Portal:Trains/Selected picture/2007 archive
This is an archive of images that have appeared in the Selected picture section of Portal:Trains in 2007.
Chicago and North Western Railway towerman R. W. Mayberry operates the retarders at Proviso Yard in Chicago, Illinois, May 1943.
Hump yards are the largest and most effective classification yards with the largest shunting capacity. The heart of these yards is the hump: a lead track on a hill (hump) over which the cars are pushed by the engine. Single cars, or some coupled cars in a block, are uncoupled just before or at the crest of the hump and roll by gravity into their destination tracks in the classification bowl (the tracks where the cars are sorted). They are slowed in their descent by retarders that grip the wheels of passing cars to slow them by friction.
Recently selected: West Coast Wilderness Railway - Copenhagen Metro tunnel - Wheelset stockpile
- Week 2
- January 7-January 13
A Hankyu Railway train passing a railroad crossing at Amagasaki, Japan.
Hankyu Railway (阪急電鉄, Hankyū Dentetsu) is a Japanese private railway that provides commuter and interurban service to the northern Kansai region for 1,950,000 passengers every weekday. Its main terminal is at Umeda Station in Osaka.
Recently selected: Operating the retarders at Proviso Yard - West Coast Wilderness Railway - Copenhagen Metro tunnel
- Week 3
- January 14-January 20
United States President Warren G. Harding in the cab of a Milwaukee Road class EP-3 electric locomotive.
The Milwaukee Road's class EP-3 comprised ten electric locomotives built in 1919 by Baldwin and Westinghouse. They were nicknamed "Quills" because of their use of a quill drive. Although they were good haulers and well liked by engineers, poor design and constant mechanical problems plagued them for their entire lives and they were the first of the Milwaukee Road's electric locomotives to be retired.
Recently selected: Hankyu Railway - Operating the retarders at Proviso Yard - West Coast Wilderness Railway
- Week 4
- January 21-January 27
The Kinzua Bridge, near Mount Jewett, Pennsylvania, photographed shortly after its construction in 1882.
At the time it was built, the Kinzua Bridge was the highest, at 301 ft (92 m), and longest, at 2,053 ft (626 m), railway bridge in the world. Most of the bridge was destroyed on July 21, 2003, by a tornado. The bridge pieces have been left as they fell, and it is intended to make the ruins a visitor attraction to show the forces of nature at work.
Recently selected: Milwaukee Road class EP-3 - Hankyu Railway - Operating the retarders at Proviso Yard
- Week 5
- January 28-February 3
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A train on the Ostbahn, the first railway on the German island of Sylt in 1894.
The Ostbahn was the first railway on the island, inaugurated on July 8, 1888, connecting Westerland to the port of Munkmarsch, a distance of 4.2 km (2.6 mi). This metre gauge railway later became part of the Sylter Inselbahn.
Recently selected: Kinzua Bridge - Milwaukee Road class EP-3 - Hankyu Railway
- Week 6
- February 4-February 10
A steam locomotive driven train crossing the Moscow-Riga Railroad Bridge over the Moscow Canal in 1948.
The Moscow-Riga Railroad Bridge is a concrete arch bridge that spans Moscow Canal between Tushino and Shchukino districts in northwestern Moscow, Russia. The bridge does not have an official name and is sometimes called the Railroad bridge over Moscow Canal. It was completed in 1936, designed by A.S. Bachelis.
Recently selected: Ostbahn - Kinzua Bridge - Milwaukee Road class EP-3
- Week 7
- February 11-February 17
A 2-8-2 steam locomotive that is no longer used.
In Whyte notation, a 2-8-2 is a steam locomotive that has one unpowered leading axle followed by four powered driving axles and one unpowered trailing axle. This configuration of steam locomotive is most often referred to as a Mikado (frequently shortened to Mike), but it is also referred to as a MacArthur. The 2-8-2 was particularly popular in North America, but was also used in continental Europe and elsewhere.
Recently selected: Moscow-Riga Railroad Bridge - Ostbahn - Kinzua Bridge
- Week 8
- February 18-February 24
An early section car maintenance of way vehicle, similar to a speeder.
In this image, the car's engine is being used to both drill a hole in the rail and to grind a part at the back of the car. Cars like this one have since been replaced with Road-rail vehicles, self-propelled vehicles that can be legally used on both roads and rails.
Recently selected: 2-8-2 - Moscow-Riga Railroad Bridge - Ostbahn
- Week 9
- February 25-March 3
A derailed Shinkansen train as a result of the Chūetsu earthquake on 2004-10-23.
The 2004 earthquake caused the only derailment of a Shinkansen while in regular service. There were no injuries reported among the train's 154 passengers.
Recently selected: Early section car - 2-8-2 - Moscow-Riga Railroad Bridge
A model of a Hanko-Hyvinkää Railroad 4-4-0 and freight train on a backyard railroad.
A backyard railroad is a privately owned, outdoor railroad, most often in miniature, but large enough for one or several persons to ride on. One of the most famous backyard railroads was Walt Disney's Carolwood Pacific Railroad, in operation from 1950 to 1953, which inspired Disney to surround his planned Disneyland amusement park with a working, narrow gauge railroad.
Recently selected: Derailed Shinkansen - Early section car - 2-8-2
A mid-Victorian era photograph showing a Colne Valley and Halstead Railway 2-2-2WT at Halstead engine shed.
This Sharp built engine was the only single used on the line. Originally constructed in 1849 for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway, the locomotive was involved in an accident close to New Cross in 1855. After being rebuilt it was sold to the Colne Valley and Halstead Railway. This photo shows the driver involved in the crash (Mr C. Taunton) who was transferred to Halstead shed along with the locomotive. Today, much of the Colne Valley and Halstead Railway forms the basis of the Colne Valley Railway.
Recently selected: Backyard railroad - Derailed Shinkansen - Early section car
Tracks of the Uganda Railway near Mombasa circa 1899.
The Uganda Railway once linked the interiors of Uganda and Kenya to the Indian Ocean at Mombasa in Kenya. Today only the 5 mile (8 km) line between Kampala and Port Bell and the 120 mile (193 km) main line from Kampala to the Kenyan border at Tororo remain in use.
Recently selected: CV&HR 2-2-2WT - Backyard railroad - Derailed Shinkansen
New wood sleepers to be used in the Rivera line reconstruction, Tacuarembó, Uruguay.
Also visible in this image is an inspection pit where maintenance workers can view the undersides of rolling stock; and further back in the image is a turntable and roundhouse.
Recently selected: Uganda Railway - CV&HR 2-2-2WT - Backyard railroad
Cotswold Rail HST powercar 43087 in Hornby Railways livery at the northern end of the secondary through road between platforms 3/4 and 5/6 at Bristol Temple Meads railway station.
Hornby, founded in 1901, is a manufacturer of model railway equipment based in the United Kingdom.
Recently selected: Sleeper stockpile - Uganda Railway - CV&HR 2-2-2WT
The coupling between two flatcars at Beacon Yard, Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
The "knuckle coupler" like the example shown was invented by Eli H. Janney who was awarded U.S. patent 138,405 in 1873 for his design. The 1893 US Railroad Safety Appliance Act in part mandated the use of automatic couplers like those invented by Janney. Couplers like these are now in use worldwide.
Recently selected: Hornby liveried HST - Sleeper stockpile - Uganda Railway
Three SEPTA light rail vehicles at the storage and maintenance facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1993.
Light rail or light rail transit (LRT) is a form of tram system that generally uses electric rail cars on private rights-of-way or sometimes in streets.
Recently selected: Couplings - Hornby liveried HST - Sleeper stockpile
Austrian kkStB express engine 108.04, a 4-4-2, on a turntable circa 1901.
At the end of 1884 the state railway network in Austria covered 5,103 kilometers (3,171 mi). On July 1, 1884, the kk Generaldirektion der Staatsbahnen (Imperial General Directorate of the State Railways) was founded creating the kaiserlich-königliche Staatsbahnen (abbreviated as kkStB or k.k.St.B.).
Recently selected: SEPTA LRVs - Couplings - Hornby liveried HST
The bridges across the Calumet Sag Channel in Blue Island, Illinois (south of Chicago).
The bridges seen in this image are operated (from left to right) by Iowa Interstate Railroad (IAIS), Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad (IHB), Canadian National Railway (CN, two bridges) and CSX Transportation. CSX operates on the IHB bridge as well. In the opposite direction from this view, Metra's former Rock Island Line crosses all the tracks over a grade-separated right-of-way. The IHB tracks cross the CN tracks to connect to the CSX tracks at this junction, and the IAIS tracks connect to the IHB, CN and Metra lines.
Recently selected: KkStB 108.04 - SEPTA LRVs - Couplings
The Victorian Railways Spirit of Progress races an Airco DH.4 aeroplane on the train's inauguration along the long, straight track between Melbourne and Geelong, Victoria, Australia on 17 November 1937. During this run, the train set a new official Australian rail speed record of 79.5 miles per hour (127.9 km/h).
Recently selected: Rail bridges at Blue Island, IL - KkStB 108.04 - SEPTA LRVs
A freight train of the Kamioka Railway in Japan. Kamioka Railway operates over a former Japanese National Railways route in Gifu Prefecture.
Recently selected: Spirit of Progress - Rail bridges at Blue Island, IL - KkStB 108.04
A station platform at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai, India.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Marathi: छत्रपती शिवाजी टर्मिनस)(formerly Victoria Terminus), better known by its abbreviation CST or VT, is the headquarters of the Central Railways in India and is one of the busiest railway stations in India. On July 2, 2004, the station was nominated a World Heritage Site by the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO.
Recently selected: Kamioka Railway - Spirit of Progress - Rail bridges at Blue Island, IL
The painting Berlin-Potsdamer Bahn by Adolph von Menzel, 1847.
The Berlin-Potsdamer Bahn was the first railway built in Prussia. It opened in 1838, connecting its namesake cities of Berlin and Potsdam.
Recently selected: Mumbai CST platform - Kamioka Railway - Spirit of Progress
A demonstration bogie of the Welti rack railway system in 1874.
The Welti rack was developed in 1868 by Kaspar Wetli in Zurich. Characterized by the rails arranged in a herringbone pattern, the system did not see widespread use.
Recently selected: Berlin-Potsdamer Bahn - Mumbai CST platform - Kamioka Railway
Some maintenance of way employees of Deutsche Bahn (DB) attach grounding rods to the overhead lines at the Darmstadt Hauptbahnhof in Germany on 2005-06-15.
Maintenance of way (often abbreviated as M of Way, MOW or MW) refers to the maintenance of railroad rights-of-way. It can include procedures from the initial grading of the right-of-way to its general upkeep and eventual dismantling.
Recently selected: Welti rack system - Berlin-Potsdamer Bahn - Mumbai CST platform
A Japan Railway DE10 class diesel locomotive leading a freight train in February 2007
Recently selected: Maintenance of way in Germany - Welti rack system - Berlin-Potsdamer Bahn
Norwegian El13 class electric locomotive 2125 stopped at Vassijaure station, Sweden.
The El13 class locomotives were built by Thune between 1957 and 1966 and saw use on both passenger and freight trains. Most were withdrawn from service in the 1990s, but a few remain in passenger service for Ofotbanen AS.
Recently selected: Japan Railway freight - Maintenance of way in Germany - Welti rack system
A railway bridge near Eglisau, Switzerland, in the evening light.
Recently selected: NSB EL13 class locomotive - Japan Railway freight - Maintenance of way in Germany
A section of new railroad track under construction in Finland on 2005-07-22.
Recently selected: Bridge near Eglisau, Switzerland - NSB EL13 class locomotive - Japan Railway freight
Several trams in front of Nyugati Railway Station, Budapest, Hungary.
Budapest nyugati pályaudvar (Hungarian for Budapest Western Railway Station) is a railway station in the northern part of the old town of Budapest. It is one of the three main railway stations of Budapest (together with Keleti pályaudvar and Déli pályaudvar) and can be found in the 6th district. The station was planned by August de Serres, built by the Eiffel company and opened on October 28, 1877.
Recently selected: Track construction in Finland - Bridge near Eglisau, Switzerland - NSB EL13 class locomotive
A triple-headed steam powered excursion train in Illinois.
Two former Chinese 2-10-2 locomotives lead Milwaukee Road 261 through Illinois on a public excursion train soon after their delivery in the United States.
Recently selected: Nyugati Railway Station - Track construction in Finland - Bridge near Eglisau, Switzerland
A Soviet propaganda poster showing a uniformed railway worker.
The caption on the poster translates to "Be vigilant at your post." The pictured railway worker is presumably being vigilant in his duties to help prevent accidents and sabotage.
Recently selected: Chinese steam locomotives - Nyugati Railway Station - Track construction in Finland
ÖBB 399.02 leaves Steinbach-Groß Pertholz station on the Waldviertel Narrow Gauge Railways on the line to Groß Gerungs, Lower Austria.
Recently selected: Soviet railway propaganda poster - Chinese steam locomotives - Nyugati Railway Station
An illustration of the vast difference in size in rail transport modelling between Z scale and one popular live steam scale, 1:8.
Recently selected: Narrow gauge ÖBB train - Soviet railway propaganda poster - Chinese steam locomotives
Rhaetian Railway's Glacier Express on the Landwasser Viaduct entering the Landwasser Tunnel.
The Glacier Express is a 7½ hour railway journey across 291 bridges, through 91 tunnels and across the Oberalp Pass at 2,033 meters (6,670 ft) in altitude. The entire line is metre gauge, and large portions of it use a rack-and-pinion system both for ascending steep grades and to control the descent of the train on the back side of those grades.
Recently selected: 1:8 and Z scale comparison - Narrow gauge ÖBB train - Soviet railway propaganda poster
- Week 35
- August 26-September 1
A double-headed train leaving Tübingen Hbf for Sigmaringen in Germany on December 14, 1969.
Recently selected: Glacier Express - 1:8 and Z scale comparison - Narrow gauge ÖBB train
- Week 36
- September 2-September 8
Preserved steam locomotive 41 1144 leaves Eisenach Hauptbahnhof in Thuringia (Germany) with a passenger train in 2006.
Recently selected: Double-headed steam in Germany - Glacier Express - 1:8 and Z scale comparison
- Week 37
- September 9-September 15
The Lartigue Monorail, an early monorail design as seen here on the Listowel and Ballybunion Railway, featured a single rail supported by A-frame structures and rolling stock that straddled the rail. The design was based on what Charles Lartigue had seen in Algeria where camels carried heavy loads balanced in panniers on their backs.
Recently selected: Preserved German steam locomotive - Double-headed steam in Germany - Glacier Express
- Week 38
- September 16-September 22
Railway tracks, overhead lines and a signal in Örebro, Sweden.
Recently selected: Lartigue monorail - Preserved German steam locomotive - Double-headed steam in Germany
- Week 39
- September 23-September 29
The Royal Gorge in Colorado (United States) a canyon of the Arkansas River. Visible in the photo is the "hanging bridge" with its unusual cross-canyon girders.
The discovery of silver and lead near Leadville in 1877 prompted a race to build rail access to the area. The Royal Gorge was a bottleneck too narrow for both the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad to pass through, and there was no other reasonable access to the South Park area. Both railroad crews thus took to fighting the Royal Gorge Railroad War, two years of essentially low-level guerrilla warfare between the two companies. Federal intervention prompted the so-called "Treaty of Boston" to end the fighting. The D&RGW completed its line and leased it for use by the Santa Fe.
Recently selected: Swedish railway signal - Lartigue monorail - Preserved German steam locomotive
- Week 40
- September 30-October 6
The last commuter train hauled by a class Z-1-a electric locomotive pauses at Montreal's Central Station with its crew on 1995-06-02. Locomotive 6710, seen here, was also the same locomotive that was the first to haul a revenue train through the Mount Royal Tunnel in 1918.
Recently selected: Royal Gorge - Swedish railway signal - Lartigue monorail
- Week 41
- October 7-October 13
The operator's cab of a DB Class 411 (ICE with tilting technology).
Recently selected: CN electric locomotive - Royal Gorge - Swedish railway signal
- Week 42
- October 14-October 20
The main building of the Railway Museum of Belgrade, Serbia.
The museum, which now holds over 40,000 artifacts, was founded on February 1, 1950, and is now managed by Serbian Railways.
Recently selected: ICE operator's cab - CN electric locomotive - Royal Gorge
- Week 43
- October 21-October 27
A closeup of the cylinders on a Shay locomotive in Washington, United States.
The Shay locomotive, built by Lima Locomotive Works of Lima, Ohio, was the most widely used geared steam locomotive. They were built to the patents of Ephraim Shay, who can be fairly credited with the popularization of the geared steam locomotive concept. Although the design of Ephraim Shay's early locomotives differed from later ones, there is a clear line of development that joins all Shays.
Recently selected: Railway Museum, Belgrade - ICE operator's cab - CN electric locomotive
- Week 44
- October 28-November 3
A Swedish Dm3 class triple-unit electric locomotive on the Malmbanan in Abisko Östra, Sweden.
Locomotives of this class were used in the far northern region of Sweden for over 40 years. They are now being phased out and replaced by Bombardier's IORE model.
The Dm3 is actually the middle part of the locomotive while the parts with driver cabins are named Dm. But that way the docomotive is called Dm+Dm3+Dm and that is far to long to be used in common speech.
Recently selected: Shay locomotive cylinders - Railway Museum, Belgrade - ICE operator's cab
- Week 45
- November 4-November 10
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The rear and observation car of the eastbound Ocean passenger train operated by VIA Rail as seen from the rear of the westbound Ocean near Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada.
The Ocean is operated by VIA Rail between Montreal, Quebec, and Halifax, Nova Scotia. It is, as of 2007, the oldest continuously-operated named passenger train in North America. The Ocean's schedule takes approximately 21 hours, running overnight in both directions. Together with The Canadian, and VIA's corridor trains, the Ocean provides a transcontinental service.
Recently selected: Dm3 electric locomotive - Shay locomotive cylinders - Railway Museum, Belgrade
- Week 46
- November 11-November 17
Clearing snow in 1908 on the Bergensbanen, in Norway. Bergensbanen, connecting Bergen to Oslo, is the highest mainline railway line in Europe, crossing the Hardangervidda plateau at over 1,200 meters (3,900 ft) above sea level.
Recently selected: VIA Rail's Ocean - Dm3 electric locomotive - Shay locomotive cylinders
- Week 47
- November 18-November 24
Several Shinkansen trains ready for use.
The Shinkansen (新幹線) is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by four Japan Railways Group companies. Since the initial Tōkaidō Shinkansen opened in 1964 running at 210 km/h (130 mph), the network has expanded to link most major cities on the islands of Honshū and Kyūshū with running speeds of up to 300 km/h (188 mph). Test run speeds have been 443 km/h (275 mph) for conventional rail in 1996, and up to a world record of 581 km/h (361 mph) for maglev trainsets, in 2003.
Recently selected: Snow clearing in Norway - VIA Rail's Ocean - Dm3 electric locomotive
- Week 48
- November 25-December 1
The horn and numberboards of a locomotive belonging to Ferrosur Roca in Argentina.
Horns like this are most commonly used for internal communication between train staff, i.e. during shunting operations, and for warning purposes to members of the public who are near or on the rail line, for example on a level crossing.
Recently selected: Shinkansen trains - Snow clearing in Norway - VIA Rail's Ocean
- Week 49
- December 2-December 8
Preserved kkStB 310.23 with a Christmas special train passing Traisengasse station in Vienna, Austria, in 1995.
Recently selected: Train horn - Shinkansen trains - Snow clearing in Norway
- Week 50
- December 9-December 15
A 2¢ United States postage stamp of the 1901 Pan-American Exposition series depicting a "Fast Express" passenger train. The pictured train is similar to the New York Central Railroad's record-setting Empire State Express of the time, which served Buffalo, New York, where the exposition was held.
Recently selected: Christmas special in Austria - Train horn - Shinkansen trains
- Week 51
- December 16-December 22
A Japanese National Railways (JNR) freight train in Hokkaidō on March 13, 1973. JNR was formed in 1949 as a state-owned public corporation, and launched the high-speed Shinkansen service in 1964. However, the network's rapid expansion also pulled it further and further into debt as it took out huge loans to fund new capital projects. By 1987, JNR's debt was over ¥25 trillion ($200 billion), which led to the company's privatisation into several companies collectively called the Japan Railways Group (JR Group).
Recently selected: "Fast Express" US postage stamp - Christmas special in Austria - Train horn
- Week 52
- December 23-December 29
Preserved Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway steam locomotive 3759 in Kingman, Arizona, decorated with lights for Christmas.
Recently selected: Steam powered freight in Japan - "Fast Express" US postage stamp - Christmas special in Austria
- Week 53
- December 30-January 5, 2008
A passenger train with a class 206 locomotive passing the small town of Haag, Lower Austria, circa 1900.
Recently selected: ATSF 3759 with Christmas lights - Steam powered freight in Japan - "Fast Express" US postage stamp