From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following facts related to
rail transport have appeared in the Did you know section of Wikipedia's
Main page in 2008.
... that
James J. Hill of the
Great Northern Railway built the
Great Northern Depot in
Wayzata, Minnesota , in 1906 after moving the former stop a mile east of town 12 years earlier in a dispute with town residents?
... that
Sir Douglas Fox was, with
James Greathead , joint engineer of the
Liverpool Overhead Railway – the first electric elevated city railway in the world?
... that
Joseph Kahn and
Howard Pack had both been in the
fur trade before entering the shipping business, culminating with their 1965 purchase of
Seatrain Lines ?
... that the
Chicago Transit Authority closed its
Kostner station only eleven years after it opened, making it one of the city's shortest-lived train stations?
... that although the
Ironton Railroad was built to haul
iron ore , it was used to deliver
deer and
buffalo to the Trexler Game Preserve in 1911?
... that the
Everett Railroad is named after its former location near
Everett, Pennsylvania ,
United States ?
... that the gardens of
St George's Square ,
Pimlico ,
London , contain a statue of
William Huskisson MP, the first person ever to be run over and killed by a
railway engine ?
... that in 2018, when the
Follo Line is completed in
Norway , it will reduce travel time between
Oslo and
Ski from 22 to 11 minutes?
... that in
People v. Salem (1870), the
Michigan Supreme Court ruled that public money could not be used to finance private railroad construction?
... that
commuter rail stop
Hall/Nimbus Station in
Oregon includes artwork that features movable heads shaped like a pumpkin and a blue-colored skull?
... that the ideal length of a
train melody is seven seconds?
... that the
Alberta and Great Waterways Railway Scandal forced the resignation of
Alberta 's first Premier,
Alexander Cameron Rutherford ?
... that
Wahsatch, Utah , established in 1868, was the first of many camps set up in
Utah by the
Union Pacific Railroad in the construction of the
First Transcontinental Railroad ?
... that
John Marius Trana went from being an illegal
trade union leader during the
German occupation of Norway to being chairman of the
Norwegian Union of Railway Workers ?
... that the
Muncy Creek Railroad tried to save money by using wooden rails in 1875, but found they were too light to support its trains?
... that
David Hoadley restructured management of the
Panama Railway so that it avoided
bankruptcy and finished its track a year early?
... that seven
Caltrain
stations have been listed on the
National Register of Historic Places ?
... that a 12-mile (19 km)-long railway ride was planned to be built on
Dunderberg Mountain in the 19th century, but was never completed?
... that the proposed
Levenmouth rail link in
Fife ,
Scotland , could be used by
Scotch whisky distillery freight trains as well as by passengers?
... that the
Pacific Electric Railroad Bridge in
Torrance, California , is used as a symbol on the patch of the local
police department ?
... that the first
railroad depot in Stanford, Kentucky , was built due to a compromise between
Union general
Ambrose Burnside and the
Louisville and Nashville Railroad ?
... that the
Honolulu High-Capacity Transit Corridor Project led to
Honolulu 's 2008 mayoral elections being referred to as a "referendum on rail transit"?
... that the
Ghost Town Trail in
Western Pennsylvania utilizes 36 miles (58 km) of donated and abandoned railroad and features many abandoned mining
ghost towns ?
... that the
Union Station in
Owensboro, Kentucky was once turned into a
discothèque and a pizza parlor?
... that
Joseph C. Hare ,
American
politician and lumberman, has a railroad station, railroad stop, and
valley all named after him?
... that
Kentucky 's
Paducah Freight House was bigger than required because it was originally intended to service a larger rail network?
... that the
Norwegian manufacturing company
Thune , started in 1815 as a
blacksmith 's workshop, later expanded to build
agricultural machinery ,
turbines and
locomotives ?
Hijazi Railway
Main Street, New Hamburg, NY
... that the expansion of the
New York Central Railroad isolated
Main Street (houses pictured) in
New Hamburg, New York while making
Stone Street more accessible?
... that in
Saskatchewan ,
Oban was known for having the last
Interlocking tower at the
CNR and
CPR
level crossing , until it was closed in 1990?
... that two companies with the name
Oregon Central Railroad both claimed the same federal
land grants ?
... that one of
John Romney 's
etchings which sold well was of
The Chester and Holyhead Railway Bridge Accident which occurred in 1847?
... that the 2004
Cairns Tilt Train derailment was the result of excessive speed which may have been caused by the driver leaving his seat?
... that while his father-in-law, brother and son were national politicians,
Wincentz Thurmann Ihlen concentrated on entrepreneurship, establishing the railway car factory
Strømmens Værksted ?
... that
Nakamura Yoshikoto , director of the
South Manchurian Railway , sponsored his childhood friend, the famed author
Natsume Sōseki on a publicity jaunt to
Manchuria ?
... that although designed for use on
light rail lines, the
Valmet RM 2 trams were only ever used on traditional
tram systems?
... that
Cleckheaton railway station was stolen in August 1971?
Advertisement for Great Western Railway travel via the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge, c. 1876.
... that a simple
kite defeated
cannons ,
steamers , and
rockets in the bid to lay a line for the
Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge (ad pictured) ?
... that when a
train derailed in Painesville, Ohio , the area was evacuated for fear a
liquefied petroleum gas
tank might explode?
... that two trains returning from the 1851
Chester races lost adhesion in
Sutton Tunnel , and a third crashed into them, killing nine and injuring up to 40 people?
... that the
Manchester and Bolton Railway was originally proposed as a replacement for the
Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal but was eventually built alongside it instead?
... that by the time the
Wye Valley Railway opened in 1876, a
Welsh wireworks it was intended to serve had already closed down?
... that
Chicago 's defunct
58th station must be kept in operable condition because federal funds were used in its renovation?
... that a parade honoring
Jack Benny was held at the
Azusa Civic Center , commemorating his running gag in which a conductor called out, "Train leaving now for Anaheim, Azusa and Cucamonga"?
Achenseebahn
... that the
Achenseebahn (pictured) in
Austria is the oldest steam-operated
rack railway in Europe?
... that the
Central Branch designated by the
Pacific Railway Act of 1862 had a hanging end at
Waterville, Kansas , when the
Eastern Division was rerouted to serve
Denver ?
... that the town of
Bezdonys was the site of one of the most daring and successful
train robberies in history?
... that
Henry S. Huidekoper received the
Medal of Honor for his actions at the
Battle of Gettysburg , and later helped to suppress the
Great Railroad Strike of 1877 ?
... that the
U.S. Congress incorporated the
Atlantic and Pacific Railroad in 1866 to connect
Missouri and
California , but the company only completed portions at each end?
... that
Redruth railway station was only moved to its present site when a viaduct was built 61 feet (19 m) above the streets of the town?
... that after their success with the
Detroit Copper Mining Company of Arizona ,
William E. Dodge, Jr. and his partners founded the
El Paso and Southwestern Railroad ?
... that when the
Common Tunnel opened in 1928 it made the
Holmenkoll Line the first underground railway in
Scandinavia ?
... that
delay certificates issued by
railway companies in
Japan and
Germany to passengers for tardy trains are considered valid reasons by superiors for reporting late to school or work?
... that the
Jolimont Workshops , part of
Jolimont Yard , were built for
Melbourne 's new fleet of suburban trains in 1917?
... that for many years,
Municipal Warehouse No. 1 at the
Port of Los Angeles stored the
railcar that carried
Winston Churchill 's body to burial?
... that the neighborhood of
Elm Park in
Winnipeg ,
Canada , was originally a
park created by the
Winnipeg Street Railway Company to increase
trolley use?
... that the
Norwegian National Rail Administration owns all 4,114 km (2,556 mi) of railways in
Norway , but does not operate any trains?
... that the
Smith Estate was the home of a writer on
occultism , the head of a railroad, and a
deputy mayor , and the
shooting location for the
cult film
Spider Baby ?
... that
Sidney Weighell , General Secretary of the
National Union of Railwaymen , played professional
football with
Sunderland for two seasons as an
inside left ?
Pine Creek Path
... that the
Pine Creek Path , a
Native American trail along
Pine Creek in
Pennsylvania , was later used by lumbermen, then its course was followed by a
railroad , and today it is a
rail trail (pictured) ?
... that the
Florida Railroad was the first
railroad to connect the east and west coasts of
Florida and the longest railroad to be completed in Florida before the start of the
American Civil War ?
... that the
Quatama Station light rail stop in
Hillsboro, Oregon , includes a piece of art based on an arrangement created by a
Japanese Macaque at the
Oregon National Primate Research Center ?
... that
Washington 's
Union Station was turned into the short-lived
National Visitor Center in 1976, but so few tourists used it that it closed two years later?
... that the
San Francisco Bay Area will have a new direct
rail to
ferry connection when the
Hercules intermodal rail station and
WETA ferry terminal is constructed?
... that the
Nuremberg Transport Museum originally opened as a royal
Bavarian
railway museum in 1899 and is now the oldest
railway museum in
Germany ?
... that the
Fair Complex MAX station in
Hillsboro, Oregon , has a
weather vane made with five
model airplanes ?
... that an owner of the
DeForest Skinner House was once the youngest
railroad director in the
United States ?
... that the
Taipei Metro
Xiaonanmen Station was a target of serial
vandalism in March 2006?
... that
Watts Station was the only structure to remain intact along "Charcoal Alley" during the
Watts Riots ?
... that shipping company
Bastø Fosen operates the most trafficked
car ferry route in
Norway , from
Moss to
Halden ?
... that
Daniel Page , the second
mayor of
St. Louis, Missouri , helped finance the construction of the
Ohio and Mississippi Railroad ?
The Gevingåsen Tunnel
... that when the
Gevingåsen Tunnel (pictured) opens in 2012 it will cut rail travel time north of
Trondheim ,
Norway , by five minutes?
... that the
Louisville and Nashville Railroad Office Building in
Louisville, Kentucky , is one of the largest commercial
Beaux Arts buildings still in existence?
... that the
2100 series of the
Keihin Electric Express Railway produces a "
do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do " tune when its
propulsion system starts up?
... that the original building of
Trondheim Central Station in
Norway has been preserved as a
cultural heritage ?
... that
Norsk Transport has operated
four railway ferries on Lake
Tinnsjå in
Norway ?
... that a local writers' group won a
preservation award for renovating the
Philipse Manor train station in
Sleepy Hollow, New York ?
... that the
Erie Railroad bought the
Dodge-Greenleaf House in
Otisville, New York for
US$ 5 and sold it two years later for US$1?
... that
Bristol and South Wales Union Railway was actually two separate
railway lines with a
ferry crossing of the
River Severn between?
... that
India and
Pakistan have expanded
cross-border road and rail transport links , including across the
disputed region of
Kashmir ?
... that a
United States district court decision against the
Omaha Horse Railway Company allowed
cable car tracks to be installed in
Omaha, Nebraska ?
... that the
Union Pacific Railroad made the
Herndon House its headquarters 12 years after celebrating the launch of construction on the
First Transcontinental Railroad there?
... that the
L & N Railroad depot in
Hopkinsville, Kentucky 's
commercial district was a popular stop on the
Louisville and Nashville Railroad due to the fact that one could legally purchase
alcohol there?
... that the
Hillsboro Central light rail station had the only library located at a
mass transit station in the western U.S. when it opened?
... that the American Fork Railroad stopped 4 miles (6.4 km) short of the
Forest City, Utah
smelter it was built to serve?
... that the
Louisville and Nashville Railroad built a separate spur just for
Western Kentucky University 's
Heating Plant ?
... that
Ringeriksbanen railway would reduce rail travel from
Oslo to
Bergen ,
Norway by 60 km (37 mi)?
... that
Bristol, Quebec , had
Canada 's first
horse-drawn railroad and Quebec's first
iron ore
pelletizing plant?
... that the meandering
Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad line took 77.2 miles (124 km) to connect
Baltimore, Maryland and
York, Pennsylvania although the two cities are only 45 miles (72 km) apart in a straight line?
... that at 1,237-metre (4,060 ft) elevation, the highest point on the
Norwegian railways is the
Finse Tunnel ?
... that the
Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead Railway , one of
London's early
underground "tube" railway lines, was built with finance raised by American
Charles Yerkes ?
... that the
Huckleberry Trail takes its name from the former Virginia Anthracite & Coal Railroad, nicknamed the Huckleberry, on whose abandoned railbed this
rail trail was constructed?
... that the
Norwegian lake
Lutvann leaked 1,000 liters of water per minute into the railway tunnel
Romeriksporten during its construction in 1997?
... that
Isfield railway station , now the terminus of a
preserved railway line , was used during the
First World War to take German
prisoners of war to work in nearby woodland?
... that the
Seaboard Air Line Railroad was the first to provide
streamlined passenger trains from New York to Florida, beginning with the
Silver Meteor in 1939?
Stationmaster Tama
... that the stationmaster of the Kinokawa train station in
Kinokawa ,
Japan is a
cat named
Tama (pictured) ?
... that the
Wawelberg Group was a
Polish special-forces unit which began the 1921
Third Silesian Uprising by blowing up seven rail bridges linking
Upper Silesia with the rest of
Germany ?
... that in 1898, the
Egyptian government appointed
Maurice Fitzmaurice as their chief resident engineer for the construction of the
Aswan Dam ?
... that the first live television broadcast viewed on a moving train was on
October 7 ,
1948 , when passengers on the
B&O Railroad 's
Marylander saw the second game of the
1948 World Series ?
... that the
Welsh
Tractarian priest
John David Jenkins , known as the "Rail men's Apostle", became President of the
Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants ?
... that
Sir William Edge , a
Liberal
MP , once raced against a flock of
homing pigeons from
London to
Leicestershire by car and train, but lost the race by two minutes because the train was delayed?
... that the
Caprock Chief was a proposed
passenger train which would have connected
Fort Worth, Texas , and
Denver, Colorado , via the
Texas Panhandle ?
... that
Harold Clapp 's "fiendish efficiency" in improving
Victorian Railways ' train reliability was credited with losing
Melbourne commuters "another excuse for being late for work in the mornings"?
... that
CMKC Group will construct and retain 30-year management rights over 1500 km of new and 512 km of renovated railway in the
Republic of the Congo ?
... that
railway
transport in Nagpur started in 1867 when the
Nagpur
railway station was constructed using locally found pink
sandstone ?
... that the
Champion
passenger train connected
New York City and
St. Petersburg, Florida , for forty years before
Amtrak consolidated it with its former rival the
Silver Meteor ?
... that the land acquisitions for the
Southern Railway's Spencer Shops in 1896 were secretly done to prevent
land speculation ?
Windmills in the Isle of Man
... that the
windmill at South Barrule ,
Isle of Man (pictured) worked an
incline on a railway at a
slate quarry?
... that as
General Secretary of the
Mexican railroad workers union,
Demetrio Vallejo renounced his salary of 20,000
pesos a month, requesting it be turned over to the railway union treasury?
... that the tiny Dinkey Train of only a passenger coach and dummy engine went to
Mammoth Cave ?
... that after 12 years of legal tussling over delays and cost overruns on the
Taipei Metro Muzha Line , the
Taipei City Government was ordered to compensate its contractor
Matra for US$50 million?
... that the
Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company was the second largest steel manufacturer in the USA before it merged with
U.S. Steel in 1907?
... that the
Tregenna Castle Hotel in
St Ives, Cornwall was the
Great Western Railway 's first holiday destination hotel?
... that the first refuge from
malaria that residents of
Memphis, Tennessee , had in 1878 was
Bowling Green, Kentucky's
Louisville and Nashville Railroad Station ?
...that the
Pontiac Pacific Junction Railway to
Waltham, Quebec , was completed in 1888, but not opened until 1894, stopped in 1959, and finally was removed in 1984?
...that the southern terminus of the
first suburb-to-suburb commuter rail in the United States is
Wilsonville Station in
Oregon ?
...that the
Wrawby Junction rail crash involved a
locomotive supposedly renumbered after a
psychic predicted a locomotive with the original number would be involved in a crash?
...that the
Fifteen Guinea Special , one of the last
British Rail steam services before the steam ban of 1968, was so called because of the high prices from popular demand for it?
...that the
Maitreyi Express was launched on
Pohela Baisakh in 2008 to revive the railway link between
India and
Bangladesh that had been closed for 43 years?
Sans Pareil
National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall
Southampton Corporation Tram No.45
Kinzie Street bridges
...that in 1908, the
Kinzie Street railroad bridge (pictured) in
Chicago was the longest and heaviest
bascule bridge in the world?
...that Wetsens station on the
North Friesland Railway , which served a sparsely populated part of
Friesland ,
Netherlands , closed in 1902, less than eight months after opening?
...that the
Western State Normal Railroad is the only known railroad built by a university and the only
funicular operated in
Michigan ?
...that although
London and South Western Railway passenger trains first arrived in
Plymouth ,
England in 1876, its
Plymouth Friary railway station
terminus was not opened until 1891?
...that before becoming
mayor of
Erie, Pennsylvania in 1862,
Prescott Metcalf started two
railroads , numerous manufacturing
firms , and was the director of
a canal ?
...that of the original 28.9 miles (46.5 km) operated by the
Grand Rapids, Belding and Saginaw Railroad , less than 2 miles (3.2 km) remain in use?
...that trains to
London ran eastwards from
Devonport Kings Road railway station when it opened in 1876, but from 1890 they ran westwards?
...that the
Pine Creek Rail Trail , a 65 mile (105 km)
rail trail along
Pine Creek in
Pennsylvania , was named one of "10 great places to take a bike tour" in the world by
USA Today ?
Métro léger de Tunis
...that the
Métro léger de Tunis (pictured) , a
public transport system using
light rail , is the only one of its kind in
Africa ?
...that the
Mauch Chunk and Summit Hill Switchback Railroad , the second
railroad built in the
United States , was a major precursor to the
roller coaster ?
...that
Tunisian Railways operates a standard
gauge network in the North and a meter gauge network in the South of
Tunisia ?
...that the
New Zealand Railways Department 's experimental
RM class
Westinghouse railcar was the first
railcar to enter revenue service in
New Zealand ?
...that after the
New Zealand Railways Department 's
RM class
Thomas Transmission railcar was written off in 1925, the
railcar 's body was used as a private dwelling?
...that
Louisville's Union Station was the largest such facility in the
southern United States ?
...that the
Michigan Railroad Commission twice condemned the
St. Joseph Valley Railroad because of the poor condition of the latter's line?
...that despite a requirement from the
Michigan Legislature it connect three counties within ten years of its founding, after 21 years the
St. Joseph Valley Rail Road had completed only 7.5 miles (12.1 km) of track, all in
St. Joseph County ?
...that the
Kaimai Tunnel running through the
Kaimai Ranges is the longest
rail
tunnel in
New Zealand ?
...that
Bion J. Arnold designed an experimental
single-phase
alternating current
electric locomotive for the
Lansing, St. Johns and St. Louis Railway , but a fire destroyed it before it could be tested?
...that an engineer for the
Michigan United Railways devised a special
shoe which allowed the
motorman to cut ice build-up on the
third rail , in response to
Michigan 's harsh winters?
...that the network of
railways in Plymouth ,
England , once served 28 stations, but today just six stations remain in use?
...that the
Mansfield, Coldwater and Lake Michigan Rail Road owned two non-contiguous
railway lines, each in a different
U.S. state , and each
leased by a different company?
...that in 2002 the
Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad bought 41½
miles (66.8
km ) of
track between
Meadville and
Corry, Pennsylvania for
$ 1?
...that
Independent Learning Centre started the Railway School Car Program in 1926, in which a teacher lived in a train car that traveled to students in isolated
Northern Ontario communities?
...that through the opening of the
Thomson MRT Line and
Eastern Region MRT Line by 2020,
Singapore 's rail network density will rise from 31 km per million residents today to 51 km per million, surpassing what
Hong Kong and
Tokyo currently have?
...that the
Castle Cary Cut-Off reduced the 325½ mile distance between
London Paddington and
Penzance railway stations by 20¼ miles?
...that
Lucien Lagrange Architects has been involved in attempts to renovate
Union Station in
Chicago, Illinois for over twenty years?
...that when the first portion of the
Lackawanna and Bloomsburg Railroad opened in 1856, it led to the incorporation of
Kingston ,
Pennsylvania , and to the establishment of Kingston's first
public transit line?
...that
the first radio network in North America was created by the
Canadian National Railway in 1923?
...that the last ever train on the
Plymouth to Launceston line failed to complete its journey on
29 December
1962 due to heavy snow?
...that the
San Francisco and San Mateo Electric Railway was
San Francisco 's first electric
streetcar company?
...that only the shorter of the two
Berks and Hants Railway lines actually entered
Hants , the longer being entirely in the
county of
Berks ?
...that
Le chemin de fer , a piano composition by
Charles-Valentin Alkan , is the first musical depiction of a
railway ?
...that even as he embarked on a 24-year career in the
U.S. Congress ,
William Alden Smith oversaw construction of the
Grand Rapids, Kalkaska and Southeastern Railroad ?
Deanmill, Western Australia
Walhonding Canal