Portal:Trains/Did you know/August 2018

August 2018

Mystic River Drawbridge No. 7 circa 1975

• ...that Draw Number 7 on the MBTA Commuter Rail Newburyport/Rockport Line over the Mystic River, built in 1877, was the oldest horizontally folding drawbridge in the United States until it was replaced in 1989?

Preserved NYC 2933, an L-2b class Mohawk, at the Museum of Transport St Louis in 1970

• ...that New York Central Railroad used the term Mohawk for its fleet of 4-8-2 Mountain type steam locomotives to better fit with their use on the Water Level Route along the Mohawk River?

Mockup of new Siemens design for London shown in 2011

• ...that Siemens presented a design for rolling stock in the New Tube for London plan that reduces weight by 30 tonnes (29.5 long tons; 33.1 short tons) and energy consumption by 17 per cent?

An R160 New Technology Train in M service near Hewes Street station in 2008

• ...that although several models of New Technology Trains have entered service on the New York City Subway system, the two original prototypes were taken out of service by 2000, due to multiple issues with the trains?

New Southgate station tracks and platforms in 2011

• ...that New Southgate opened in 1850 as 'Colney Hatch & Southgate' by order of the Middlesex Justices who insisted on trains stopping daily for the benefit of the Second Middlesex County Asylum adjacent to the station?

Metro-North trains at New Rochelle station in 2015

• ...that New Rochelle, situated 16.6 miles (26.7 km) from Grand Central Terminal in New York City, is the busiest New Haven Line station in Westchester County?

A string of New England Central Railroad locomotives in April 2005

• ...that following the Central Vermont Railway sale to RailTex Corp. in 1995 that formed the New England Central Railroad, the line's declining traffic flow was reversed, with the new railroad company handling more than 30,000 carloads annually within two years?

A "photo freight" recreation of a vintage freight train on the Nevada Northern Railway in 2015

• ...that rather than being made of gold or silver, Nevada Northern Railway's ceremonial last spike was made from locally-mined copper?

A Network Rail morning "leaf buster" train uses high-pressure water jets to clear fallen leaves from the line on the approach to Taunton station in November 2009

• ...that in 2006, Network Rail announced a high-tech plan to combat the effects of slippery rail by using satellites for tracking trouble areas, water-jetting trains and railhead scrubbers, and a substance called Natrusolve, which dissolves leaf mulch?

Nehru Setu bridge in July 2016

• ...that when the 3,059-metre long (1.9 mi) Nehru Setu railway bridge in Bihar opened in 1900, it was the longest bridge in India and was believed to be the second longest bridge in the world?

Two N class locomotives pull the Edinburgh Express circa 1900

• ...that North British Railway's first N class 4-4-0 steam locomotive was exhibited in Edinburgh and had the unusual distinction of running through the city's public streets (under its own power) on temporary tracks when it was transferred back to the main line?

Locomotive 872 Auld Reekie departs Edinburgh with an express passenger service circa 1911

• ...that North British Railway was overly ambitious in advertising the H class 4-4-2 steam locomotives such that the engines were not ready in time for the new timetables which they had been designed to serve?

The crowded Navy Yard station after a Washington Nationals baseball game in May 2009

• ...that WMATA announced that it carried 21,492 people through Navy Yard–Ballpark station to the inaugural Washington Nationals baseball game on March 31, 2008?

National Limited departing Cincinnati in April 1963

• ...that Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's National Limited passenger train service between New York City and St. Louis, Missouri, was the first long-distance train in the United States to be entirely air-conditioned?

Natick Center station in 2016

• ...that Natick Center station is the busiest non-accessible station on the MBTA Commuter Rail system?

The main station area of Nassau Station in 2014

• ...that Staten Island Railway's now closed Nassau station was built to serve the Nassau Smelting & Refining Company, and had a siding so that freight could be transferred to and from the factory?

1910 postcard showing Mystic station

• ...that Mystic station, in Connecticut, is one of only three stations on the Northeast Corridor to be served exclusively by Amtrak, with no commuter rail service?

A New York City Subway train at Myrtle Avenue station in 2008

• ...that the connection to the New York City Subway's Myrtle Avenue Line at Myrtle Avenue station is one of the few remaining level junctions in the subway as well as one of the few places on revenue tracks with slip switches?

Telescoped passenger cars in the aftermath of the 1888 Mud Run disaster

• ...that one of the lookouts on a train involved in the 1888 Mud Run disaster admitted to having seen a red (danger) light but 'did not think the red light meant anything, as nobody used it'!