25 Interesting Facts About Trains

Trains not only helped in freighting and transportation; they started a revolution. The train is an excellent public carrier and is also widely used to freight various kinds of goods from one place to another. An average train has an iron body as well as iron wheels that move on a steel highway or the train line. Trains can be intercity, Interstate, or in some cases, even Inter nations. The train has been useful to us for more than 200 years. So, let’s ride on some great facts about trains.

1. Richard Trevithick was a British mining engineer, inventor, and explorer. On February 21, 1804, in the Welsh mining town of Merthyr Tydfil, he showed off the first full-scale working steam locomotive, which was used for mining.
2. In 1825, George Stephenson linked the English towns of Stockton and Darlington by rail. This was the first railroad line in the world. The goal of the line was to move coal. Steam engines pulled the wagons. People got around in carriages pulled by horses.
3. Types Of Train Engines Developed First and some other specs:

   • Steam Train Engines
   ✶ Invented By: George Stephenson
   ✶ Maximum Speed: 15 Mph (24.1 km/h)
   ✶ Name: Locomotion No. 1
   ✶ Build Date: 1825
   ✶ Total Horsepower: N/A

   • Diesel Train Engines
   ✶ Invented By: Rudolf Diesel and Adolf Klose
   ✶ Maximum Speed: 62 Mph (100 km/h)
   ✶ Name: Winterthur–Romanshorn railway
   ✶ Build Date: 1912
   ✶ Engine Power: N/A

   • Electric Train Engines
   ✶ Invented By: Siemens
   ✶ Maximum Speed: 8 Mph (13 km/h)
   ✶ Name: N/A
   ✶ Build Date: 1837
   ✶ Engine Power: 2 kW

4. George Stephenson was born on June 9, 1781, and died on August 12, 1848. He is known as the “father of trains.”
5. The world’s first diesel-powered locomotive was used on the Winterthur–Romanshorn railway in Switzerland in the summer of 1912. However, it did not do well in the marketplace. Until the middle of the 1920s, a few prototype diesel locomotives were made in a number of countries.
6. On July 3, 1938, the A4 class locomotive Mallard raced down Stoke Bank at 126 miles per hour, setting a new world record for the fastest steam locomotive. That is still the record.
7. The ČKD ČME3 engines are among the most widely used and manufactured diesel-electric locomotives. The ČKD ČME3 is a diesel-electric locomotive with six axles developed by ČKD. The class was mostly employed for shunting and mainline duties. It is one of the most produced locomotives in the world, with over 8,000 produced throughout a 31-year production period.
8. The Fairy Queen, also known as the East Indian Railway No. 22, is a steam locomotive that was built in 1855. It was restored by Loco Works Perambur, Chennai, in 1997 and is now kept at the Rewari Railway Heritage Museum. The train registered a guiness world record in 1998 for being the world oldest steam engine that is still in use.
9. The InterCity 125 is the current record holder for being the fastest diesel-powered train, with speeds reaching up to 148 mph (238 km/h). It is made up of two power cars, one at either end of a fixed arrangement of carriages, capable of 125 mph (201 km/h) in regular service.
10. The Union Pacific “Big Boy” 4014 is the most powerful steam locomotive currently in service.
11. The “Big Boys” were designed for dominance. They completed the work of three smaller engines, pulling 120-car, 3800-ton freight trains at 40 miles per hour through Utah and Wyoming Rockies.
12. In 1964, Japan’s Tkaid Shinkansen became the world’s first high-speed rail system. It was also known as the “bullet train,” which broke all records in terms of speed.
13. The strongest Electric Train Engine is Shen 24. Shenhua Mining Group manufactured it in 2020 and it generates 512,564 pounds-force (2,280 kN). The engine has a whopping 28,800 kilowatts of power (38,621 hp).
14. The Union Pacific Centennial diesel locomotive is the biggest and most powerful one ever made. It has 2 generators and 8 traction motors. The engine has 2 generators and 16 cylinders. About 6600 horsepower comes out of the engine.
15. The Siemens ES64U4, which reached 357 km/h (222 mph) in 2006, is the fastest electric locomotive that we know of.
16. Shanghai Maglev is the world’s fastest public train. It is also very unique because it is the only link in the world that uses magnetic levitation (Maglev) instead of steel wheels on steel rails. It cruises at a speed of 431 km/h (268 mph).
17. As of August 2022, the fastest train on Earth, based on its record speed, is the Japanese L0 Series Maglev, with a record speed of 603 kilometers per hour.
18. Electric trains mostly Use alternate current at 25 kilovolts (25kv).
19. Australia Trains uses 33 kV, 66 kV, and 132 kV AC high voltage transmission lines, as well as 2 kV and 11 kV AC signaling transmission lines.
20. The average operating speed of electric trains is around 300 kph (186 mph). However, the average speed of trains varies from country to country.
21. In 2001, an Australian freight train called Mt Goldsworthy broke the record for the longest train of any kind. It was owned by the mining company BHP and was a huge 7.24km long. On the day the record was set, the train weighed an incredible 90,475 tonnes.
22. Switzerland now has the longest passenger train in the world. The train is 1,910 meters long, has 100 cars, and has 4,550 seats. On October 29, 2022, the train was seen going through the beautiful mountainous area of the Swiss Alps.
23. The United States has the largest rail network on the globe, followed by China, Russia, and India. The length of the American rail network is stretched in approximately 220,480 km, with a track area of 43.2 square kilometres.
24. Gorakhpur Railway Station is located in Uttar Pradesh, India. On October 6, 2013, it became the world’s longest train platform, measuring 1,366 metres in length.
25. The Grand Central Terminal in New York City has the most rail platforms in the world. It has with over 44 platforms that are stretched two levels.