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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

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-8-2 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle, also usually in a trailing truck. This configuration of steam locomotive is most often referred to as a Mikado, frequently shortened to Mike, but at times it was also referred to on some railroads in the United States of America as the McAdoo Mikado and, during World War II, the MacArthur. Other equivalent classifications are: 1D1 in UIC classification (also known as German and Italian classifications), 141 in French classification (also known as Spanish classification), 46 in Turkish classification and 4/6 in Swiss classification. The notation 2-8-2T indicates a tank locomotive of this wheel arrangement on which the water is carried in tanks mounted on the locomotive, rather than in an attached tender.

Recently selected: 1995 Fox River Grove bus–train collision - Underground Electric Railways Company of London - Wallkill Valley Rail Trail

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Russian 4-6-0 steam locomotive number U127, the official steam locomotive of Vladimir Lenin, was built in 1910 and used to pull passenger trains on the Tashkent Railway. It received its distinctive red livery in 1923, and was withdrawn from service in 1937. The "Red Locomotive," as it came to be known, was preserved and is now on static display at the Museum of the Moscow Railway.

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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

February 6

1815 – The first railroad charter in the United States is issued to the New Jersey Railroad Company, a railroad that ultimately was never built.
1864 – George Jay Gould I (pictured), eldest son of Jay Gould and president of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad and the Western Pacific Railroad is born (d. 1923).
1951 – The Broker, a Pennsylvania Railroad passenger train, derails near Woodbridge Township, New Jersey, killing 85 people and injuring over 500 more.
2002 – Sabotage to some railway signal and power lines near Durban, South Africa, prevents a switch from being thrown properly, which in turn causes a commuter train to collide with a stationary freight train in the Charlotte’s Dale train crash; 24 people died and 168 more were injured in the collision.

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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 1A Union Pacific freight train; high clearances enable double-stacked containers to be carried in well cars. (from Train)
Image 2Second-class compartment of a China Railways CRH1A-A train (from Train)
Image 3Variety of rolling stock in rail yard (from Rolling stock)
Image 4Restored clerestory cars on display at the Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom, Wisconsin (from Railroad car)
Image 5A gas turbine locomotive operated by the Union Pacific Railroad (from Train)
Image 6A coach yard in Shanghai, China (from Rail yard)
Image 7The New Orleans Streetcar System is one of the oldest in the world. (from Train)
Image 8A Victorian Railways R class steam locomotive in Australia (from Locomotive)
Image 9An interior of a Circle line S7 Stock in London (from Railroad car)
Image 10A London Underground battery–electric locomotive used for hauling engineers' trains, at West Ham station (from Locomotive)
Image 11A prototype of a Ganz AC electric locomotive in Valtellina, Italy, 1901 (from Locomotive)
Image 12Stockton and Darlington special inaugural train 1825: six wagons of coal, directors coach, then people in wagons. (from Train)
Image 13The 1887 Daimler draisine (from Locomotive)
Image 14This 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 15A British Rail Class 150 in the United Kingdom (from Railroad car)
Image 16US-style railroad truck (bogie) with journal bearings (from Train)
Image 17Workington stabling point in 1981, with locomotives from Classes 25, 40 and 47 parked between duties. (from Rail yard)
Image 18A freight car (boxcar type) for the South Australian Railways, 1926 (from Railroad car)
Image 19Yard for Amtrak equipment, located next to the Los Angeles River. The two tracks on the left are the mainline. (from Rail yard)
Image 20A wooden toy train set from Swedish manufacturer Brio (from Train)
Image 21Soviet RT-23 Molodets ICBM launch train, in the St Petersburg museum (from Railroad car)
Image 22British Rail Mark 3 coach, an all-steel car from the 1970s (from Railroad car)
Image 23Trains 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 24Schedule of train departure times in Indonesia stations (from Train)
Image 25A Tokyo Monorail train (from Train)
Image 26The Union Pacific Big Boy locomotives represented the pinnacle of steam locomotive technology and power. (from Train)
Image 27Electric train on Djursholmsbanan in Stockholm in the 1890s. (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 29Škoda Artic light rail train near the cathedral in Tampere, Finland (from Train)
Image 30The Japanese 0 Series Shinkansen pioneered high speed rail service. (from Train)
Image 31A narrow gauge train in Austria (from Train)
Image 32A Metropolitan line S8 Stock at Amersham in London (from Railroad car)
Image 33Various types of railroad cars in a classification yard in the United States (from Train)
Image 34Baltimore & Ohio electric engine, 1895 (from Locomotive)
Image 35Southern Railway (UK) 20002 was equipped with both a pantograph and contact shoes. (from Locomotive)
Image 36Garratt locomotives in Zimbabwe (from Train)
Image 37Bombardier ALP-45DP, at the Innotrans convention in Berlin (from Locomotive)
Image 38Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare, by Claude Monet, 1877, Art Institute of Chicago (from Train)
Image 39Armored train Hurban located in Zvolen, Slovakia (from Railroad car)
Image 40A China Railways HXD1D electric locomotive in China (from Locomotive)
Image 41A preserved armored train (from Train)
Image 42Most derailments, such as this one in Switzerland, are minor and do not cause injuries or damage. (from Train)
Image 43Inside a modern-day car from Finland (from Railroad car)
Image 44The EMD FT set the stage for diesel locomotives to take over from steam. (from Train)
Image 45The first useful diesel locomotive (a diesel–electric) for long distances, the SŽD Eel2, 1924 in Kyiv (from Locomotive)
Image 46Typical American extended vision caboose (from Railroad car)
Image 47Werner von Siemens experimental DC electric train, 1879 (from Locomotive)
Image 48A 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 49A narrow-gauge battery–electric locomotive used for mining (from Locomotive)
Image 50Pacific National diesel locomotives in Australia showing three body types, cab unit (front), hood unit (middle) and box cab (rear) (from Locomotive)
Image 51The "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 52The ESS 200 electric locomotive was introduced in 1925 in the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. (from Locomotive)
Image 53A number of maintenance vehicles at work on Metro-North Railroad (from Train)
Image 54China operates an extensive high speed rail network. (from Train)