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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

The Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge was the world's first working railway suspension bridge. It spanned 825 feet (251 m) and stood 2.5 miles (4.0 km) downstream of Niagara Falls from 1855 to 1897. Connecting Niagara Falls, Ontario, to Niagara Falls, New York (the two cities assimilated the towns at the ends of the bridge by 1892), the bridge carried mixed traffic on its two decks across the Niagara River; trains crossed over the river by way of the bridge's upper deck while pedestrians and carriages used the lower. By 1854 his bridge was nearly complete, and the lower deck was opened for pedestrian and carriage travel. On March 18, 1855, a fully-laden passenger train drove across the upper deck at 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h), and officially opened the completed bridge. Three railway lines crossed over the bridge, connecting cities on both sides of the border. The Great Western Railway, New York Central Railroad, and New York and Erie Rail Road differed in the gauges of their tracks; the bridge used a triple gauge system to conserve space, overlapping two tracks on top of each other and using a rail of each to form the third track. Throughout its years of service, the Suspension Bridge stood strong and allowed thousands of passengers and trains to pass over it safely. Its success proved that, contrary to general opinion, a safe and operational railway suspension bridge was tenable, and allayed concerns induced by the 1854 collapse of the Wheeling Suspension Bridge. Slowly decaying, the bridge's wooden structures were replaced with steel and iron versions by 1886, and the renovated bridge was stronger, capable of bearing a heavier load. By the end of the 19th century, the weight of trains had increased greatly and far exceeded the maximum capacity of the bridge. The Suspension Bridge was finally replaced by the Steel Arch Bridge, which was later renamed the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge, on August 27, 1897. When the Suspension Bridge was dismantled, its wire cables were found not to have noticeably degraded, a testament to its strength and design.

Recently selected: Grayrigg derailment - Rjukan Line - Hatfield Government Center station

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A railway bridge near Eglisau, Switzerland, in the evening light.

Recently selected: NSB EL13 class locomotive - Japan Railway freight - Maintenance of way in Germany

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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?

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Selected anniversaries

July 28

1862 – The first railway post office car (modern car pictured) in North America is operated over the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad; the mail is transferred to stagecoach in St. Joseph, Missouri, for the rest of the journey to California.
1982 – Fire destroys the Harrisonburg, Virginia, offices of the former Chesapeake Western Railway, which had been merged into the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1954.
1996 – The Talleyrand Terminal Railroad (a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming Inc.) begins operations in Jacksonville, Florida.
2005 – An explosion destroys a carriage of an express train near the town of Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, India, killing 13 people. See: 2005 Jaunpur train bombing.

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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)

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General images

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

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