Portal:Trains
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In rail transport, a train is a vehicle or (more frequently) a string of vehicles capable of being moved along a continuous line of rails or other guideway for the purpose of conveying freight or passengers between points on a predetermined route. The train may be hauled or propelled by one or more vehicles designed exclusively for that purpose (locomotives) or may be driven by a number of motors incorporated in all or several of the vehicles (multiple units). As of 2018[update], there are approximately 1,052,000 kilometres (654,000 mi) of railway track in use worldwide. (World Bank (via Archive.org)) |
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Selected article of the week
Woodhaven Boulevard is a local station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway, consisting of four tracks. Located in the Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens, it is served by the R train at all times except nights, when the E train takes over service. The M train provides additional service here on weekdays except nights. The station serves the adjacent Queens Center Mall, as well as numerous bus lines. Woodhaven Boulevard was opened on December 31, 1936, as Woodhaven Boulevard–Slattery Plaza. At the time, the station was part of the Independent Subway System. The plaza was demolished in the 1950s, but the name tablets displaying the station's original name were kept. In the 1980s, the Woodhaven Boulevard station was renamed after Queens Center, an adjacent shopping mall. The station was renovated in the 1990s after years of deterioration.
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Selected image of the week
A Berlin S-Bahn train arrives at Hackescher Markt station while a long-distance passenger train approaches on the adjacent tracks in 2006.
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Did you know...
- ...that the opening ceremonies of the Galway to Clifden railway were very sparsely attended because the event date was a strict church holiday and was reserved for attending church services?
- ...that following heavy damage to the Galveston Island Trolley track and cars from Hurricane Ike in 2008, substitute service with replica buses was operated until service resumed in October 2021?
- ...that although the former Santa Fe Railway's Galesburg station was demolished after regular passenger service to the station ended in 1996, the site is still used if derailments cause trains to use the Chillicothe Subdivision instead of the Mendota Subdivision?
- ...that the Fuzhou–Xiamen railway, which opened in 2010, was so heavily used that it reached capacity in 2015, spurring construction on the parallel Fuzhou–Xiamen high-speed railway for CRH passenger train services?
Selected anniversaries
- June 21
- 1831 – The Boston and Providence Railroad is incorporated and chartered to build a railroad connection between Boston, Massachusetts, and Providence, Rhode Island.
- 1893 – Leland Stanford (pictured), a member of The Big Four group of financiers in California, dies (b. 1824).
- 1959 – Soo Line 2719 hauls the last of Soo Line Railroad's steam locomotive-powered trains in revenue service on a round-trip excursion between Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Ladysmith, Wisconsin.
- 1970 – Penn Central declares Section 77 bankruptcy in the largest corporate bankruptcy in United States history thus far. The trains continue to run.
Train News
- July 24, 2021 – Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe No. 2926, a 4-8-4 steam locomotive built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1944, moves under its own power for the first time since Christmas Eve of 1953, after nearly twenty-two years of being rebuilt by volunteers. The locomotive will be put into mainline excursion service. (NMSL&RHS, Trains Magazine on Facebook)
- May 5, 2021 – Steamtown National Historic Site completes thorough cosmetic overhaul on Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 Big Boy No. 4012, which is moved back on static display before National Train Day. (NEPA Scene)
- April 2, 2021 – 2021 Hualien train derailment – A Taroko Express train operated by the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) derails at the north entrance of Qingshui Tunnel in Heren Section, Xiulin Township, Hualien County, Taiwan, killing 49 people and injuring at least 200 others. North of Hualien City a construction truck had fallen down a slope onto the tracks. The eight-carriage train derailed after colliding with the truck, and then came to a rest in the tunnel, with severe damage and many casualties. (Bloomberg, CNN, CNA, New York Times, Financial Times)
- December 31, 2020 – Following a complete restoration, Chesapeake and Ohio 1309, a 2-6-6-2 Mallet locomotive built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1949, the last steam locomotive built by Baldwin for the North American market, is operated under its own power for test runs. When returned to service on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, it will be the largest steam locomotive in regular scheduled service in the United States and take 2-8-0 No. 734’s place as the largest active steam locomotive in the state of Maryland. (Trains.com Newswire)
- September 28, 2020 – Amtrak operates a test run using one of the 28 new Avelia Liberty trains manufactured by Alstom along the full length of the Northeast Corridor to Boston South Station. Previous test runs had occurred from Washington, D.C., only as far north as New Jersey and Delaware. Barring any problems, the trains are expected to enter regular service on the route in 2021. (Universal Hub)
- June 13, 2020 – The Bay Area Rapid Transit Silicon Valley BART extension opened its stations in Milpitas and North San Jose. (San Jose Spotlight, SF Gate)
General images
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- A preserved armored train (from
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Pacific National diesel locomotives in Australia showing three body types, cab unit (front), hood unit (middle) and box cab (rear) (from Locomotive)
- The "hump" of a hump yard. Railcars travel past retarders, which control their speed, and are directed onto tracks to be assembled into new trains. The control tower operates the retarders. (from
- The 1902 Maudslay Petrol Locomotive (from
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0 Series Shinkansen pioneered high speed rail service. (from Train)The Japanese
- A narrow gauge battery-electric locomotive used for mining (from
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hazardous materials display information identifying their cargo and hazards. This tank car carrying chlorine displays, among other markings, a U.S. DOT placard showing a UN number that identifies the hazardous substance. (from Train)Trains carrying
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Union Pacific Big Boy locomotives represented the pinnacle of steam locomotive technology and power. (from Train)The
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Union Pacific 18, a gas turbine-electric locomotive preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum (from Locomotive)
- The
- A freight car (
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rail yard (from Rolling stock)Variety of rolling stock in
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China Railways CRH1A-A train (from Train)Second-class compartment of a
- Electric train on Djursholmsbanan in Stockholm in the 1890s. (from
- China operates an extensive high speed rail network. (from
- An interior of a
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DB Class V 200 diesel-hydraulic locomotive at Technikmuseum, Berlin (from Locomotive)A German
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- This cab car includes a horn (top), a bell (top right), headlights (above the door), classification lights (red lights on side), and ditch lights (white lights on side). (from
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Tokyo Monorail train (from Train)A
- Inside a modern-day car from Finland (from
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Cedar Hill Yard in Connecticut shows a variety of different facilities, including receiving yards, departure yards, classification yards, and a repair yard. (from Rail yard)This map of
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New Orleans Streetcar System is one of the oldest in the world. (from Train)The
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Switzerland, are minor and do not cause injuries or damage. (from Train)Most derailments, such as this one in
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Southern Railway (UK) 20002 was equipped with both pantograph and contact shoes (from Locomotive)
- World's first useful diesel locomotive (a diesel-electric locomotive) for long distances
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London Underground battery-electric locomotive at West Ham station used for hauling engineers' trains (from Locomotive)A
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British Rail Mark 3 coach, an all-steel car from the 1970s (from Railroad car)
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caboose (from Railroad car)Typical American extended vision
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Amtrak and Metra coach yard just south of Chicago Union Station. About 25 percent of all rail traffic in the United States travels through the Chicago area. (from Rail yard)A large
- A narrow gauge train in
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Metro-North Railroad (from Train)A number of maintenance vehicles at work on
- Werner von Siemens experimental DC electric train, 1879 (from
- A prototype of a Ganz AC electric locomotive in Valtellina, Italy, 1901 (from
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Workington stabling point in 1981, with locomotives from Classes 25, 40 and 47 parked between duties. (from Rail yard)
- A coach yard in Shanghai, China (from
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- The 1887 Daimler draisine (from
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Amtrak equipment, located next to the Los Angeles River. The two tracks on the left are the mainline. (from Rail yard)Yard for
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journal bearings (from Train)US-style railroad truck (bogie) with
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- Baltimore & Ohio electric engine, 1895 (from
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Union Pacific freight train; high clearances enable double-stacked containers to be carried in well cars. (from Train)A
- An early Diesel-mechanical locomotive at the
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classification yard in the United States (from Train)Various types of railroad cars in a
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China Railway, 2011 (from Railroad car)A passenger car of the
- Stockton and Darlington special inaugural train 1825: six wagons of coal, directors coach, then people in wagons (from
WikiProjects
WikiProject Trains (Shortcut: WP:TWP)
- WikiProject Stations (WP:STA)
- WikiProject Streetcars (WP:TRAM)
- WikiProject Rapid transit (WP:RTPJ) inactive
- By region:
- WikiProject Metros of the former Soviet Union (WP:SOVMETRO) inactive
- WikiProject Indian railways (WP:INRW)
- WikiProject Trains in Japan (WP:TJ)
- WikiProject New Zealand Railways (WP:NZR)
- WikiProject Pakistan Railways (WP:PKR) inactive
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Fictional rail transport topics:
Note: WikiProjects marked as inactive are retained pending future editing activity
Subcategories
Things you can do
See also Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/Todo and Wikipedia:Pages needing attention/Railroads
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