Portal:Trains

Portals → Technology → Transport → Trains

The trains portal

Image:

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))

Shortcuts

edit

Selected article of the week

Construction of the line near Coburg in November 2013

The Nuremberg–Erfurt high-speed railway is a 191 km-long (119 miles) German high-speed railway, between Nuremberg and Erfurt. The line is listed in Germany's federal transport plan as Verkehrsprojekt Deutsche Einheit Nr. ("German Unity transport project no.") 8.1 and is a section of the high-speed route between Berlin and Munich and a section of the line connecting Italy and Scandinavia in the European Union's Trans-European Rail network. It consists of an upgraded line between Nuremberg and Ebensfeld and a new line between Ebensfeld and Erfurt. The journey time between Erfurt and Nuremberg will be reduced to approximately one hour and 20 minutes after completion. The planning began in 1991 and construction started in April 1996. Three years later construction was stopped by the new SPD-Green coalition government formed after the 1998 election and only recommenced in 2002. The new line was opened at the timetable change on 10 December 2017. The timing of the final commissioning of the upgraded section is still uncertain.

Recently selected: NSB Class 72 - NRLA - Nottingham station

More selected articles - Candidates

edit

Selected image of the week

Seen on the occasion of an Open Day in August 1964, British Railways 0-6-0, formerly SR USA class, No. 30072 is a late survivor of the hundred or so American wartime 'switchers' brought over by the US Army in 1942-43. After the War, in 1946 14 were purchased by the Southern Railway for use at Southampton Docks.

Recently selected: Tokyo Station platforms - Korail freight train - trains at Skopje station

More selected pictures - Candidates

edit

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?

More did you know facts - Candidates

edit

Selected anniversaries

June 29

1864 – An immigrant train traveling from Quebec City to Montreal, Quebec, falls into the Richelieu River at Belœil, Quebec, (pictured) after failing to stop for a signal at an open swing bridge, killing 99 people; the St-Hilaire train disaster, as it has come to be known, is so far the accident with the largest passenger death toll in Canada.
1896 – The St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad Company (predecessor of the St. Louis - San Francisco Railway) is incorporated.
1934 – The Southern Railway renames the Southern Belle passenger train (between London and Brighton, England) to Brighton Belle.
1949 – The Monon Railroad operates its final day of steam locomotive service as the Monon becomes one of the first Class I railroads in America to fully convert to diesel motive power.

More... - Archive

edit

Train News

Santa Fe No. 2926 at Albuquerque, New Mexico
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)
Big Boy No. 4012 at Steamtown National Historic Site
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)
The derailed Taroko Express trainset, as seen from outside the entrance to the tunnel
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)

The preserved C&O 1309 at the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum in October 2009

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)

An Avelia Liberty train on a test run in Delaware in May 2020

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)

Berryessa/North San José station on the first day of service

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)

Archive

General images

The following are images from various train-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1An interior of a Circle line S7 Stock in London (from Railroad car)
Image 2Union Pacific 18, a gas turbine-electric locomotive preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum (from Locomotive)
Image 3The "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 Rail yard)
Image 4Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare, by Claude Monet, 1877, Art Institute of Chicago (from Train)
Image 5A British Rail Class 150 in the United Kingdom (from Railroad car)
Image 6A number of maintenance vehicles at work on Metro-North Railroad (from Train)
Image 7Soviet RT-23 Molodets ICBM launch train, in the St Petersburg museum (from Railroad car)
Image 8A Union Pacific freight train; high clearances enable double-stacked containers to be carried in well cars. (from Train)
Image 9Bombardier ALP-45DP at the Innotrans convention in Berlin (from Locomotive)
Image 10A freight car (boxcar type) for the South Australian Railways, 1926 (from Railroad car)
Image 11A German DB Class V 200 diesel-hydraulic locomotive at Technikmuseum, Berlin (from Locomotive)
Image 12The EMD FT set the stage for diesel locomotives to take over from steam. (from Train)
Image 13Typical American extended vision caboose (from Railroad car)
Image 14China operates an extensive high speed rail network. (from Train)
Image 15A large 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)
Image 16A narrow gauge battery-electric locomotive used for mining (from Locomotive)
Image 17A passenger car of the China Railway, 2011 (from Railroad car)
Image 18A coach yard in Shanghai, China (from Rail yard)
Image 19Armored train Hurban located in Zvolen, Slovakia (from Railroad car)
Image 20A gas turbine locomotive operated by the Union Pacific Railroad (from Train)
Image 21Škoda Artic light rail train near the cathedral in Tampere, Finland (from Train)
Image 22A Metropolitan line S8 Stock at Amersham in London (from Railroad car)
Image 23Garratt locomotives in Zimbabwe (from Train)
Image 24Werner von Siemens experimental DC electric train, 1879 (from Locomotive)
Image 25A London Underground battery-electric locomotive at West Ham station used for hauling engineers' trains (from Locomotive)
Image 26Yard for Amtrak equipment, located next to the Los Angeles River. The two tracks on the left are the mainline. (from Rail yard)
Image 27A wooden toy train set from Swedish manufacturer Brio (from Train)
Image 28US-style railroad truck (bogie) with journal bearings (from Train)
Image 29Inside a modern-day car from Finland (from Railroad car)
Image 30Pacific National diesel locomotives in Australia showing three body types, cab unit (front), hood unit (middle) and box cab (rear) (from Locomotive)
Image 31The 1902 Maudslay Petrol Locomotive (from Locomotive)
Image 32Workington stabling point in 1981, with locomotives from Classes 25, 40 and 47 parked between duties. (from Rail yard)
Image 33Various types of railroad cars in a classification yard in the United States (from Train)
Image 34This map of 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)
Image 35A narrow gauge train in Austria (from Train)
Image 36Baltimore & Ohio electric engine, 1895 (from Locomotive)
Image 37The Japanese 0 Series Shinkansen pioneered high speed rail service. (from Train)
Image 38A prototype of a Ganz AC electric locomotive in Valtellina, Italy, 1901 (from Locomotive)
Image 39Southern Railway (UK) 20002 was equipped with both pantograph and contact shoes (from Locomotive)
Image 40Variety of rolling stock in rail yard (from Rolling stock)
Image 41A Victorian Railways R class steam locomotive in Australia (from Locomotive)
Image 42British Rail Mark 3 coach, an all-steel car from the 1970s (from Railroad car)
Image 43An early Diesel-mechanical locomotive at the North Alabama Railroad Museum (from Locomotive)
Image 44This 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 Train)
Image 45Trains carrying 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)
Image 46A China Railways HXD1D electric locomotive in China (from Locomotive)
Image 47The Union Pacific Big Boy locomotives represented the pinnacle of steam locomotive technology and power. (from Train)
Image 48A Tokyo Monorail train (from Train)
Image 49Second-class compartment of a China Railways CRH1A-A train (from Train)
Image 50Stockton and Darlington special inaugural train 1825: six wagons of coal, directors coach, then people in wagons (from Train)
Image 51A preserved armored train (from Train)
Image 52The 1887 Daimler draisine (from Locomotive)
Image 53Electric train on Djursholmsbanan in Stockholm in the 1890s. (from Train)
Image 54Most derailments, such as this one in Switzerland, are minor and do not cause injuries or damage. (from Train)
Image 55The New Orleans Streetcar System is one of the oldest in the world. (from Train)
Image 56World's first useful diesel locomotive (a diesel-electric locomotive) for long distances SŽD Eel2, 1924 in Kyiv (from Locomotive)