Portal:Trains/Did you know/Main page, 2013

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The following facts related to rail transport have appeared in the Did you know section of Wikipedia's Main page in 2013.

Aerial view of the bombardment by the NTSB

... that the recent derailment (pictured) in the Bronx of a Metro-North commuter train caused the first passenger deaths in the railroad's history?
... that the BBC filmed The Great Train Robbery in Yorkshire, as it was the "most cost-effective and realistic alternative" to the original sites, much changed since the 1960s?
... that Runcorn signal box was one of the earliest operational signal boxes built by the LMS to incorporate Air Raid Precautions specifications?
... that when Hale Holden became president of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad in 1914, he was the youngest chief executive of any major American rail system?
... that all train services in Scotland were cancelled because Cyclone Bodil led to trampolines and hay bales on the line?

The redeveloped Domain Interchange

... that the 2013 $10.2 million rebuild of Melbourne tram system's Domain Interchange (pictured), was the largest redevelopment Yarra Trams had undertaken?

The Gulf Coast Rebel as it appeared in the pre-Alton acquisition era with silver-and-red paint. An ALCO DL-105 is on the front

... that the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad's Gulf Coast Rebel (pictured) was the last train it operated south of St. Louis, Missouri?
... that although the Carmyllie Railway was in operation for almost 130 years, it offered passenger services for less than 30 years?
... that when the Union Pacific Railroad re-launched its streamlined City of Denver passenger train in 1954, it included a pair of Pacific series sleeping cars?
... that the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Strata-Domes were the first dome cars to operate in the Eastern United States?
... that the CGR 1st Class 2-6-0 1891 steam locomotives were the first American locomotives to enter service in South Africa?

The Blue Bird's "Vista-Dome" dome parlor-observation car in the 1950s

... that the Wabash Railroad's Blue Bird (pictured), introduced in 1950, was the first dome passenger train on the Chicago–St. Louis route?
... that the Melbourne University tram stop, one of the busiest on the Melbourne tram network, is the terminus for seven tram routes?
... that the American Car and Foundry Company's Astra Dome dome cars included the only dome dining cars ever operated by a railroad in the United States?
... that in 1953 the Louisville and Nashville Railroad upgraded its Pan-American passenger train with Pine-series sleeping cars?
... that the Illinois Central Railroad's Green Diamond debuted in 1936 with IC 121, the last new fixed-consist articulated streamliner built in the United States in the 1930s?
... that the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad's new Ozark State Zephyr streamliner was christened by Mollie Stark, the daughter of then-Missouri Governor-elect Lloyd C. Stark?
... that Swedish railway worker Fritiof Enbom was accused and convicted of being a spy for the Soviet Union?
... that the Vestfold Line, including a branch to Horten, was opened by King Oscar II in October 1881?
... that 105 people were injured during a train crash in Argentina on October 19, 2013?
... that the Chesapeake and Ohio class M1 steam turbine locomotive, built in 1947 to haul the Chessie streamliner, could go up to eleven?
... that the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway's "Big Dome" dome lounges remained on the El Capitan for just two years before being replaced by Hi-Level cars?
... that the Pere Marquette Railway's Pere Marquette was the first new streamlined passenger train introduced in the United States after World War II?
... that Pullman-Standard's Pleasure Dome dome lounges were named after a line from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem Kubla Khan?

Two Skytop Lounges in their original Milwaukee Road paint scheme. These cars were part of the Twin Cities Hiawatha equipment pool

... that after their retirement, two of the Milwaukee Road's Skytop Lounges (pictured) became part of the ill-fated floating restaurant SS Lansdowne?
... that over 40 now-defunct railroads were part of transportation in Montana in the industrial period of the 19th and early 20th century?
... that station master Franciszek Ząbecki collected incriminating evidence against Holocaust perpetrators by keeping records of railway deliveries to Treblinka extermination camp?

... that the Milwaukee Road's Beaver Tail parlor-observation cars (pictured) were so-named because of their distinctive flat, sloped rear area?
... that Pullman-Standard's Super Dome was the first full-length dome car to enter service?
... that West Virginia railroad and timber executive William B. Cornwell was rendered unconscious by a falling longcase clock?
... that the Columbian was the first train to use the Milwaukee Road's new depot in Tacoma, Washington when it opened in 1954?
... that "Wild Bill" Carlisle was one of America's last train robbers?
... that no passenger train has serviced Michigan's Upper Peninsula since the Peninsula 400 ended 44 years ago?
... that Amtrak introduced an eponymous new train as part of the Expo '74 world's fair in Spokane, Washington?
... that in 1927, the once proposed Watford Central tube station was planned to be built on tea rooms?
... that the title of Nabiha's song "Mind the Gap" can refer to the gap between her front teeth, and was inspired by warning signs in the London Underground stations?
... that the track was torn up before the final spike of the Northern Pacific Railway was driven in September 1883 near Independence Creek, Montana, by former U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant and others?
... that the Milwaukee Road's North Woods Hiawatha was the first passenger train outside the Chicago–Twin Cities service to carry the Hiawatha brand?

... that the architects who designed the Northern Pacific Railroad Depot (pictured) in Missoula, Montana also designed the Grand Central Terminal in New York City?
... that in 1950 Pittsburgh Steelers head coach John Michelosen christened the Morning Steeler, then the Pennsylvania Railroad's newest passenger train?
... that the Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton Railway was the first railroad to have a guarded third rail?
... that the Saugus Branch Railroad is being replaced with the Northern Strand Community Trail?
... that the runaway train in the Lac-Mégantic derailment involved 72 DOT-111 tank cars?
... that tourism led to both the opening and the discontinuation of service at the passenger rail depot in Tower, Minnesota?
... that the colors of the Charlottesville and Albemarle Railway's streetcars made them "more attractive to the students" of the University of Virginia?

... that the N.C.O. Building (pictured) in Alturas, California, has a single metal bell in its belfry and several wooden ones?
... that white box are used for railway sleepers and fences in Australia?
... that Museum Maribo-Bandholm near Bandholm has the oldest running steam locomotive and the oldest private railway track in Denmark, dated to 1869?
... that Ranjit Sinha, director of India's Central Bureau of Investigation, unearthed a major cash-for-posts scam by tapping the phone of a colleague he reportedly had a grudge against?
... that the Bogibeel Bridge being built across the Brahmaputra is expected to become India's longest combined road and rail bridge?
... that Amtrak's Pacific Parlour Car lounges on the Coast Starlight are refurbished Budd Company Hi-Level lounges originally built for the El Capitan in 1956?
... that Bholu, a cartoon elephant, is the mascot of Indian Railways?
... that attorney John Baxter provided legal defense for the participants in the East Tennessee bridge-burning conspiracy and the Great Locomotive Chase?
... that the Class 374 is the first high speed train type purchased by a part owned French rail company not to be based on the TGV?
... that the Bhusawal-Kalyan railway line in western India rises by 970 ft (296 m) within a span of 9.5 mi (15 km) across Thul Ghat?
... that Fateh Chand Badhwar was the first Indian to become Chairman of the country's Railway Board?
... that the future of the narrow gauge Shakuntala Railway depends on how Central Railway acts on the option it has to buy it in 2016?
... that following the Tay Bridge disaster, a viaduct on the North British, Arbroath and Montrose Railway became so seriously distorted during testing that a new one had to be designed and built?
... that Horace Greeley's daughter donated family land to be used for a new train station in Chappaqua, New York, on the condition that a small public park always be maintained in front of it?
... that the Better Farming Train promoted the latest agricultural research in Saskatchewan, Canada between 1914 and 1922?
... that the Bloomsburg and Sullivan Railroad was one of five railroads serving Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, near the turn of the 20th century?

... that the RAe TEE II electric trainsets used by the Gottardo (pictured), a Trans Europ Express (TEE) train, could operate at four different overhead line voltages?
... that due to quicksand, passengers on the new London and Birmingham Railway detrained for over five months at Denbigh Hall station to continue their journey by stagecoach?
... that in 1969 the Trans Europ Express Catalan Talgo began providing through train service between Spain and Switzerland despite a break-of-gauge at the Spanish–French border?
... that the Blauer Enzian, a German / Austrian express train, was named after a mountain flower, the Blue (or Spring) Gentian (Gentiana verna)?
... that the Settebello, a high-speed train between Milan and Rome, used ETR 300 trainsets, which had distinctive observation lounges at front and rear?
... that Newton Corner has at various times been a commuter rail depot, a trolley station, and now a busy bus stop?
... that the railway station at Paranapiacaba, Brazil, has a clock tower modelled on the tower for Big Ben in London?

... that the Barcelona Metro 9000 Series (pictured) runs on rapid transit systems in three Spanish-speaking countries?
... that the Illinois Central railroad station in Bloomington, Indiana, has two rooflines?