Portal:Trains/Did you know/May 2017

May 2017

 * ...that the 2011 renovation of Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Copley light rail station to make it accessible was subject to a significant court case regarding the project's effects on the Old South Church?


 * ...that the delay in converting Connecticut Company streetcar lines to buses caused by World War II allowed the Branford Electric Railway Association to acquire a portion of the New Haven-Branford line and create the Shore Line Trolley Museum?


 * ...that as a separate organization for rail transportation, the United States Military Railroad, which was active during the American Civil War, is one of the predecessors of the modern United States Army Transportation Corps?


 * ...that with the consolidation of major American railroad companies into the United States Railroad Administration during World War I, duplicate passenger train services were discontinued and new steam locomotives were issued to member railroads?


 * ...that although the Confederate States Army depended heavily on railroads to get supplies to its lines, sabotage by Union forces, the lack of inter-railway connections and the break of gauge between railroads severely hampered their usefulness?


 * ...that by the time Concarril was sold to Bombardier in 1992, it was the largest manufacturer of railway rolling stock in Mexico?


 * ...that for about ten years in the 1960s and 1970s, the preserved Twin City Rapid Transit car number 1300, now operated on the heritage Como-Harriet Streetcar Line, was powered by an electric generator towed behind the car?


 * ...that an award established by royal decree of King Leopold II in 1884 was presented to workers who were involved in the construction of the first Belgian railways in 1834?


 * ...that in order to comply with new rules enacted in the 1890s banning horsecar operations and overhead lines in Washington, D.C., the Columbia Railway decided to try a cable system, making it the last new cable car system built in the United States?


 * ...that when Southern Pacific Railroad introduced the Daylight Limited passenger train connecting San Francisco and Los Angeles in 1922, it made no intermediate stops (except for servicing), making it the longest nonstop run in the world at that time?


 * ...that in 1957, CNR Dalian built the first China Railways JS class 2-8-2 steam locomotive, of which 1916 were built at different plants?


 * ...that unlike other tram systems, the Clermont-Ferrand tramway, which opened in 2007 in the Auvergne Region of France, uses the Translohr system so that trams run on conventional rubber tires and is guided by a single rail?


 * ...that in 1996 the Clapham Junction rail crash of 1988 was one of the events cited by the Law Commission as reason for new law on manslaughter, resulting in the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007?


 * ...that a local passenger train service inaugurated by New Haven Railroad in 1898 acquired the Clamdigger name during the Great Depression from riders who collected clams near Stony Creek station?


 * ...that the Cincinnati Bell Connector streetcar line faced two ballot initiatives to stop the project and was almost cancelled after nearly 1/2 mi of track had been installed?


 * ...that Church Stretton railway station in England is the highest point of the line between Shrewsbury and Craven Arms, and is the highest station in Shropshire?


 * ...that a ruling circa 1900 by the Swiss Federal Council forced the Rhaetian Railway to abandon plans for a station of its own in Chur, and instead use the existing Chur railway station opened by United Swiss Railways?


 * ...that facing declining ridership, Chōshi Electric Railway in Japan ventured into selling nure-senbei (moist senbei rice crackers) to subsidize its operations, and the profits from confectionery sales are now double those from its railway operations?


 * ...that Great Eastern Railway was able to build the current Chingford branch line in the 1860s through the financial assistance of suburban developer James Higham who was building houses near the line?


 * ...that the Chinese Eastern Railway provided a shortcut for the Trans-Siberian Railway from near the Siberian city of Chita, across northern inner Manchuria via Harbin to the Russian port of Vladivostok?


 * ...that a 16-car China Railways CRH380A train briefly held the world record for the fastest production train at 486.1 km/h?


 * ...that the Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad developed out of a belief that an electric railway line would greatly facilitate interurban travel, as there would be no freight trains to slow passenger trains?


 * ...that the 4000-series cars for use as Chicago "L" rolling stock delivered between 1914 and 1924 and retired in 1973, were the first steel cars on the Chicago "L" system?


 * ...that some stations on SEPTA's Chestnut Hill West Line are less than 0.5 mi apart, a characteristic more commonly seen in an urban rapid transit system rather than a commuter rail line?


 * ...that Chesapeake and Ohio Railway bought all-new passenger cars and steam turbine locomotives in preparation to launch their Chessie service but mechanical problems, declining post-war traffic and competing parallel B&O services led to its cancellation before its introduction?


 * ...that Chennai Egmore railway station in India was built in the same location as a former British fort called the Egmore Redoubt that was used for ammunition storage?


 * ...that Cheltenham Spa Malvern Road railway station in England was built so that trains along the line to Stratford-upon-Avon would not have to start and terminate at Cheltenham Spa St. James, which involved a reversal?


 * ...that although it is no longer a station nor a junction, the name Chard Junction still appears on the signal box and official maps in Somerset, England?