15 questions · Technology
Ever since a locomotive called Rocket won the Rainhill Trials in 1829, the railway has changed the world. Six years later the Adler ran from Nuremberg to Fürth, and soon tracks stretched across continents. Some routes became legends: from 1883 the Orient Express carried diplomats, spies and adventurers from Paris to Constantinople, and Agatha Christie set one of her most famous cases on board. The Trans-Siberian links Moscow with Vladivostok, more than 9,000 kilometres through seven time zones. The race for speed made history too. Britain’s Flying Scotsman broke the 100 mph barrier in 1934, Mallard set a steam record in 1938 that still stands, and Union Pacific’s mighty Big Boys hauled heavy freight over the Rocky Mountains. In 1964 Japan opened the Shinkansen, France followed with the TGV, which reached almost 575 kilometres per hour in 2007, and since 1994 Eurostar has linked London and Paris beneath the sea. In Shanghai the German Transrapid floats to the airport. Other railways are slow and famous precisely for that. The Glacier Express is called the slowest fast train in the world, the Bernina Express crosses the Alps without any rack, the Ghan crosses Australia’s red heart, and in Scotland the Jacobite steams over the viaduct that Harry Potter fans know as the way to Hogwarts. Which is which?
Practise for freePurFact brings every card back right before you would forget it. That's how knowledge sticks.
Orient Express
Agatha Christie made it the setting of one of her most famous crime novels in 1934.
💡 Did you know? A luxury service with restored 1920s carriages runs under this name again today.
Trans-Siberian
It was built from 1891 to 1916; the journey takes about a week and crosses seven time zones.
💡 Did you know? On the way it runs along Lake Baikal, the deepest lake on Earth.
Shinkansen
Because of their shape the trains are nicknamed “bullet trains”.
💡 Did you know? The average delay is less than a minute.
Glacier Express
It takes about eight hours for around 290 kilometres and crosses 291 bridges.
💡 Did you know? Its highest point is the Oberalp Pass at more than 2,000 metres.
TGV
The first line linked Paris and Lyon in 1981.
💡 Did you know? The abbreviation stands for “Train à Grande Vitesse”.
Eurostar
The tunnel is about 50 kilometres long, almost 38 of them under the sea.
💡 Did you know? This puts London and Paris just over two hours apart.
Flying Scotsman
It bears the name of the express service from London to Edinburgh.
💡 Did you know? It is still in working order and belongs to the National Railway Museum in York.
Mallard
The name means a wild duck; the locomotive is now in the National Railway Museum in York.
💡 Did you know? It was designed by Nigel Gresley, who also designed the Flying Scotsman.
Rocket
The win earned the Stephensons the contract for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.
💡 Did you know? It reached about 48 kilometres per hour, sensationally fast at the time.
Adler
It had been built by Robert Stephenson’s company in England.
💡 Did you know? Its English driver, William Wilson, came over with it.
Ghan
The route crosses the continent’s red centre over almost 3,000 kilometres.
💡 Did you know? Its logo shows a man on a camel.
Bernina Express
At Ospizio Bernina it reaches 2,253 metres; the line has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008.
💡 Did you know? At Brusio the line loops around itself on an open spiral viaduct.
Transrapid
No line was ever built in Germany itself; it was tested in Emsland.
💡 Did you know? The trip to the airport takes only about eight minutes.
Jacobite
It runs in summer from Fort William to Mallaig on the west coast.
💡 Did you know? The name recalls the Jacobite risings; Bonnie Prince Charlie raised his standard at Glenfinnan in 1745.
Big Boy
Only 25 were built; each was about 40 metres long with its tender.
💡 Did you know? Number 4014 was restored and has been running again since 2019.
Home · All topics · Legal notice · Privacy · Terms · Contact
