Portal:Trains/Did you know/October 2015

October 2015

The tracks and platforms at Clifton Hill station in 2008

• ...that although Clifton Hill railway station in Victoria, Australia, is one of eleven Victorian Tudor style suburban railway stations that were originally built in 1887–89, it is the only example that still retains the original corrugated iron wings on either side of the main building?

Train ferry Leviathan in 1883

• ...that in order to speed shipments across the Firth of Forth and Firth of Tay, the Edinburgh and Northern Railway demonstrated the world's first roll-on/roll-off train ferry in January 1850?

Builder's photo of a CGR 2nd Class locomotive circa 1882

• ...that Cape Government Railways' 2nd Class 4-4-0T locomotives built in the 1880s and used on the Cape Town southern suburban line earned the nickname "Wynberg Tanks" because the line terminated at Wynberg?

J.R. Booth in 1922

• ...that John Rudolphus Booth purchased the Montreal and City of Ottawa Junction Railway and the Coteau and Province Line Railway and Bridge Company (C&PL) in 1879, amalgamating them to form the Canada Atlantic Railway, because the output from his sawmill operations could not be carried out of the lumber yards fast enough?

Buses and trams crowd a Buenos Aires street in 1936

• ...that the first trams in Buenos Aires, Argentina, began operating in 1863 in what quickly became a vast network of tramways with the city being known as the "City of Trams" for having the highest tramway-to-population ratio in the world?

Trains at Tayga station in 2006

• ...that the current Tayga Railway station in Russia was temporarily known as Tayga-1 to distinguish it from a second station nearby, known as Tayga-2, until the two stations were consolidated in the 1990s?

Technical drawing from Palmer's 1833 patent application

• ...that British engineer Henry Robinson Palmer (1795–1844) filed a patent application for a horse-drawn suspended single-rail system in 1821, and constructed a demonstration at Woolwich Arsenal soon afterwards?

The preserved Class 19D-2644 in 2011

• ...that South African Railways (SAR) Class 19D 4-8-2 locomotive number 2644 received a number of modifications as a trial run before SAR mechanical engineer David Wardale was granted permission to proceed to rebuild a Class 25NC 4-8-4 locomotive to the Class 26 Red Devil in 1979?

A preserved SJ X9 in 2007

• ...that the X9 electric multiple unit trains operated by Statens Järnvägar (SJ) of Sweden as express trains earned the nickname Paprika trains due to the sharp reddish orange colour of their livery?

Santa Cruz Railroad No. 3 on display in 2014

• ...that Santa Cruz Railroad locomotive No. 3 is one of only three preserved Baldwin class 8/18 C 4-4-0 steam locomotives in the United States, the other two being North Pacific Coast Railroad no. 12, "Sonoma", at the California State Railroad Museum, and Eureka and Palisade Railroad no. 4, "Eureka", which is privately owned?

The tunnel exit of No.53 Station, Beijing Subway, China, in 2010

• ...that beyond Pingguoyuan Station, there are three restricted stations on Line 1 of the Beijing Subway, two of which are located in the Beijing Military Region, rendering them inaccessible to the public?

Artist's impression of an RER station

• ...that estimates suggest that after the completion of the Red de Expresos Regionales project in Buenos Aires, Argentina, combined with the current renewal of the commuter rail lines' rolling stock, passenger numbers on the system will double from 1.4 million passengers per day to 3 million?

An engraving of a QMO&O palace car in 1879

• ...that the Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Occidental Railway in Canada was the first railway to connect the city of Hull to Montreal, Quebec City and the United States?

The platform of Plaza de Maipú station in 2011

• ...that at 28 metres (92 ft) below ground, Plaza de Maipú station on Santiago Metro's Line 5 in Chile, is the deepest station on the entire system?

DL 9020 on train MP4 near Papakura, Auckland, in 2011

• ...that the DL class diesel-electric locomotives built for KiwiRail by Dalian Locomotive and Rolling Stock Company and introduced in 2010 are the most powerful diesel-electric locomotives in service in New Zealand?

An SNCF Class Z6300 train at Nancy in 2006

• ...that the idea of Métrolor, a system of commuter rail services around the Lorraine region of France, was originally applied to the half-hourly service on the Nancy–Metz–Thionville line in 1970 by contractual arrangement between SNCF and the departments of Moselle and Meurthe-et-Moselle, which was the first such contract in France outside of Greater Paris?

Preserved MÁV 411 class number 411 118 in 2003

• ...that the Hungarian series numbering for MÁV Class 411 2-8-0 steam locomotives, built after World War II by ALCO, Baldwin and Lima in the United States based on the USATC S160 Class design, followed neither the manufacturer's name or number, nor the production date, but the arrival date in Hungary?

Matsuyama City Station building in 2011

• ...that Matsuyama City Station in Japan, which serves as the terminus for the Iyo Railway's rail, tram, and bus lines, is Matsuyama's first central train station, preceding the JR Matsuyama Station by four decades?

Map of Nanchang Metro line 1

• ...that when it is completed in 2015, Nanchang Metro Line 1 will become the first rapid transit line ever constructed in Nanchang, China?

A Tobu Series 5700 train at Kita Senju Station in 1985

• ...that in fiscal 2013, the JR East portion of Kita-Senju Station in Tokyo was used by an average of 203,428 passengers daily (boarding passengers only), while the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line portion was used by an average of 283,962 passengers per day, making Kita-Senju the tenth-busiest station operated by JR East and the third-busiest on the Tokyo Metro network?