Portal:Trains
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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
128 001, as registered at Deutsche Bahn, or 12X, as named by its manufacturer AEG Schienenfahrzeuge and its successive owners ADtranz and Bombardier Transportation, is an experimental high-performance electric locomotive built in 1994, which was operated as testbed and test locomotive until 2010. The design of the locomotive featured several technological innovations, including power electronics using new types of semiconductors and water cooling, a new final drive concept, a new bogie concept, and protruding windflaps for improved aerodynamics that gave the locomotive a unique look. The development of the locomotive was initiated in anticipation of a major tender for universal locomotives by German railways, but moved towards a modular design when the railways moved towards tendering different types of locomotives for different services. The 12X was the basis of a locomotive class for medium-weight freight trains, the DBAG Class 145, the further development of which ultimately led to Bombardier's TRAXX modular locomotive product platform.
Recently selected: 190th Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line) - Waterloo East railway station - Vauxhall station
Selected image of the week
Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia's EMD GT22CU-3 numbers 2403 and 2406 (rebuilt GR12s) and EMD/Clyde GL26C-2 number 2008 haul an empty "bucket train" (used to haul ore concentrate) from Antofagasta to Bolivia, pictured between San Pedro and Ascotan, Chile, in July 2013.
Recently selected: Uzbek Railways freight train - Shunting in Benin - Garratt locomotive
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 4
- 1828 – Construction begins on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in Baltimore, Maryland.
- 1851 – Groundbreaking ceremonies are held for the Pacific Railroad Company, a railroad later to become the Missouri Pacific Railroad.
- 1970 – Harold Stirling Vanderbilt, heir to Cornelius Vanderbilt and president of the New York Central railroad system, dies (b. 1884).
- 2002 – General Motors Electro-Motive Division announces that it will build new locomotives for HSBC Rail; the locomotives will be leased by CargoNet (pictured) for use in Norway north of the Arctic Circle and are expected to enter service after February 2003.
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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See also Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/Todo and Wikipedia:Pages needing attention/Railroads
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