that were combined?

M1 15 in Gårdahallen, Gothenburg, in July 2014

• ...that the M1 15 tram, built in 1902 by ASEA, was one of the first electric trams in Gothenburg, Sweden, and is now the oldest preserved electric tram in Gothenburg?

A Chongqing Rail Transit line 2 train at Yangjiaping station in September 2005

• ...that Chongqing Rail Transit's Line 2, which opened in June 2005 connecting Jiaochangkou to Xinshancun, is China's first heavy monorail line?

Midland Railway Langley Mill railway station in relation to its lines and the adjacent Langley Mill and Eastwood station on the Erewash Valley Line

• ...that because the Langley Mill (Branch) railway station in Derbyshire, England, had no passenger connection to the earlier Langley Mill and Eastwood station, it was regarded by the Midland Railway as a separate station and was even shown as such on Ordnance Survey maps even though the platforms were adjacent?

Platforms 1, 1A and 2 at Kollam station in February 2014

• ...that platforms 1 and 1A at Kollam Junction railway station in Kerala, India, together measure 1,180.5 metres (3,873 ft) long, making them the second longest platforms at any railway station in the world?

Kingston Station in January 2013

• ...that when the current Kingston railway station in Ontario, Canada, opened in 1974 to replace the former Outer Station, of which only the wall clock was preserved, it allowed Canadian National Railway to shift the mainline track further north, eliminating a long curve to the south?

A KiHa 120 diesel car on a rural section of the Kansai Main Line in 2007

• ...that the Kansai Main Line was originally built in the 1890s by Kansai Railway as an alternate route from south Osaka to Nara and Nagoya, Japan, but competition from the Kintetsu lines and declining ridership forced the line to become two commuter lines to Osaka and Nagoya respectively, with a less-used section in the middle?

Dual gauge track near Dolní Skrýchov in 2009

• ...that although some dual gauge track exists on the 760 mm (2 ft 5+15⁄16 in) gauge Jindřichohradecké místní dráhy in the Czech Republic, the railroad still uses some roll-blocks introduced in 1906 to move standard gauge freight cars over the narrow gauge tracks?