Portal:Trains/Did you know/January 2013

January 2013

 * ...that the original plans for Amtrak routes in the United States included a passenger train to connect New York City, Washington, D.C., and St. Louis, and although the Pennsylvania Railroad operated the Spirit of St. Louis on the planned route, Amtrak eventually named the train National Limited, adopting the name from the former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's National Limited train that connected the cities on a different route?


 * ...that the total track miles of all narrow-gauge railways in India, about 11400 km, makes up about 10% of the total track miles in the country with about 9000 km of metre gauge track and about 2400 km of and  gauge track?


 * ...that the Nagano Shinkansen, which connects Tokyo and Nagano, and opened in time for the 1998 Winter Olympics held in Nagano, Japan, forms the first section of the planned Hokuriku Shinkansen line currently under construction to Kanazawa, Tsuruga and eventually Osaka?


 * ...that until Muri Railway Station opened in 1952 on the North Island Main Trunk Railway (NIMT) in Pukerua Bay, New Zealand, there were no roads into the area yet and passengers had to leave the train, climb down to the beach and continue by rail on temporary tracks to Paekakariki?


 * ...that the Memphis, Tennessee, connection for the Morning Star was added to permit Cotton Belt passenger trains to readily connect with the new Tennessean which had been inaugurated by Southern Railway in 1941?


 * ...that until the upgrade of the Kolsås Line that started in 2006, Oslo Metro trains in Norway switched from third rail to overhead line systems at Montebello?


 * ...that Minami-Ōsawa Station on the Keio Sagamihara Line in Hachiōji, Tokyo, Japan, initially formed the western terminus of the Sagamihara Line when the station was opened in 1988, until the line was extended to Hashimoto in 1990?


 * ...that when Mather Field / Mills station of the Sacramento RT light rail system opened in 1998, it replaced Butterfield as the eastern terminus of the Gold Line and was the first extension to the original network?


 * ...that MacNeill's Egyptian Arch, a railway bridge built in 1851 in Northern Ireland named for its resemblance to the nemes headdress worn by Ancient Egyptian pharaohs, was selected for the design of the £1 coin to represent Northern Ireland for 2006?


 * ...that after helping to survey the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Stephen Harriman Long received several patents for his design improvements to steam locomotive technology then in 1832 he worked with William Norris and several other business partners to form the American Steam Carriage Company, the predecessor of Norris Locomotive Works?


 * ...that when the driverless Lille Metro opened in France in 1983, it became the first metro to use the VAL (véhicule automatique léger, light automated vehicle) system?


 * ...that Samuel Laing, who became well known as an author for works including Problems of the Future (1889) and Human Origins (1892), was twice appointed as chairman of the board of directors for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (1848-1855 and 1867-1896)?


 * ...that the Kingsway tramway subway, originally built by the London County Council in 1902-1906 following the pattern of tramways in New York City (the Murray Hill Tunnel) and Boston (the MBTA Green Line), and now a Grade II Listed tunnel, is the only tunnel of its kind in Britain?


 * ...that Central Pacific Railroad's 4-4-0 locomotive Jupiter, which was one of the two locomotives to meet at Promontory Summit during the Golden Spike ceremony commemorating the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad in the United States, was not Leland Stanford's original choice for transporting his party to the Golden Spike site?


 * ...that Japanese National Railways C60 class of 4-6-4 steam locomotives, which were rebuilds of earlier C59 class 4-6-2 locomotives, resulted from the need for locomotives with lower axle loads and greater versatility to allow more widespread use?


 * ...that partly because he was never acknowledged by George Stephenson (although the younger Robert and other engineers remained sympathetic), William James received little recognition for his work to help develop and promote the Liverpool and Manchester Railway?


 * ...that Iwashiroshimizu Station in Fukushima City, Japan, is the last remaining station to be named after the former Iwashiro Province, following the closure in 1972 of Iwashiro-Iino Station and Iwashiro-Kawamata Station, both on the former Kawamate Line?


 * ...that SNCF established the Intercités brand in January 2006 to capture the remaining, mainly medium-distance network of Corail trains in France, so called because they use the air-conditioned fleet of 'Corail' coaches introduced by SNCF from 1975?


 * ...that Iarnród Éireann's 29000 Class diesel multiple unit trains were the first to be shipped with the new Commuter branding rather than the "Arrow" branding previously used, and as such were the first Iarnród Éireann rolling stock (other than DART EMUs and Enterprise stock) not to feature the company's traditional orange and black livery?


 * ...that the Calcutta Mail passenger train, which runs on the Howrah–Allahabad–Mumbai line in India, was possibly the first named train of Indian Railways?


 * ...that British businessman Jeremy Hosking is well known for his extensive collection of steam locomotives, many of which are operational and main line certified in the UK, including BR 70000 Britannia, GWR 5029 Nunney Castle and LNER 4464 Bittern?


 * ...that BNSF Railway's Hinckley Subdivision is the only active rail line between Duluth–Superior and Minneapolis–Saint Paul, so the other Class I railroads operating in Minnesota, including Canadian Pacific, Canadian National and Union Pacific have at times acquired trackage rights on the route?