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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 EMD SDP40F was a six-axle 3,000 hp (2.2 MW) C-C diesel–electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD) from 1973–1974. EMD built 150 for Amtrak, the operator of most intercity passenger trains in the United States. Amtrak had begun operation in 1971 with a fleet of aging diesel locomotives inherited from various private railroads. The SDP40F was the first diesel locomotive built new for Amtrak and for a brief time they formed the backbone of the company's long-distance fleet. A series of derailments in the mid-1970s shattered Amtrak's confidence in the locomotive, and many railroads banned it from their tracks. Multiple investigations pointed to issues with the locomotive's trucks, the weight of the water and steam generators used for train heating, or the vibration of baggage cars behind the locomotive. In 1977 Amtrak decided to move on from the SDP40F in favor of the EMD F40PH, which was already in use on short-distance routes. Amtrak traded most of its fleet into EMD; the components were incorporated into new F40PHs. The remainder were traded to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (ATSF) for use in freight service. The Santa Fe rebuilt the locomotives and designated them SDF40-2. The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF), successor to the Santa Fe, retired them in 2002.

Recently selected: Electrification of Caltrain - Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue (New York City Subway) - Columbia City station

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Selected image of the week

On a rainy Tuesday evening, SBB-CFF-FFS Re 460 class electric locomotive no. Re 460 058-1 La Côte awaits departure from St. Gallen railway station, Switzerland, with a westbound InterCity train made up of IC 2000 double deck coaches.

Recently selected: The Railway Pier, Sandridge - yard switching in Cologne - Hohenzollern Bridge

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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

August 16

1890 – C. P. Couch, president of Kansas City Southern Railway 1939-1941, is born (d. 1955).
1918 – Grand Trunk Railway's freight sheds in Ottawa are destroyed by fire; the loss is estimated at $85,000.
1984 – The first full revenue Chicago and North Western Railway coal train leaves the Powder River Basin with a load from the North Antelope Mine.
2001 – After a complete restoration, Canadian Pacific 2816 (pictured), a 4-6-4 steam locomotive, operates under its own power for the first time in nearly 40 years.

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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 1Second-class compartment of a China Railways CRH1A-A train (from Train)
Image 2Electric train on Djursholmsbanan in Stockholm in the 1890s. (from Train)
Image 3Restored clerestory cars on display at the Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom, Wisconsin (from Railroad car)
Image 4A prototype of a Ganz AC electric locomotive in Valtellina, Italy, 1901 (from Locomotive)
Image 5This 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 6Škoda Artic light rail train near the cathedral in Tampere, Finland (from Train)
Image 7Typical American extended vision caboose (from Railroad car)
Image 8Baltimore & Ohio electric engine, 1895 (from Locomotive)
Image 9US-style railroad truck (bogie) with journal bearings (from Train)
Image 10Trains 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 11Inside a modern-day car from Finland (from Railroad car)
Image 12An interior of a Circle line S7 Stock in London (from Railroad car)
Image 13British Rail Mark 3 coach, an all-steel car from the 1970s (from Railroad car)
Image 14A China Railways HXD1D electric locomotive in China (from Locomotive)
Image 15Variety of rolling stock in rail yard (from Rolling stock)
Image 16China operates an extensive high speed rail network. (from Train)
Image 17Soviet RT-23 Molodets ICBM launch train, in the St Petersburg museum (from Railroad car)
Image 18A 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 19The Japanese 0 Series Shinkansen pioneered high speed rail service. (from Train)
Image 20This 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 21Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare, by Claude Monet, 1877, Art Institute of Chicago (from Train)
Image 22A wooden toy train set from Swedish manufacturer Brio (from Train)
Image 23The "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 24A Union Pacific freight train; high clearances enable double-stacked containers to be carried in well cars. (from Train)
Image 25Armored train Hurban located in Zvolen, Slovakia (from Railroad car)
Image 26Most derailments, such as this one in Switzerland, are minor and do not cause injuries or damage. (from Train)
Image 27Southern Railway (UK) 20002 was equipped with both pantograph and contact shoes (from Locomotive)
Image 28A number of maintenance vehicles at work on Metro-North Railroad (from Train)
Image 29Yard for Amtrak equipment, located next to the Los Angeles River. The two tracks on the left are the mainline. (from Rail yard)
Image 30A Victorian Railways R class steam locomotive in Australia (from Locomotive)
Image 31A London Underground battery-electric locomotive at West Ham station used for hauling engineers' trains (from Locomotive)
Image 32Bombardier ALP-45DP at the Innotrans convention in Berlin (from Locomotive)
Image 33A British Rail Class 150 in the United Kingdom (from Railroad car)
Image 34A preserved armored train (from Train)
Image 35The New Orleans Streetcar System is one of the oldest in the world. (from Train)
Image 36The EMD FT set the stage for diesel locomotives to take over from steam. (from Train)
Image 37Union Pacific 18, a gas turbine-electric locomotive preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum (from Locomotive)
Image 38A Metropolitan line S8 Stock at Amersham in London (from Railroad car)
Image 39A freight car (boxcar type) for the South Australian Railways, 1926 (from Railroad car)
Image 40A narrow gauge train in Austria (from Train)
Image 41Workington stabling point in 1981, with locomotives from Classes 25, 40 and 47 parked between duties. (from Rail yard)
Image 42Garratt locomotives in Zimbabwe (from Train)
Image 43The Union Pacific Big Boy locomotives represented the pinnacle of steam locomotive technology and power. (from Train)
Image 44A Tokyo Monorail train (from Train)
Image 45A narrow gauge battery-electric locomotive used for mining (from Locomotive)
Image 46A German DB Class V 200 diesel-hydraulic locomotive at Technikmuseum, Berlin (from Locomotive)
Image 47The 1887 Daimler draisine (from Locomotive)
Image 48Various types of railroad cars in a classification yard in the United States (from Train)
Image 49Werner von Siemens experimental DC electric train, 1879 (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 51An early Diesel-mechanical locomotive at the North Alabama Railroad Museum (from Locomotive)
Image 52A gas turbine locomotive operated by the Union Pacific Railroad (from Train)
Image 53World's first useful diesel locomotive (a diesel-electric locomotive) for long distances SŽD Eel2, 1924 in Kyiv (from Locomotive)
Image 54A coach yard in Shanghai, China (from Rail yard)
Image 55The 1902 Maudslay Petrol Locomotive (from Locomotive)
Image 56Stockton and Darlington special inaugural train 1825: six wagons of coal, directors coach, then people in wagons (from Train)