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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 Flekkefjord Line (Norwegian: Flekkefjordbanen) is a 17.1-kilometre (10.6 mi) abandoned branch line to the Sørland Line. It ran between Sira and Flekkefjord in Vest-Agder, Norway. The only current activity on the line is tourist draisines. The station buildings along the line were designed by the architect Paul Armin Due; these have all been demolished. The line opened in 1904 as an 64-kilometre (40 mi) extension of the narrow gauge Jæren Line. It was planned as the first step of a main line along the South Coast. At Flekkefjord, there was steam ship connection, onwards to Oslo. In 1941, the line was converted to standard gauge, and in 1944 the Sørland Line was completed. The western part of the Flekkefjord Line was integrated into it, while the remaining section became the branch line that kept the name Flekkefjord Line. During the 1940s, steam locomotive-hauled trains were replaced by railcars. Following the declining traffic, in part due to the slow speeds caused by the line's narrow profile, the line was closed, with the last trains running in 1990.

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A passenger train with a class 206 locomotive passing the small town of Haag, Lower Austria, circa 1900.

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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 4

1895 – Nippon Railway begins operations on the Tsuchiura Line between Tsuchiura and Tomobe.
2003 – A new intermodal service is inaugurated between Aiton, France, and Orbassano (near Turin), Italy, to transport complete trucks (both the tractor and trailer) and their loads like other rolling highway services (pictured); the trains include coach seating for the truck drivers as well.

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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 1The 1887 Daimler draisine (from Locomotive)
Image 2Baltimore & Ohio electric engine, 1895 (from Locomotive)
Image 3Southern Railway (UK) 20002 was equipped with both a pantograph and contact shoes. (from Locomotive)
Image 4Bombardier ALP-45DP, at the Innotrans convention in Berlin (from Locomotive)
Image 5US-style railroad truck (bogie) with journal bearings (from Train)
Image 6A number of maintenance vehicles at work on Metro-North Railroad (from Train)
Image 7Most derailments, such as this one in Switzerland, are minor and do not cause injuries or damage. (from Train)
Image 8Workington stabling point in 1981, with locomotives from Classes 25, 40 and 47 parked between duties. (from Rail yard)
Image 9An interior of a Circle line S7 Stock in London (from Railroad car)
Image 10The New Orleans Streetcar System is the oldest in the world. (from Train)
Image 11A Union Pacific freight train; high clearances enable double-stacked containers to be carried in well cars. (from Train)
Image 12Garratt locomotives in Zimbabwe (from Train)
Image 13Electric train on Djursholmsbanan in Stockholm in the 1890s. (from Train)
Image 14Soviet RT-23 Molodets ICBM launch train, in the St Petersburg museum (from Railroad car)
Image 15Various types of railroad cars in a classification yard in the United States (from Train)
Image 16Schedule of train departure times in Indonesia stations (from Train)
Image 17The "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 18Trains 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 19British Rail Mark 3 coach, an all-steel car from the 1970s (from Railroad car)
Image 20A narrow gauge train in Austria (from Train)
Image 21The ESS 3200 electric locomotive was introduced in 1925 in the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. (from Locomotive)
Image 22A Tokyo Monorail train (from Train)
Image 23A China Railways HXD1D electric locomotive in China (from Locomotive)
Image 24Armored train Hurban located in Zvolen, Slovakia (from Railroad car)
Image 25Second-class compartment of a China Railways CRH1A-A train (from Train)
Image 26A prototype of a Ganz AC electric locomotive in Valtellina, Italy, 1901 (from Locomotive)
Image 27A wooden toy train set from Swedish manufacturer Brio (from Train)
Image 28This 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 29The Union Pacific Big Boy locomotives represented the pinnacle of steam locomotive technology and power. (from Train)
Image 30China operates an extensive high speed rail network. (from Train)
Image 31The first useful diesel locomotive (a diesel–electric) for long distances, the SŽD Eel2, 1924 in Kyiv (from Locomotive)
Image 32A gas turbine locomotive operated by the Union Pacific Railroad (from Train)
Image 33Inside a modern-day car from Finland (from Railroad car)
Image 34A British Rail Class 150 in the United Kingdom (from Railroad car)
Image 35Typical American extended vision caboose (from Railroad car)
Image 36RegioCitadis light rail train in Zoetermeer (the Netherlands). (from Train)
Image 37A coach yard in Shanghai, China (from Rail yard)
Image 38Restored clerestory cars on display at the Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom, Wisconsin (from Railroad car)
Image 39Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare, by Claude Monet, 1877, Art Institute of Chicago (from Train)
Image 40Werner von Siemens experimental DC electric train, 1879 (from Locomotive)
Image 41The Japanese 0 Series Shinkansen pioneered high speed rail service (from Train)
Image 42A London Underground battery–electric locomotive used for hauling engineers' trains, at West Ham station (from Locomotive)
Image 43A 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 44A preserved armored train (from Train)
Image 45A freight car (boxcar type) for the South Australian Railways, 1926 (from Railroad car)
Image 46Stockton and Darlington special inaugural train 1825: six wagons of coal, directors coach, then people in wagons. (from Train)
Image 47Yard for Amtrak equipment, located next to the Los Angeles River. The two tracks on the left are the mainline. (from Rail yard)
Image 48The EMD FT set the stage for diesel locomotives to take over from steam. (from Train)
Image 49A narrow-gauge battery–electric locomotive used for mining (from Locomotive)
Image 50A Metropolitan line S8 Stock at Amersham in London (from Railroad car)
Image 51A Victorian Railways R class steam locomotive in Australia (from Locomotive)
Image 52This 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)