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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

Charles Melville Hays (May 16, 1856 – April 15, 1912) was the president of the Grand Trunk Railway. He began working in the railroad business as a clerk at the age of 17 and quickly rose through the ranks of management to become the General Manager of the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railway. He became Vice-President of that company in 1889 and remained as such until 1896 when he became General Manager of the Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) of Canada. Hays left GTR for a short time to serve as the President of the Southern Pacific Railway Company but returned to GTR after one year. As Vice-President and General Manager of GTR he is credited with keeping the company from bankruptcy. In 1909, he became the president of GTR and all its consolidated lines, subsidiary railroads, and steamship companies. He was known for his philanthropy and received the Order of the Rising Sun, third class, from the Emperor of Japan in 1907. Hays is credited with the formation of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTP), a dream he had to create a second transcontinental railroad within the borders of Canada. He is also blamed for the insolvency of both the GTR and the GTP. He died before his dream was complete as he perished at sea in the sinking of the RMS Titanic. His body was recovered and he was buried in Montreal. He was survived by his wife and four daughters.

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Selected image of the week

Workers pose alongside a streamlined German DRG Class 05 locomotive as it steams for the first time in March 1935. The class was the fastest steam locomotive to run in Continental Europe, and briefly held the Land speed record for steam traction. This locomotive, number 05 001, is the only member of the class to be preserved.

Recently selected: 60163 Tornado on the Watercress Line - Afghanistan-Uzbekistan railway link - King's Cross Western Concourse

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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

November 1

One of the cars involved in the Malbone Street wreck

1856 – The Imperial Austrian State Railways inaugurates passenger service over the line between Oraviţa, Transylvania (present day Romania), and Baziaş, on the Danube.
1918 – The Malbone Street Wreck occurs on the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) in New York City when an inexperienced motorman (pressed into service due to a strike by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers) drives one of the system's trains (pictured) into a curve too quickly and derails the train.
1929 – The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway celebrates the 21st "birthday" of the Southern Belle passenger train with ceremonies at each end of the train's route between London and Brighton.
2004 – Amtrak discontinues the Palmetto south of Savannah, Georgia, replacing rail service to several towns in western Central Florida with Thruway Motorcoach bus service. The Pennsylvanian west of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is also discontinued, with the rest merged into the Keystone Service and Three Rivers lines.

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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)

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General images

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

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