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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
John LaRue Helm (July 4, 1802 – September 8, 1867) was the 18th and 24th governor of the U.S. state of Kentucky, although his service in that office totaled less than fourteen months. He also represented Hardin County in both houses of the Kentucky General Assembly and was chosen to be the Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives four times. In 1838 his sole bid for federal office ended in defeat when his opponent, Willis Green, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Helm was elevated to governor on July 31, 1850, when John J. Crittenden resigned to accept an appointment as United States Attorney General in President Millard Fillmore's cabinet. After his service as governor Helm became president of the struggling Louisville and Nashville Railroad. He invested thousands of dollars of his own money in the project and convinced residents along the line's main route to buy stock in the company. In 1859 the line was completed, but the next year Helm resigned over of differences with the board of directors regarding a proposed branch that would extend the line to Memphis, Tennessee. After the American Civil War, Helm identified with the Democratic Party, and in 1865 Hardin County voters returned him to the state senate. In 1867 he was the state's Democratic candidate for governor. Despite his failing health, Helm made a vigorous canvass of the state and won the general election. He was too weak to travel to Frankfort for his inauguration, so state officials administered the oath of office at his home on September 3, 1867. He died five days later.
Recently selected: Norsk Spisevognselskap - Yellow Line (Washington Metro) - Linx (railway company)
Selected image of the week
Several TGV trains are making passenger stops at Bourg-Saint-Maurice, in the French Alps, in this view from a busy day during the winter holidays of 2007.
Recently selected: Cleaning a steam locomotive - Charing Cross tube stations diagram - "Arrival of a Train"
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
- July 21
- 1836 – Canada's first railway, the Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad, is opened.
- 1877 – Baltimore and Ohio Railroad workers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, stage a sympathy strike for the workers killed in Baltimore, Maryland, the day before. Rioting erupts throughout Pittsburgh as a result.
- 1904 – The Trans-Siberian railway (map pictured) is completed.
- 2000 – Manchester Metrolink, in Manchester, England, is extended to Eccles.
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
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Things you can do
See also Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/Todo and Wikipedia:Pages needing attention/Railroads
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