Portal:Trains
Portals → Technology → Transport → Trains
The trains portal
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)) |
|
Selected article of the week
The A Eighth Avenue Express is a rapid transit service in the B Division of the New York City Subway. Its route bullet is colored blue on route signs, station signs, and the official subway map since it runs on the IND Eighth Avenue Line in Manhattan. The A service operates at all times. The usual service pattern is between 207th Street in Inwood, Manhattan and Mott Avenue in Far Rockaway, Queens or Ozone Park–Lefferts Boulevard in Richmond Hill, Queens via Central Park West / Eighth Avenue Express in Manhattan, Fulton Street Express in Brooklyn and Liberty Avenue / Rockaway Local in Queens. The A provides the longest one-seat ride in the system, at over 31 miles from Inwood to Far Rockaway. Five rush hour trips (designated in the schedule) run from Beach 116th Street in Rockaway Park, Queens to Manhattan during the peak weekday morning commute hours and five trips run to Rockaway Park from Manhattan during the peak weekday late-afternoon commute hours. At all times, a shuttle train (S – Rockaway Park Shuttle) operates between Rockaway Park and Broad Channel. Take the A Train, a jazz standard by Billy Strayhorn, referred to the A service which at that time from eastern Brooklyn up into Harlem and northern Manhattan, using the express tracks in Manhattan.
Recently selected: 2-8-2 - 1995 Fox River Grove bus–train collision - Underground Electric Railways Company of London
Selected image of the week
Tokyo subway and commuter lines cross the Kanda River at Ochanomizu Station. The lowest level is the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line while trains of JR East's Chūō Rapid Line and Chūō-Sōbu Line stop at the station.
Recently selected: Russian locomotive U127 - Northumbrian - Ballast cleaner
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
- March 28
- 1835 – Matthias N. Forney, American steam locomotive manufacturer, is born (d. 1908).
- 1904 – The Manila and Southwestern Railroad, a predecessor of the Cotton Belt Railroad, is incorporated to build a railroad connection between Herman (where it would connect to the Frisco) and Lunsford, Arkansas.
- 1955 – France sets a new world rail speed record of 331 km/h (206 mph), but the track is severely damaged in the process.
- 1996 – The Muzha Line (pictured) of Taipei Rapid Transit System, one of the first rapid transit lines of Taiwan, opens.
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
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
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus