Portal:Trains/Did you know/Main page, 2008

The following facts related to rail transport have appeared in the Did you know section of Wikipedia's Main page in 2008.


 * ... that James J. Hill of the Great Northern Railway built the Great Northern Depot in Wayzata, Minnesota, in 1906 after moving the former stop a mile east of town 12 years earlier in a dispute with town residents?
 * ... that Sir Douglas Fox was, with James Greathead, joint engineer of the Liverpool Overhead Railway – the first electric elevated city railway in the world?
 * ... that Joseph Kahn and Howard Pack had both been in the fur trade before entering the shipping business, culminating with their 1965 purchase of Seatrain Lines?
 * ... that the Chicago Transit Authority closed its Kostner station only eleven years after it opened, making it one of the city's shortest-lived train stations?
 * ... that although the Ironton Railroad was built to haul iron ore, it was used to deliver deer and buffalo to the Trexler Game Preserve in 1911?
 * ... that the Everett Railroad is named after its former location near Everett, Pennsylvania, United States?
 * ... that the gardens of St George's Square, Pimlico, London, contain a statue of William Huskisson MP, the first person ever to be run over and killed by a railway engine?
 * ... that in 2018, when the Follo Line is completed in Norway, it will reduce travel time between Oslo and Ski from 22 to 11 minutes?
 * ... that in People v. Salem (1870), the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that public money could not be used to finance private railroad construction?
 * ... that commuter rail stop Hall/Nimbus Station in Oregon includes artwork that features movable heads shaped like a pumpkin and a blue-colored skull?
 * ... that the ideal length of a train melody is seven seconds?
 * ... that the Alberta and Great Waterways Railway Scandal forced the resignation of Alberta's first Premier, Alexander Cameron Rutherford?
 * ... that Wahsatch, Utah, established in 1868, was the first of many camps set up in Utah by the Union Pacific Railroad in the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad?
 * ... that John Marius Trana went from being an illegal trade union leader during the German occupation of Norway to being chairman of the Norwegian Union of Railway Workers?
 * ... that the Muncy Creek Railroad tried to save money by using wooden rails in 1875, but found they were too light to support its trains?
 * ... that David Hoadley restructured management of the Panama Railway so that it avoided bankruptcy and finished its track a year early?
 * ... that seven Caltrain stations have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places?
 * ... that a 12 mi-long railway ride was planned to be built on Dunderberg Mountain in the 19th century, but was never completed?
 * ... that the proposed Levenmouth rail link in Fife, Scotland, could be used by Scotch whisky distillery freight trains as well as by passengers?
 * ... that the Pacific Electric Railroad Bridge in Torrance, California, is used as a symbol on the patch of the local police department?
 * ... that the first railroad depot in Stanford, Kentucky, was built due to a compromise between Union general Ambrose Burnside and the Louisville and Nashville Railroad?
 * ... that the Honolulu High-Capacity Transit Corridor Project led to Honolulu's 2008 mayoral elections being referred to as a "referendum on rail transit"?
 * ... that the Ghost Town Trail in Western Pennsylvania utilizes 36 mi of donated and abandoned railroad and features many abandoned mining ghost towns?
 * ... that the Union Station in Owensboro, Kentucky was once turned into a discothèque and a pizza parlor?
 * ... that Joseph C. Hare, American politician and lumberman, has a railroad station, railroad stop, and valley all named after him?
 * ... that Kentucky 's Paducah Freight House was bigger than required because it was originally intended to service a larger rail network?
 * ... that the Norwegian manufacturing company Thune, started in 1815 as a blacksmith's workshop, later expanded to build agricultural machinery, turbines and locomotives?


 * ... that during World War I, the German Army produced shale oil from Yarmouk oil shale deposits in Jordan to operate the Hijazi Railway (pictured)?
 * ... that the Prussian state railways was the largest German company by number of employees in 1907?
 * ... that Arizona Territorial Governor Frederick A. Tritle presented Nevada's silver spike at the ceremony celebrating completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad?
 * ... that the worst ever tram accident in the United Kingdom occurred on the Dover Corporation Tramways system in 1917?
 * ... that the 73 class were the first New South Wales Government Railways locomotives built in Queensland?


 * ... that the expansion of the New York Central Railroad isolated Main Street (houses pictured) in New Hamburg, New York while making Stone Street more accessible?
 * ... that in Saskatchewan, Oban was known for having the last Interlocking tower at the CNR and CPR level crossing, until it was closed in 1990?
 * ... that two companies with the name Oregon Central Railroad both claimed the same federal land grants?
 * ... that one of John Romney ' s etchings which sold well was of The Chester and Holyhead Railway Bridge Accident which occurred in 1847?
 * ... that the 2004 Cairns Tilt Train derailment was the result of excessive speed which may have been caused by the driver leaving his seat?
 * ... that while his father-in-law, brother and son were national politicians, Wincentz Thurmann Ihlen concentrated on entrepreneurship, establishing the railway car factory Strømmens Værksted?
 * ... that Nakamura Yoshikoto, director of the South Manchurian Railway, sponsored his childhood friend, the famed author Natsume Sōseki on a publicity jaunt to Manchuria?
 * ... that although designed for use on light rail lines, the Valmet RM 2 trams were only ever used on traditional tram systems?
 * ... that Cleckheaton railway station was stolen in August 1971?


 * ... that a simple kite defeated cannons, steamers, and rockets in the bid to lay a line for the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge (ad pictured)?
 * ... that when a train derailed in Painesville, Ohio, the area was evacuated for fear a liquefied petroleum gas tank might explode?
 * ... that two trains returning from the 1851 Chester races lost adhesion in Sutton Tunnel, and a third crashed into them, killing nine and injuring up to 40 people?
 * ... that the Manchester and Bolton Railway was originally proposed as a replacement for the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal but was eventually built alongside it instead?
 * ... that by the time the Wye Valley Railway opened in 1876, a Welsh wireworks it was intended to serve had already closed down?
 * ... that Chicago's defunct 58th station must be kept in operable condition because federal funds were used in its renovation?
 * ... that a parade honoring Jack Benny was held at the Azusa Civic Center, commemorating his running gag in which a conductor called out, "Train leaving now for Anaheim, Azusa and Cucamonga"?


 * ... that the Achenseebahn (pictured) in Austria is the oldest steam-operated rack railway in Europe?
 * ... that the Central Branch designated by the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 had a hanging end at Waterville, Kansas, when the Eastern Division was rerouted to serve Denver?
 * ... that the town of Bezdonys was the site of one of the most daring and successful train robberies in history?
 * ... that Henry S. Huidekoper received the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Gettysburg, and later helped to suppress the Great Railroad Strike of 1877?
 * ... that the U.S. Congress incorporated the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad in 1866 to connect Missouri and California, but the company only completed portions at each end?
 * ... that Redruth railway station was only moved to its present site when a viaduct was built 61 ft above the streets of the town?
 * ... that after their success with the Detroit Copper Mining Company of Arizona, William E. Dodge, Jr. and his partners founded the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad?
 * ... that when the Common Tunnel opened in 1928 it made the Holmenkoll Line the first underground railway in Scandinavia?
 * ... that delay certificates issued by railway companies in Japan and Germany to passengers for tardy trains are considered valid reasons by superiors for reporting late to school or work?
 * ... that the Jolimont Workshops, part of Jolimont Yard, were built for Melbourne's new fleet of suburban trains in 1917?
 * ... that for many years, Municipal Warehouse No. 1 at the Port of Los Angeles stored the railcar that carried Winston Churchill's body to burial?
 * ... that the neighborhood of Elm Park in Winnipeg, Canada, was originally a park created by the Winnipeg Street Railway Company to increase trolley use?
 * ... that the Norwegian National Rail Administration owns all 4,114 km (2,556 mi) of railways in Norway, but does not operate any trains?
 * ... that the Smith Estate was the home of a writer on occultism, the head of a railroad, and a deputy mayor, and the shooting location for the cult film Spider Baby?
 * ... that Sidney Weighell, General Secretary of the National Union of Railwaymen, played professional football with Sunderland for two seasons as an inside left?


 * ... that the Pine Creek Path, a Native American trail along Pine Creek in Pennsylvania, was later used by lumbermen, then its course was followed by a railroad, and today it is a rail trail (pictured)?
 * ... that the Florida Railroad was the first railroad to connect the east and west coasts of Florida and the longest railroad to be completed in Florida before the start of the American Civil War?
 * ... that the Quatama Station light rail stop in Hillsboro, Oregon, includes a piece of art based on an arrangement created by a Japanese Macaque at the Oregon National Primate Research Center?
 * ... that Washington's Union Station was turned into the short-lived National Visitor Center in 1976, but so few tourists used it that it closed two years later?
 * ... that the San Francisco Bay Area will have a new direct rail to ferry connection when the Hercules intermodal rail station and WETA ferry terminal is constructed?
 * ... that the Nuremberg Transport Museum originally opened as a royal Bavarian railway museum in 1899 and is now the oldest railway museum in Germany?
 * ... that the Fair Complex MAX station in Hillsboro, Oregon, has a weather vane made with five model airplanes?
 * ... that an owner of the DeForest Skinner House was once the youngest railroad director in the United States?
 * ... that the Taipei Metro Xiaonanmen Station was a target of serial vandalism in March 2006?
 * ... that Watts Station was the only structure to remain intact along "Charcoal Alley" during the Watts Riots?
 * ... that shipping company Bastø Fosen operates the most trafficked car ferry route in Norway, from Moss to Halden?
 * ... that Daniel Page, the second mayor of St. Louis, Missouri, helped finance the construction of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad?


 * ... that when the Gevingåsen Tunnel (pictured) opens in 2012 it will cut rail travel time north of Trondheim, Norway, by five minutes?
 * ... that the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Office Building in Louisville, Kentucky, is one of the largest commercial Beaux Arts buildings still in existence?
 * ... that the 2100 series of the Keihin Electric Express Railway produces a "do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do" tune when its propulsion system starts up?
 * ... that the original building of Trondheim Central Station in Norway has been preserved as a cultural heritage?
 * ... that Norsk Transport has operated four railway ferries on Lake Tinnsjå in Norway?
 * ... that a local writers' group won a preservation award for renovating the Philipse Manor train station in Sleepy Hollow, New York?
 * ... that the Erie Railroad bought the Dodge-Greenleaf House in Otisville, New York for US$5 and sold it two years later for US$1?
 * ... that Bristol and South Wales Union Railway was actually two separate railway lines with a ferry crossing of the River Severn between?
 * ... that India and Pakistan have expanded cross-border road and rail transport links, including across the disputed region of Kashmir?
 * ... that a United States district court decision against the Omaha Horse Railway Company allowed cable car tracks to be installed in Omaha, Nebraska?
 * ... that the Union Pacific Railroad made the Herndon House its headquarters 12 years after celebrating the launch of construction on the First Transcontinental Railroad there?
 * ... that the L & N Railroad depot in Hopkinsville, Kentucky's commercial district was a popular stop on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad due to the fact that one could legally purchase alcohol there?
 * ... that the Hillsboro Central light rail station had the only library located at a mass transit station in the western U.S. when it opened?
 * ... that the American Fork Railroad stopped 4 miles (6.4 km) short of the Forest City, Utah smelter it was built to serve?
 * ... that the Louisville and Nashville Railroad built a separate spur just for Western Kentucky University's Heating Plant?
 * ... that Ringeriksbanen railway would reduce rail travel from Oslo to Bergen, Norway by 60 km?
 * ... that Bristol, Quebec, had Canada's first horse-drawn railroad and Quebec's first iron ore pelletizing plant?
 * ... that the meandering Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad line took 77.2 mi to connect Baltimore, Maryland and York, Pennsylvania although the two cities are only 45 mi apart in a straight line?
 * ... that at 1,237-metre (4,060 ft) elevation, the highest point on the Norwegian railways is the Finse Tunnel?
 * ... that the Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway, one of London's early underground "tube" railway lines, was built with finance raised by American Charles Yerkes?
 * ... that the Huckleberry Trail takes its name from the former Virginia Anthracite & Coal Railroad, nicknamed the Huckleberry, on whose abandoned railbed this rail trail was constructed?
 * ... that the Norwegian lake Lutvann leaked 1,000 liters of water per minute into the railway tunnel Romeriksporten during its construction in 1997?
 * ... that Isfield railway station, now the terminus of a preserved railway line, was used during the First World War to take German prisoners of war to work in nearby woodland?
 * ... that the Seaboard Air Line Railroad was the first to provide streamlined passenger trains from New York to Florida, beginning with the Silver Meteor in 1939?


 * ... that the stationmaster of the Kinokawa train station in Kinokawa, Japan is a cat named Tama (pictured)?
 * ... that the Wawelberg Group was a Polish special-forces unit which began the 1921 Third Silesian Uprising by blowing up seven rail bridges linking Upper Silesia with the rest of Germany?
 * ... that in 1898, the Egyptian government appointed Maurice Fitzmaurice as their chief resident engineer for the construction of the Aswan Dam?
 * ... that the first live television broadcast viewed on a moving train was on October 7, 1948, when passengers on the B&O Railroad's Marylander saw the second game of the 1948 World Series?
 * ... that the Welsh Tractarian priest John David Jenkins, known as the "Rail men's Apostle", became President of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants?
 * ... that Sir William Edge, a Liberal MP, once raced against a flock of homing pigeons from London to Leicestershire by car and train, but lost the race by two minutes because the train was delayed?
 * ... that the Caprock Chief was a proposed passenger train which would have connected Fort Worth, Texas, and Denver, Colorado, via the Texas Panhandle?
 * ... that Harold Clapp ' s "fiendish efficiency" in improving Victorian Railways' train reliability was credited with losing Melbourne commuters "another excuse for being late for work in the mornings"?
 * ... that CMKC Group will construct and retain 30-year management rights over 1500 km of new and 512 km of renovated railway in the Republic of the Congo?
 * ... that railway transport in Nagpur started in 1867 when the Nagpur railway station was constructed using locally found pink sandstone?
 * ... that the Champion passenger train connected New York City and St. Petersburg, Florida, for forty years before Amtrak consolidated it with its former rival the Silver Meteor?
 * ... that the land acquisitions for the Southern Railway's Spencer Shops in 1896 were secretly done to prevent land speculation?


 * ... that the windmill at South Barrule, Isle of Man (pictured) worked an incline on a railway at a slate quarry?
 * ... that as General Secretary of the Mexican railroad workers union, Demetrio Vallejo renounced his salary of 20,000 pesos a month, requesting it be turned over to the railway union treasury?
 * ... that the tiny Dinkey Train of only a passenger coach and dummy engine went to Mammoth Cave?
 * ... that after 12 years of legal tussling over delays and cost overruns on the Taipei Metro Muzha Line, the Taipei City Government was ordered to compensate its contractor Matra for US$50 million?
 * ... that the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company was the second largest steel manufacturer in the USA before it merged with U.S. Steel in 1907?
 * ... that the Tregenna Castle Hotel in St Ives, Cornwall was the Great Western Railway's first holiday destination hotel?
 * ... that the first refuge from malaria that residents of Memphis, Tennessee, had in 1878 was Bowling Green, Kentucky's Louisville and Nashville Railroad Station?
 * ...that the Pontiac Pacific Junction Railway to Waltham, Quebec, was completed in 1888, but not opened until 1894, stopped in 1959, and finally was removed in 1984?
 * ...that the southern terminus of the first suburb-to-suburb commuter rail in the United States is Wilsonville Station in Oregon?
 * ...that the Wrawby Junction rail crash involved a locomotive supposedly renumbered after a psychic predicted a locomotive with the original number would be involved in a crash?
 * ...that the Fifteen Guinea Special, one of the last British Rail steam services before the steam ban of 1968, was so called because of the high prices from popular demand for it?
 * ...that the Maitreyi Express was launched on Pohela Baisakh in 2008 to revive the railway link between India and Bangladesh that had been closed for 43 years?


 * ...that Sans Pareil (pictured), one of five locomotives to compete in the 1829 Rainhill Trials, was later used on the Bolton and Leigh Railway?
 * ...that Thomas R. Kimball gutted the central part of the Burlington Headquarters Building in Omaha to make it resemble the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad headquarters in Chicago?
 * ...that the Rev. Teddy Boston was immortalized as "the Fat Clergyman" in The Railway Series of children's books by the Rev. W. V. Awdry?
 * ...that in the 1830s, anticipating construction of the Long Island Rail Road, land developer Ambrose George purchased a large tract of land between Bethpage and Hardscrabble in Suffolk County?
 * ...that the Omaha and Council Bluffs Railway and Bridge Company was among the earliest and the last major electric streetcar systems in the United States?
 * ...that the Ligonier Valley Railroad ' s reliance on verbal orders resulted in a head-on collision between a freight train and a train carrying partygoers?
 * ...that the Taipei Metro C301 cars were built in the former Otis plant in Yonkers, New York, which was the first elevator factory in the world?
 * ...that the Danville 97s minor league baseball team name of 97s was selected as a tribute to the victims of the Wreck of the Old 97 train accident?
 * ...that the Taipei Metro Xinbeitou Branch Line, consisting of two stations, was severely restricted due to complaints of noise pollution?
 * ...that City of Truro was the first railway locomotive to exceed 100 mph (160 km/h) while hauling a train near Wellington station on the eading to Plymouth Line in England?


 * ...that Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-pin refused to update signage at nearby bus and metro stops to reflect the disputed renaming of the "Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall" (pictured) to "National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall"?
 * ...that Dodge Street in Omaha, Nebraska is often erroneously said to be a namesake of Union Pacific Railroad chief engineer Grenville Dodge, when it was actually named for Iowa Senator Augustus C. Dodge?
 * ...that the Hatfield Government Center light rail station in Hillsboro, Oregon, was the busiest on the Westside MAX extension within a year of opening?
 * ...that the proposed WALLY commuter rail line in southeast Michigan would run over track first laid over one hundred years ago?
 * ...that when built in 1868, Louisville's Fourteenth Street Bridge was the longest iron bridge in the United States?
 * ...that the Virginian Railway Passenger Station in Roanoke was named to the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places after it was extensively damaged in a fire?
 * ...that a passenger train ran away backwards for over three miles (5 km) following a collision in Torquay railway station?


 * ...that Southampton Corporation Tramways tram No. 45 (pictured) was purchased for preservation by the Light Railway Transport League?
 * ...that gothic Trinity College Kirk, a 1460 memorial to King James II of Scotland, was demolished in 1848 to make way for Edinburgh's Waverley Station?
 * ...that Broad Clyst railway station attracted residential development in the immediate area and even today the area around the former station is known as "Broadclyst Station"?
 * ...that the proposed Doncaster railway line, Melbourne, first planned in 1890, would cost around ten times as much to build now as the A$41 million estimated in 1972 when the route was decided?
 * ...that the Hertford East Branch Line, a railway line in the United Kingdom, used to link to the Hertford Loop Line but was severed due to the Beeching Axe?


 * ...that many of the viaducts (pictured) on the Chemin de Fer de Côtes du Nord were two-tiered structures, and that the Viaduc de Souzain had a railway junction on the viaduct itself?
 * ...that the original Roanoke Street Railway Company streetcar tracks were removed from the Memorial Bridge during its 2002–03 restoration?
 * ...that much of Glencoe, Oregon, was relocated to the new town of North Plains after the railroad bypassed the old town?
 * ...that Basil W. Duke became the chief consul and lobbyist for the L&N Railroad after the American Civil War, even though he led many efforts in destroying their property during the war?
 * ...that the railcar that ran on the Shimoga-Talaguppa railway in India had to be reversed on a turntable, so that it could start its return journey?


 * ...that in 1908, the Kinzie Street railroad bridge (pictured) in Chicago was the longest and heaviest bascule bridge in the world?
 * ...that Wetsens station on the North Friesland Railway, which served a sparsely populated part of Friesland, Netherlands, closed in 1902, less than eight months after opening?
 * ...that the Western State Normal Railroad is the only known railroad built by a university and the only funicular operated in Michigan?
 * ...that although London and South Western Railway passenger trains first arrived in Plymouth, England in 1876, its Plymouth Friary railway station terminus was not opened until 1891?
 * ...that before becoming mayor of Erie, Pennsylvania in 1862, Prescott Metcalf started two railroads, numerous manufacturing firms, and was the director of a canal?
 * ...that of the original 28.9 mi operated by the Grand Rapids, Belding and Saginaw Railroad, less than 2 mi remain in use?
 * ...that trains to London ran eastwards from Devonport Kings Road railway station when it opened in 1876, but from 1890 they ran westwards?
 * ...that the Pine Creek Rail Trail, a 65 mile (105 km) rail trail along Pine Creek in Pennsylvania, was named one of "10 great places to take a bike tour" in the world by USA Today?


 * ...that the Métro léger de Tunis (pictured), a public transport system using light rail, is the only one of its kind in Africa?
 * ...that the Mauch Chunk and Summit Hill Switchback Railroad, the second railroad built in the United States, was a major precursor to the roller coaster?
 * ...that Tunisian Railways operates a standard gauge network in the North and a meter gauge network in the South of Tunisia?
 * ...that the New Zealand Railways Department's experimental RM class Westinghouse railcar was the first railcar to enter revenue service in New Zealand?
 * ...that after the New Zealand Railways Department's RM class Thomas Transmission railcar was written off in 1925, the railcar's body was used as a private dwelling?
 * ...that Louisville's Union Station was the largest such facility in the southern United States?
 * ...that the Michigan Railroad Commission twice condemned the St. Joseph Valley Railroad because of the poor condition of the latter's line?
 * ...that despite a requirement from the Michigan Legislature it connect three counties within ten years of its founding, after 21 years the St. Joseph Valley Rail Road had completed only 7.5 mi of track, all in St. Joseph County?
 * ...that the Kaimai Tunnel running through the Kaimai Ranges is the longest rail tunnel in New Zealand?
 * ...that Bion J. Arnold designed an experimental single-phase alternating current electric locomotive for the Lansing, St. Johns and St. Louis Railway, but a fire destroyed it before it could be tested?
 * ...that an engineer for the Michigan United Railways devised a special shoe which allowed the motorman to cut ice build-up on the third rail, in response to Michigan's harsh winters?
 * ...that the network of railways in Plymouth, England, once served 28 stations, but today just six stations remain in use?
 * ...that the Mansfield, Coldwater and Lake Michigan Rail Road owned two non-contiguous railway lines, each in a different U.S. state, and each leased by a different company?
 * ...that in 2002 the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad bought 41½ miles (66.8 km) of track between Meadville and Corry, Pennsylvania for $1?
 * ...that Independent Learning Centre started the Railway School Car Program in 1926, in which a teacher lived in a train car that traveled to students in isolated Northern Ontario communities?
 * ...that through the opening of the Thomson MRT Line and Eastern Region MRT Line by 2020, Singapore's rail network density will rise from 31 km per million residents today to 51 km per million, surpassing what Hong Kong and Tokyo currently have?
 * ...that the Castle Cary Cut-Off reduced the 325½ mile distance between London Paddington and Penzance railway stations by 20¼ miles?
 * ...that Lucien Lagrange Architects has been involved in attempts to renovate Union Station in Chicago, Illinois for over twenty years?
 * ...that when the first portion of the Lackawanna and Bloomsburg Railroad opened in 1856, it led to the incorporation of Kingston, Pennsylvania, and to the establishment of Kingston's first public transit line?
 * ...that the first radio network in North America was created by the Canadian National Railway in 1923?
 * ...that the last ever train on the Plymouth to Launceston line failed to complete its journey on 29 December 1962 due to heavy snow?
 * ...that the San Francisco and San Mateo Electric Railway was San Francisco's first electric streetcar company?
 * ...that only the shorter of the two Berks and Hants Railway lines actually entered Hants, the longer being entirely in the county of Berks?
 * ...that Le chemin de fer, a piano composition by Charles-Valentin Alkan, is the first musical depiction of a railway?
 * ...that even as he embarked on a 24-year career in the U.S. Congress, William Alden Smith oversaw construction of the Grand Rapids, Kalkaska and Southeastern Railroad?


 * ...that Western Australia's Number 1 sawmill, later called Deanmill (pictured), was constructed to provide timber railway sleepers for the Trans-Australian Railway?
 * ...that despite multiple transfers of ownership, after 123 years trains still haul paper products over the White River Railroad's line?
 * ...that the Battle of Dombås was a German attempt during the 1940 Norwegian Campaign at using Fallschirmjägers to cut rail and road links in central Norway?
 * ...that the Wellsville, Addison and Galeton Railroad was also known as "The Sole Leather Line"?
 * ...that the Paw Paw Railroad was the shortest common carrier railroad in Michigan?
 * ...that due to a lack of freight crossings of the Hudson River, trains must take a 280-mile (450 km) detour, the Selkirk hurdle, to cross into New York City from the south or west?
 * ...that State Route 70, a National Scenic Byway through California's Feather River Canyon, was constructed using an access road laid out by the Utah Construction Company when it built the Western Pacific Railroad in the canyon?


 * ...that it took an act of the Ohio General Assembly in 1894 to settle a property dispute regarding the Pennsylvania Company's use of the state-owned Walhonding Canal (pictured) lands for one of its railroads?
 * ...that when the Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Railroad opened to the public in 1892 it took 14 minutes to travel the 3.6 mile (5.8 km) route?
 * ...that despite its name, the Chicago, Kalamazoo and Saginaw Railway connected neither to Chicago nor Saginaw?
 * ...that a PRR Class E6 steam locomotive powered train equipped with a mobile darkroom for developing newsreels en route, delivered footage from Washington to New York faster than a chartered plane?