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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

The Gotthard railway (German: Gotthardbahn; Italian: Ferrovia del Gottardo) is the Swiss trans-alpine railway line from northern Switzerland to the canton of Ticino. The line forms a major part of an important international railway link between northern Europe, especially Germany, and Italy. The Gotthard Railway Company (German: Gotthardbahn-Gesellschaft) was the former private railway company which financed the construction of, and originally operated, that line. The railway comprises a main line from Immensee to Chiasso, together with branches, from Immensee to Lucerne and Rotkreuz, from Arth-Goldau to Zug, and from Bellinzona to Locarno and Luino. The main line penetrates the Alps by means of the Gotthard Tunnel at over 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) above sea level. The line then descends as far as Bellinzona, at 241 metres (791 ft) above sea level, before climbing again to the Monte Ceneri Pass. The extreme differences in altitude necessitate the use of long ramped approaches on each side, together with several spirals. Construction of the line started in 1872, with some lowland sections opening by 1874. The full line opened in 1882, following completion of the Gotthard Tunnel. The line was incorporated into the Swiss Federal Railways in 1909, and electrified in 1922. The approaches to the existing tunnel continue to restrict speed and capacity on this important international route, and in 1996 it was decided to build a new lower level route on the Gotthard axis as part of the AlpTransit project. This route involves the construction of the new Gotthard Base Tunnel and Ceneri Base Tunnel, and it will be integrated with the existing route once completed, with some sections of the two routes in common.

Recently selected: GO Transit - Glasgow Central station - Gjønnes (station)

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Selected image of the week

A diesel and an electric locomotive of Slovenske železnice await their next assignments in a yard in Slovenia in 2009.

Recently selected: ČSD class 477.0 - Serbian Railways passenger train - Russia-China border crossing

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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?

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Selected anniversaries

August 7

1865 – The Lawrence Railroad and Transportation Company, with tracks in Pennsylvania and Ohio, is reorganized as the Lawrence Railroad Company.
1905 – The Marion and Johnston City Railway, a predecessor of Missouri Pacific Railroad (1903 map pictured), is incorporated in Illinois.
1924 – Streetcars operate for the last time in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to be replaced with buses.
1954 – The last streetcars operate on the Altoona and Logan Valley Electric Railway in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

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Train News

Santa Fe No. 2926 at Albuquerque, New Mexico
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)
Big Boy No. 4012 at Steamtown National Historic Site
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)
The derailed Taroko Express trainset, as seen from outside the entrance to the tunnel
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)

The preserved C&O 1309 at the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum in October 2009

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)

An Avelia Liberty train on a test run in Delaware in May 2020

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)

Berryessa/North San José station on the first day of service

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

The following are images from various train-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Electric train on Djursholmsbanan in Stockholm in the 1890s. (from Train)
Image 2Stockton and Darlington special inaugural train 1825: six wagons of coal, directors coach, then people in wagons (from Train)
Image 3A prototype of a Ganz AC electric locomotive in Valtellina, Italy, 1901 (from Locomotive)
Image 4Armored train Hurban located in Zvolen, Slovakia (from Railroad car)
Image 5The New Orleans Streetcar System is one of the oldest in the world. (from Train)
Image 6Škoda Artic light rail train near the cathedral in Tampere, Finland (from Train)
Image 7Bombardier ALP-45DP at the Innotrans convention in Berlin (from Locomotive)
Image 8The "hump" of a hump yard. Railcars travel past retarders, which control their speed, and are directed onto tracks to be assembled into new trains. The control tower operates the retarders. (from Rail yard)
Image 9Trains carrying hazardous materials display information identifying their cargo and hazards. This tank car carrying chlorine displays, among other markings, a U.S. DOT placard showing a UN number that identifies the hazardous substance. (from Train)
Image 10A gas turbine locomotive operated by the Union Pacific Railroad (from Train)
Image 11A number of maintenance vehicles at work on Metro-North Railroad (from Train)
Image 12Typical American extended vision caboose (from Railroad car)
Image 13Yard for Amtrak equipment, located next to the Los Angeles River. The two tracks on the left are the mainline. (from Rail yard)
Image 14Various types of railroad cars in a classification yard in the United States (from Train)
Image 15Restored clerestory cars on display at the Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom, Wisconsin (from Railroad car)
Image 16A narrow gauge train in Austria (from Train)
Image 17Most derailments, such as this one in Switzerland, are minor and do not cause injuries or damage. (from Train)
Image 18Variety of rolling stock in rail yard (from Rolling stock)
Image 19A wooden toy train set from Swedish manufacturer Brio (from Train)
Image 20A Tokyo Monorail train (from Train)
Image 21Werner von Siemens experimental DC electric train, 1879 (from Locomotive)
Image 22This map of Cedar Hill Yard in Connecticut shows a variety of different facilities, including receiving yards, departure yards, classification yards, and a repair yard. (from Rail yard)
Image 23An early Diesel-mechanical locomotive at the North Alabama Railroad Museum (from Locomotive)
Image 24A narrow gauge battery-electric locomotive used for mining (from Locomotive)
Image 25The Union Pacific Big Boy locomotives represented the pinnacle of steam locomotive technology and power. (from Train)
Image 26The Japanese 0 Series Shinkansen pioneered high speed rail service. (from Train)
Image 27The 1902 Maudslay Petrol Locomotive (from Locomotive)
Image 28A Union Pacific freight train; high clearances enable double-stacked containers to be carried in well cars. (from Train)
Image 29Second-class compartment of a China Railways CRH1A-A train (from Train)
Image 30Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare, by Claude Monet, 1877, Art Institute of Chicago (from Train)
Image 31US-style railroad truck (bogie) with journal bearings (from Train)
Image 32A preserved armored train (from Train)
Image 33A freight car (boxcar type) for the South Australian Railways, 1926 (from Railroad car)
Image 34Pacific National diesel locomotives in Australia showing three body types, cab unit (front), hood unit (middle) and box cab (rear) (from Locomotive)
Image 35A British Rail Class 150 in the United Kingdom (from Railroad car)
Image 36An interior of a Circle line S7 Stock in London (from Railroad car)
Image 37China operates an extensive high speed rail network. (from Train)
Image 38Inside a modern-day car from Finland (from Railroad car)
Image 39British Rail Mark 3 coach, an all-steel car from the 1970s (from Railroad car)
Image 40A London Underground battery-electric locomotive at West Ham station used for hauling engineers' trains (from Locomotive)
Image 41Garratt locomotives in Zimbabwe (from Train)
Image 42Union Pacific 18, a gas turbine-electric locomotive preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum (from Locomotive)
Image 43Southern Railway (UK) 20002 was equipped with both pantograph and contact shoes (from Locomotive)
Image 44Workington stabling point in 1981, with locomotives from Classes 25, 40 and 47 parked between duties. (from Rail yard)
Image 45Baltimore & Ohio electric engine, 1895 (from Locomotive)
Image 46The 1887 Daimler draisine (from Locomotive)
Image 47World's first useful diesel locomotive (a diesel-electric locomotive) for long distances SŽD Eel2, 1924 in Kyiv (from Locomotive)
Image 48A German DB Class V 200 diesel-hydraulic locomotive at Technikmuseum, Berlin (from Locomotive)
Image 49Soviet RT-23 Molodets ICBM launch train, in the St Petersburg museum (from Railroad car)
Image 50This cab car includes a horn (top), a bell (top right), headlights (above the door), classification lights (red lights on side), and ditch lights (white lights on side). (from Train)
Image 51A coach yard in Shanghai, China (from Rail yard)
Image 52The EMD FT set the stage for diesel locomotives to take over from steam. (from Train)
Image 53A Victorian Railways R class steam locomotive in Australia (from Locomotive)
Image 54A China Railways HXD1D electric locomotive in China (from Locomotive)
Image 55A large Amtrak and Metra coach yard just south of Chicago Union Station. About 25 percent of all rail traffic in the United States travels through the Chicago area. (from Rail yard)
Image 56A Metropolitan line S8 Stock at Amersham in London (from Railroad car)