Portal:Trains/Did you know/July 2010

...that the former Penfield railway line in northern Adelaide, Australia, was originally opened in 1941 as an industrial line to service various World War II armaments factories and during the war years this branch line was also used by many passenger trains carrying workers to the munitions factories in the area?

...that the Palm Jumeirah Monorail, built between 2006 and 2008 to connect the Palm Jumeirah to mainland Dubai, is the first monorail system in the Middle East?

Builder's photo of PRR 1737

...that the prototype of Pennsylvania Railroad's K4s class of 4-6-2 steam locomotives, number 1737, built in 1914 was used to pull a wide range of passenger trains, from daily commuter trains in New Jersey to the railroad's flagship Broadway Limited, until dieselization in the 1950s?

...that due to mechanical problems after their introduction in 1985, several of PKP's class SP32 diesel locomotives were extensively rebuilt in the 1990s and after about 50 of the class were scrapped, another rebuilding program began in 2000 on the remaining locomotives?

The facade of Oslo Vestbanestasjon in 2006

...that until its closure in 1989, Oslo Vestbanestasjon in Norway was the main station for trains on the Sørland, Drammen and Vestfold railway lines and the station building has since been taken into use by the Nobel Peace Centre among other tenants?

...that with a patronage of less than 600 passengers per day, Oosterbeek railway station, which opened in 1845 in the Netherlands, is the least used on the Rhijnspoorweg railway line between Amsterdam and Elten?

...that at Okachimachi Station in Tokyo, tracks 1 and 4 (the outermost tracks) serve the Keihin-Tōhoku Line (京浜東北線) whilst tracks 2 and 3 (the inner tracks) are used for Yamanote Line trains (山手線), allowing for easy cross-platform interchanges between the two lines in the same direction?

...that when plans were formed to replace Berlin's longest bridge in 1879, the Siemens & Halske company, which was planning to build the Berlin U-Bahn (subway), insisted that the Oberbaumbrücke be built as a combined crossing for road vehicles, pedestrians, and the new rail line?

...that before it was demolished in December 2009 and subsequently rebuilt, the level crossing at Nunawading railway station in Melbourne was twice named the worst congestion point in the state of Victoria?

...that Norden (England) railway station just north of the village of Corfe Castle in England was built in 1995 on the site of the former Norden Ball clay works for the heritage Swanage Railway in order to avoid parking problems in Corfe Castle village by visitors to the railway?

Cars of the Niš tram soon after it opened in 1930

...that construction of the Niš tram system in Serbia, which operated from 1930 to 1958, was largely financed through war reparation payments made by Germany after World War I?

...that the Nippon Railway, which was incorporated in 1881 and subsequently built trunk lines including the present day Tōhoku Main Line connecting Tokyo with the Tōhoku region to the northeast, was the first private railway company in the history of Japan?

...that Nickel Plate Road's USRA Light 2-8-2 number 587, originally built in September 1918 by Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Lake Erie and Western Railroad, is now undergoing restoration to operating condition at the Indiana Transportation Museum?

...that the earliest predecessor of the current Nantes Tramway in France was built in 1879 as a mostly level route operating east-west along the quays of the River Loire that transported its passengers using standard gauge tramcars propelled by compressed air, using the Mekarski system?

Meitetsu 7000 series "Panorama Car" train on a last run special in 2008

...that some of the more famous trains operated by Nagoya Railroad in Japan include the Panorama Car and the Panorama Car Super, both of which offer views through their wide front windows?
...that although the Class 1100 electric locomotives were Nederlandse Spoorwegen's main locomotives from the 1960s through the 1970s, they were unpopular with NS drivers partly because of the rough ride caused by the buffer locations but also because the cab did not accommodate tall drivers well?

Norfolk & Western #450, the very first M, in its 1906 Baldwin portrait in 1906

...that the 286 locomotives that made up Norfolk and Western Railway's M, M1 and M2 classes, built from 1906 to 1910 by Baldwin, ALCO's Richmond shops and N&W's Roanoke Shops, were the last significant deliveries of 4-8-0s in the United States?

...that as part of a major investment programme in the railways in Northern Ireland, NIR placed an order totaling £80 million, the largest single investment in rolling stock ever made by NIR, with CAF for twenty-three 3-car DMUs in 2002, an order that was delivered as the new Class 3000 in 2004 and 2005?

...that the "NE Train" (New Energy Train) is an experimental railcar which has been used to test a number of alternative power sources including a hydrogen fuel cell by the Railway Technical Research Institute (RTRI) and East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan?

...that although Myanmar Railways has steadily increased the reach of its network in the last two decades, from nearly 3,200 kilometres (2,000 mi) in 1988 to 5,403 km (3,357 mi) in 2010, the maximum speed for freight trains has been quoted as 24 km/h (15 mph), suggesting that commercial speeds on this section could be as low as 12–14 km/h (7.5–8.7 mph)?

...that Muhos railway station, opened in 1927 and the second station east from Oulu railway station and the first passenger service station east from Oulu, Finland, was a staffed station until in 1998 when centralized traffic control was installed?

...that although there is some disagreement whether or not the Morgantown Personal Rapid Transit system built in the early 1970s in West Virginia is a "true" PRT system, it remains the only commercially operated example of this class of rapid transit?

...that although there are local trains that run the entire 79.3-kilometre (49.3 mi) length of the Mugi Line connecting Tokushima and Kaifu, in southeastern Tokushima Prefecture, Japan, most service is divided at Mugi?

...that originally built in 1851 and in continuous operation since then, Moskovsky Rail Terminal in Saint Petersburg, Russia, is the oldest preserved station in the city?

...that the Moderus Alfa trams designed for use in Poland are based on retrofit conversions of existing Konstal 105Na trams originally manufactured from 1979 to 1992?

...that the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Depot in Moose Lake, Minnesota, now preserved and listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, was one of the few buildings that survived the 1918 Cloquet Fire, and it was used to provide shelter for those left homeless in the fires?

...that two days after Midorichō Station opened in 1935 on the Izuhakone Railway's Daiyūzan Line in Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, both of the adjacent stations were closed?

...that following a research trip to the United States to see the new railroad technology in 1839, Russian engineer and Transport Minister Pavel Petrovich Melnikov suggested the adoption of 5 ft (1,524 mm) gauge for the planned Moscow-St. Petersburg Railway, a gauge which eventually became the standard for Russian railways?