Portal:Trains/Did you know/September 2018

September 2018

 * ...that although Belpaire in Belgium was developing the same idea independently, the first use of fluted I-section steel for connecting rods on steam locomotives was in 1867 in Oldenburg on the G1 Class 0-4-0s?


 * ...that when it opened in 1906, Great Western Railway's Old Oak Common TMD was the largest depot on the entire Great Western system?


 * ...that the CapeFLYER operating on MBTA Commuter Rail's Old Colony Lines is the first regular passenger service to Cape Cod from Boston since the 1960s?


 * ...that the name of Odakyu Electric Railway, an abbreviation of Odawara Kyūkō Tetsudō Kabushiki-gaisha, was made popular by the title song of the 1929 movie Tokyo Kōshinkyoku?


 * ...that the proposed OC Streetcar line in Santa Ana and Garden Grove, California, will use a portion of the former Pacific Electric West Santa Ana Branch right-of-way?


 * ...that the B class 4-8-0 steam locomotives built for New Zealand's national rail network beginning in 1899 proved so successful that most of the class were still averaging 20000 mi in service in the 1950s?


 * ...that due to its use as a filming location for Annie, the NX Bridge built by Erie Railroad in New Jersey is sometimes referred to as the 'Annie Bridge' by local residents?


 * ...that the last series of NSB Class 69 electric multiple unit trains was delivered in 1993 as part of the stock for the 1994 Winter Olympics?


 * ...that the English train operating company Northern Rail operated the most stations of any train operating company in the United Kingdom?


 * ...that the preserved and NRHP-listed Northern Pacific Railroad Depot in Missoula, Montana, is the third depot built in Missoula by the Northern Pacific Railway?


 * ...that in the first month of service for Amtrak's Northeast Regional extension into Virginia in 2010, ridership doubled expectations?


 * ...that the Northampton loop, opened by London and North Western Railway in 1881, doubled capacity on the line from Roade to Rugby without the expense of widening Kilsby Tunnel?


 * ...that with 532 inbound riders on an average weekday, North Scituate is the second-busiest station on the MBTA Commuter Rail Greenbush Line?


 * ...that MBTA Subway's North Quincy station is the only one of the four Red Line stations in Quincy not located at a former Old Colony Railroad station site?


 * ...that the North London line between Richmond and North Woolwich derives from five connecting sections which were opened over 25 years from 1846?


 * ...that the 1903 joint "New North Main Line" (NNML; the present day Acton–Northolt line) of the Great Central and Great Western can still be seen at North Acton tube station?


 * ...that N&W's improved Y5/Y6 classes of 2-8-8-2 steam locomotives, including the preserved 2156, could pull trains at speeds up to 50 mph while other locomotives of similar class, such as Virginian's AE class 2-10-10-2s, could only reach 8 mph?


 * ...that although originally propelled by hand using punt poles, propulsion for a norry can be provided by small gas engine with belt drive direct to the rear axle, delivering top speeds of 40 km/h or more?


 * ...that the proposed route of the Norfolk Orbital Railway would include track and stations on two heritage railways, the Mid-Norfolk Railway and the North Norfolk Railway?


 * ...that during its excursion train service in the 1980s, the preserved Norfolk and Western Railway Class A 2-6-6-4 number 1218 was the most powerful operational steam locomotive in the world?


 * ...that although the Chemins de Fer du Nord 3.1201 to 3.1290 class of 4-6-2 "Superpacific" steam locomotives were designed as four cylinder compounds, with superheating, and a narrow 3 m firebox, they were not equipped with mechanical stokers?


 * ...that the lower level of New York City Subway's Ninth Avenue station has not been used since 1975 except for filming of the original Crocodile Dundee movie?


 * ...that strikes over wage disagreements for proposed Night Tube services on London Underground and Overground lines led to a complete Underground system shutdown on August 6, 2015?


 * ...that initially the Nickey line's connection to Boxmoor (today's Hemel Hempstead railway station on the West Coast Main Line) was via an awkward turntable arrangement?


 * ...that NI Railways is the only commercial non-heritage passenger operator in the United Kingdom to operate a vertical integration model, with responsibility of all aspects of the network including running trains, maintaining rolling stock and infrastructure, and pricing?


 * ...that the Zululand Railway 2-6-0 locomotives that were later classified by Natal Government Railways as Class I were built to American specifications and then current narrow-gauge practice except for their Johnston link-and-pin couplers and brake gear?


 * ...that the 2007 redevelopment at Newport railway station in Wales did not allow for disabled access, resulting in station staff using a locally contracted taxi firm to move some passengers from one side of the station to the other?