Portal:Trains/Did you know/April 2015

Entrance to the El Coll - La Teixonera station in 2010

...that Barcelona Metro's El Coll – La Teixonera station, with its entrance situated under a steep hill, has the highest elevated station entrance on the whole network at 181.60 metres (595.8 ft) and the longest lift on the network at 63 metres (207 ft)?

A platform of Dhanbad Junction station in 2012

...that Dhanbad Junction railway station is the largest railway station in the Indian state of Jharkhand, handling over 100 trains and more than 100,000 passengers every day?

HXD3D number 0061 in Beijing in 2014

...that the China Railway HXD3D electric locomotives have been called "rainbow," "tomato," and "orangutan" locomotives due to their varied liveries?

Passengers await an arriving Amtrak train at Capital Beltway station in 1974

...that Capital Beltway station, opened by Penn Central in 1970 and continued in use by Amtrak until 1983, proved to be inadequate as a station since it was not handicap-accessible and its waiting room, as originally built, had seats for just ten people and no restrooms?

Bridgeton station tracks and platforms in 2008

...that when Bridgeton Cross railway station in Scotland was closed along with both lines it served on 5 October 1964 as a result of the Beeching Axe, the tracks were subsequently lifted, but the station and tunnels were left intact, which enabled their reuse and reopening as part of the Argyle Line project in 1979?

The bodies of Ben Kilpatrick and Ole Hobek are displayed after the failed 1912 robbery

...that Ben Kilpatrick, who was a former member of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch, and Ole Hobek were both killed when they attempted the Baxter's Curve Train Robbery aboard a Southern Pacific train in Texas in 1912?

The observation car end of the Ski Train at Denver Union Station in 2006

...that when Amtrak announced the operation of a special Winter Park Express excursion train reviving the route of the Ski Train on February 25, 2015, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Winter Park Resort, Colorado, more than 450 seats sold out in less than 10 hours prompting the addition of a second train which also sold out quickly?

Aerial view of Wellington in 2012 showing the people mover track

...that an automated people mover, sometimes called a "horizontal elevator" built by Poma and the Otis Elevator Company, connects Wellington station on MBTA's Orange Line with the Mystic Center (later "Station Landing") office complex and park and ride lot?

System map of the Ayr and Dalmellington Railway in 1856

...that the Ayr and Dalmellington Railway in Scotland became the first railway to cross the river at Ayr when construction was completed and the line was fully opened in 1856?

UTA 70 Class "Sealink" set enters Castlerock station in 1984

...that although the Ulster Transport Authority 70 Class diesel multiple unit trains made use of readily available power and transmission units and were therefore cheap to operate, they were noisier and less comfortable than locomotive-hauled rolling stock and ultimately replaced in the 1980s?

Tobu 50090 series set 51094 approaching Kawagoe Station on the Tōbu Tōjō Line in 2008

...that the Tokyo terminus of the Tobu Railway Tōjō Line was originally planned to be at Shimo-Itabashi, and this is where the "0 km" post for the line is located (with its present terminus Ikebukuro Station marked by km post "-1.9")?

North Cornwall Railway route map

...that by encouraging the North Cornwall Railway, the LSWR planned to create railway access to previously inaccessible parts of the northern coastal area of Cornwall as part of a drive to develop holiday traffic?

Tobu 9050 series EMU set 9151 at Shinrinkoen Depot on the Tobu Tojo Line in 1998

...that Tobu Railway's 9500 series electric multiple unit (EMU) trains introduced in 1981 was the first EMU type with a stainless steel body to be introduced by Tobu?

Construction of the Stock Yards branch in 1907

...that the Chicago "L" Stock Yards branch serving the Union Stock Yards was built partly as a result of a Chicago City Council measure requiring the 40th Street line to be elevated as part of a larger effort to remove grade crossings from Chicago railroads?

South African Class 37-000 number 37-014 at Capital Park, Pretoria, Gauteng, in May 2013

...that after the South African Railways Class 37-000 EMD GT26MC locomotives were commissioned, the national carrier was not to invest in new diesel-electric locomotives until 2009, nearly three decades later?

SLSF 4018 at Sloss Furnaces park in 2012

...that St. Louis–San Francisco Railway's (Frisco's) USRA Light Mikado 2-8-2 number 4018, now preserved on static display, was the last steam locomotive to operate on any part of the Frisco Railway and quite possibly the last to operate within the Birmingham, Alabama, metro area?

A Shintetsu 6000 series train at Suzurandai Station in 2009

...that Shintetsu's 6000 series electric multiple unit trains, built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries beginning in 2008, are the first trains ordered by Shintetsu with stainless steel bodies?

A Seibu 30000 series train in 2008

...that Seibu Railway's 30000 series electric multiple unit trains introduced in 2008 for use on commuter services in the Tokyo area of Japan have earned the nickname "smile trains"?

Map of Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railroad and Northwestern Pacific Railroad in California

...that the Petaluma and Santa Rosa Railroad in northern California engaged in a four-month long frog war in 1904 and 1905 when the railroad constructed its line eastward from Sebastopol to Santa Rosa?

Sakuramizu Station building in 2011

...that Sakuramizu Station, which opened in 1975 in Fukushima, Fukushima, Japan, is the only station on Fukushima Transportation's Iizaka Line where an underground walkway connects the station to the platform?

A modern commuter train at Rehovot station in 2005

...that the last British military train left Rehovot Railway Station bound for Egypt on May 14, 1948, only hours before the Israeli Declaration of Independence?