Category Transport

In 1963 a train full of used banknotes was robbed in Buckinghamshire, England. The thieves got away with over £2.5 million, a huge sum of money even today.

Amazing! Trains at Mwatate Dam have to mind out for demons. The Kenyan villagers nearby, thought that trains were having a lot of accidents there because the local spirits were angry. Trains began pausing briefly to salute the spirits, and there hasn’t been a crash since!

Do trains crash?

Trains occasionally crash for a number of reasons — there might be a points failure, or a weak bridge. Amazingly, no one was killed when this cattle train crashed through the front of an Irish railway station. Rail travel is usually very safe though.

Did railway projects always work?

No. The English almost built a Channel Tunnel in 1883. They tunneled roughly two kilometres under the sea, but the government was worried the French would use the tunnel to invade England, so it was abandoned!

Is it true? Some trains are too big.

Yes. The Soviet Union made a locomotive in 1934 that was too long. Its non-swivelling wheels and heavy weight actually straightened out curves in the track, leaving it stuck in a ditch!

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Trains use big bridges or deep tunnels to cross the largest rivers. The Victorian engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, invented strong metal bridges to carry the weight of a train. Some bridges are so big that repainting them is a full-time job!

Is the Channel Tunnel longest?

Not quite. The Channel Tunnel is 49.8 kilometres in total. The Seikan, Japan’s tunnel between the main islands of Honshu and Hokkaido, travels an amazing 53.9 kilometres underground.

Where was the first raised city railway?

New York City had a serious traffic problem in the 1880s, and that was before cars! An ‘Elevated Railway’, known as ‘the L’ for short, was built above the streets. It still works today.

Amazing! You can take a train on a boat. Train ferries started operating in the late 1800s between England and France. Passengers stayed in their seats all the way from London to Paris!

Is it true? Box Hill tunnel knows its creator’s birthday.

Yes. Brunel built it at a special angle. Each year, only on his birthday, the sun shines right through the entire 3.2 kilometre tunnel in southern England.

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Cable cars, such as the ones in San Francisco, are pulled along by a moving loop of cable, made from strong steel. The cable passes through a slot between the rails, and the cars fix on to it. This way, cable cars can climb very steep hills.

Where is the longest straight?

It’s difficult to build straight stretches of track near towns, but much easier in empty parts of the world. The longest stretch of straight track is in the desert of Australia. It is perfectly straight for 478 kilometres.

Amazing! Railways can go missing! During the American Civil War, the South ripped up some of its less important railways to use as spare parts along the battle front. The states of Florida and Texas gave up their entire networks!

Can trains travel the length of Africa?

There is no direct link from Cairo in North Africa to Cape Town, South Africa, 9,760 kilometres away. Cecil Rhodes tried to build a railway line in the late 19th century, but one of his problems was finding enough workmen. Twenty eight of his men were eaten by lions on the Athi Plains in Kenya! However there are plans to complete this link soon.

Is it true? America’s rail network is longer than the equator!

Yes. If the entire train track in America was laid end-to-end it would form a single track which would go almost six times around the world –that’s 240,000 kilometres!

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France was the first country to use electric trains on a major mainline route, making the whole of the Paris to Orleans route electric in 1900. French electric trains have broken many speed records. This 1981 train was able to travel as fast as 380 kph, which was a record at the time.

Is it true? Electric trains were invented in 1879.

Yes. Werner von Siemens demonstrated an electric train at the Berlin Trades Exhibition, in Germany in 1879. People queued up to have a ride on the tiny carriages.

What’s a pantograph?

A pantograph is the metal connecter that reaches from the roof of an electric engine to the live wire overhead — just like the pole at the back of a fairground bumper car.

Amazing! One electric train travels all over Europe. Trans-Europ-Express was designed to use the different electricity supplies in different European countries. Engineers have to change its wheels though, every time it travels in and out of Spain.

Are electric engines better than diesel?

Electric power lets trains use energy without creating too much mess. The only pollution is at the power station where the electricity is made. Electric power is ideal for trams and underground trains in cities. Diesels are better on long routes where great lengths of electricity would be too expensive.

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America’s Pennsylvania Railroad used Baldwin diesel engines in pairs. Each one had twelve small wheels on each side. Linked together, making a 6,000 horse-power monster, they looked like they had 24 ‘legs’.

Amazing! Diesel engines can be steam engines too. The 1924 Kitson-Still used a diesel engine for its main power, but also used the heat of the engine to create steam. This powered an extra set of drive wheels.

Why did diesel take over from steam?

Diesel power first came into use to cope with the problem of smoke in cities and underground railways. During World War Two, military diesel engines became lighter and smaller. Just like today’s trains, the engines fitted under the floors of the carriages.

Which diesel looked like an aeroplane?

The German Kruckenburg of 1931 had a huge propeller at the back which pushed it along like an aeroplane on rails. It reached speeds up to 230 kph during a ten- kilometre speed trial. Unfortunately, it was too noisy and dangerous for everyday use.

Is it true? Diesel engines use electric motors.

Yes. Many diesel-engined trains actually use electric motor to turn the wheels. The engine itself uses diesel fuel. It turns a generator, which creates the electricity needed by the electric motors. This is because electric motors turn powerfully at all speeds, unlike a diesel engine.

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Between 1800 and 1825, there were ‘trains’ without engines in Wales and Austria. Horses pulled carriages along the rails. It was a smoother ride than road travel.

Which train was the first to carry passengers?

Stephenson’s Locomotion was the first engine to be used on a public railway, the Stockton and Darlington, in 1825. Stephenson’s Rocket won £500 in competition at Rain hill, Liverpool, four years later.

What was the first train engine?

Richard Trevithick, a mine engineer, first demonstrated a mobile engine on rails in 1804. It pulled 70 men and ten tonnes of iron ore, in front of a crowd of amazed onlookers. His next engine became a fairground ride.

Amazing! There were horse-drawn trains 50 years ago! The Fintona Branch of Ireland’s Great Northern railway remained horse-powered until the early 1950S.

Is it true? The ancient Greeks had a steam engine!

Yes. Hero of Alexander wrote about a steam-powered spinning ball, called the ‘aeolipile’ in 200 BC. But since slave labour was free, no one bothered to use the engine as a labour-saving device.

Picture Credit : Google