The North PacificBoard

Facts About Trains:

1. The word Train comes from a French verb which means to draw or drag.

2. Ghost trains run on the British Train Network often.

3. There is an abandoned train subway station under the city hall in New York and it can be seen by taking the number 6 train.

4. Trains aided in the victory of the Americans during the Civil War. The battle of Chickamauga was one of the most significant uses of trains during the Civil War. The train used at this time quickly transported more than 20,000 backup soldiers across Washington D.C to Georgia in just a few days. The quick arrival of these troops fortified the Union forces and was a crucial aspect of the military’s success.

5. Thomas the Train was originally only a wooden toy made for the creator’s son.

6. A 16-year-old once impersonated a train conductor and drove a Brooklyn train for over 3 hours before getting caught.

7. Today 40% of world’s freight cargo is transported via trains, and that number continues to grow with each year.

8. The longest route for one train can be made between Moscow and Vladivostok on Trans-Siberian Express railway line that is 9,297 kilometers long!

9. Heaviest train ever recorded weighted 95,000 tonnes! This freight train from Australia was 7.3 kilometers long and had the weight of 27 thousand fully grown elephants.

10. The slowest express service in the world, Switzerland's Glacier Express takes a whooping eight hours to cover a distance of just 181 miles (291km). That's because the scenic route takes in sights like Oberalp Pass, the highest point of the journey, and the Landwasser Viaduct – a six-arch bridge which stands at 213 feet (65m) and plunges straight into a tunnel that leads through the mountain. The day-long trip covers 91 tunnels, 291 bridges and offers the chance to take in stunning alpine meadows, mountain lakes and chalets.

11. It is customary to consider Japan’s Seven Stars among the most luxurious and expensive train journeys accessible anywhere. The Seven Stars is a so-called cruise train that circumnavigates the entire island of Kyushu over multiple days. Due to the limited capacity of 28 passengers per trip, interested riders must enter a lottery to purchase a ticket for an upcoming departure. Unfortunately, buying a ticket for this opulent service is not as straightforward as visiting the website for reservations.

12. The train used in the Harry Potter movies called the Hogwarts Express is a real train being used in Scotland.

13. The very first trains used a system that depended on gravity, horses, and ropes.

14. The first underground railway was built in London, England. It opened in 1863 and the trains were powered by steam, which made the underground railway dirty and stinky.

15. Early pioneers of train development were James Watt, Oliver Evans, Matthew Murray, Richard Trevithick and George Stephenson. Their innovations enabled the rise of the modern train history.

16. The first commercially successful steam-powered locomotive was the Salamanca, built by Matthew Murray in 1812. The first electric locomotive was invented and built by Scottish inventor Robert Davidson in 1837. The first diesel-powered locomotive operated on the Winterthur-Romanshorn railway in 1912.

17. Some of the highest railways in the world are in the Andes mountain range in South America.

18. In Japan, trains are so punctual that any delay over five minutes usually incurs an apology and a “delay certificate” for passengers on their way to work. When trains are delayed for an hour or more, it may even make the news.

19. Mecca has a Metro line (Al Mashaaer Al Mugaddassah Metro Line) specifically for shuttling Muslim pilgrims between holy sites during Hajj. The rail line is only open one week per year, has trains every 2.5 minutes, operates at 100% capacity, and moves nearly 4 million people.

20. Mauritania Railway is a 430-mile long railway line laid across the Sahara Desert in Africa whose sole purpose is to transport iron ore with 3-kilometer longs trains.

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