What about the future railway workers: quiz questions for children and schoolchildren about the railway, railway professions. Choice of profession. Career guidance in kindergarten and school. Extracurricular activities. The origins of railway transport

RAILWAY QUIZ

What was the name of the railway in the old days?
a) Tin;

b) Cast iron;

c) Serebryanka;

d) Glass.

(Cast iron, iron can.)

What was the name of a steam locomotive in ancient times?
a) Steamboat;
b) Self-propelled;
c) Chimney;
d) Flyover.
(This is exactly what the locomotive is called in “A Passing Song” to the words of N.V. Kukolnik and the music of M.I. Glinka.)

Name the first tsar who began building railways in Russia.

a) Ivan VI;

b) Peter I ;

c) Nikolay I ;

d) Alexander II.

(In November 1851, the St. Petersburg-Moscow road was opened, built over 9 years by Russian engineers. Alexander II, who came to the throne in 1855, gave the road the name Nikolaevskaya - after the name of his father Nicholas I, the first tsar who began building railways in Russia.)

In what year was the professional holiday Railwayman's Day established in Russia?

a) In 1896;

b) In 1917;

c) In 1936;

d) In 1985.

(Railroadman's Day was dedicated to the birthday of Emperor Nicholas I, who began the construction of railways. During his reign, the first pleasure railway to Tsarskoye Selo and the first all-Russian highway from St. Petersburg to Moscow were built. This holiday was celebrated in those years, until 1917 year, was celebrated on June 25. The holiday tradition was revived in the USSR only after 20 years of oblivion - in 1936.)

What trains were there before?
a) Accounting;

b) Doctoral degrees;

c) Courier;

d) Banking.
(That's what express trains used to be called.)

What were railway workers called in the century before last?

a) Coachmen;

b) Drivers;
c) Travelers;

d) Plantains.

Which of these professions exist?
a) Highway flyer;

b) Trackman;
c) Road Supervisor;

d) Platform controller.
(This is a railway worker who regularly walks around the section of the railway track assigned to him for the purpose of observation and protection.)

Professional suitcase carrier at the railway station- who is this?
a) Carrier;

b) Nesun ;
c) Porter;

G) Wanderer.

What position is on the staff list of the railway station?
a) Rail compiler;

b) Compiler of protocols;
c) Train compiler;

G) Suitcase compiler.

What is the name of the main conductor of a passenger train?
a) Foreman;

b) Foreman ;
c) Brigadier;

G) Superconductor.

What is used to attach rails to wooden sleepers or beams?

a) Cane;

b) Crutch;

c) Grif;

d) Spear.

(Travel crutch.)

What cross section does the track crutch have?

a) Round;

b) Triangular;

c) Oval;

d) Square.

(A track crutch is a square steel rod with an oval head and an end beveled on both sides; it is widely replaced with screws.)

How do railway workers stop cars?
a) Shoes;

b) Boots ;
c) Heels;

G) Heels.
(A shoe is a device placed on a rail to stop the wheels. Hence the name of the railway profession - shoemaker.)

Railway cars have brakes... What?

a) Sleeves;

b) Pockets;

c) Belts;

d) Stripes.

(Connecting brake hoses forming the brake line – an air duct system located under the bottom of a car or train, into which air is supplied from the locomotive compressor and helps to brake the train.)

What is on the roof of an electric locomotive and electric train?

a) Pantograph;

b) Cardiograph;

c) Polygraph;

d) Autograph.

(This is a current collector with a lifting mechanism in the form of an articulated multi-link. It serves to ensure a reliable electrical connection with the contact wire of the overhead contact network of electric rolling stock of railways. The name of the pantograph comes from a device similar in shape to copying drawings, hence the root of the word -graph.)

What device allows rolling stock (trains) to move from the main track to adjacent tracks?
a) Arrow;
b) Barrier;
c) Semaphore;
d) Shoe.
(Switch switch.)

Which of these concepts does NOT exist?
a) Railway junction;
b) Railway line;
c) Railway track;
d) Railway spokes.

What is the end of a railroad track called?

a) Knot;

b) Travel;

c) Driving;

d) Deadlock.

What is the name of the part of a railway line between adjacent stations?

a) Run;

b) Driving;

c) Rental;

d) Mileage.

What is the name of a piece of rolling stock that is specifically designed to pull trains and is not itself designed to carry passengers or goods?
a) Dynamo;
b) Locomotive;
c) Diesel;
d) Motrice.

What type of locomotives does NOT exist on Russian railways ?
a) Passenger;
b) Freight;
c) Shunting;
d) Sports.

What is the name of the voluntary sports society of railway workers, founded in the USSR in 1936?
a) “Lokomotiv”;
b) “Beep”;
c) “Semaphore”;
d) "Express".
(Now the Russian Physical Culture and Sports Society "Lokomotiv" RFSO "Lokomotiv".)

What is the name of the specialist who drives a locomotive?
a) Machinist;

b) Motor mechanic;

c) Dispatcher;

d) Coach.

What is the name of the enterprise that carries out maintenance and repair of railway rolling stock?
a) Hangar;
b) Garage;
c) Depot;
d) Stall.

Which freight cars are designed for transporting liquid cargo?

a) Hoppers;

b) Dumpcars;

c) Tanks;

d) Gondola cars.

(Hoppers - for bulk bulk cargo, dump cars - for transportation and automated unloading of mining and earthen rocks, gondola cars - for bulk, stacked and piece cargo that do not require protection from atmospheric influences.)

Which cars, based on the number of wheel pairs (axles), make up the majority of the car fleet?

a) Biaxial;

b) Four-axle;

c) Six-axis;

c) Eight-axis.

What is the name of the central newspaper of railway workers, founded in 1917?
a) “Beep”;

b) "Siren" ;
c) “Whistle”;

G) "Gong".

What railways are there?

a) Monorails;

b) Stereo rail;

c) Multi-rail;

d) Trackless.

(Formerly called the single-rail railway.)

Which of these phraseological units was NOT born in the railway environment?
a) Turn the arrows (to someone);
b) Jump into the last carriage;
c) Run ahead of the locomotive;
d) Strike while the iron is hot.

(“Move the switches” - shift your blame, responsibility onto someone else. “Jump into the last carriage” - not be late, be on time, decide on something. “Run ahead of the locomotive” - get ahead of events, disrupt the normal course of development of the situation. “Forge iron” “while it’s hot” - don’t waste time, taking advantage of favorable circumstances.)

What railway is part of JSC Russian Railways?
a) December;
b) Mayskaya;
c) Oktyabrskaya;
d) November.
(The office is located in St. Petersburg.)

How many railways are there in Russia (branches of JSC Russian Railways)?
a) 5;

b) 13;

c) 16;

d) 21.

(East Siberian, Gorky, Far Eastern, Transbaikal, West Siberian, Kaliningrad, Krasnoyarsk, Kuibyshev, Moscow, Oktyabrsk, Volga, Sverdlovsk, Northern, North Caucasus, South-Eastern, South Ural.)

In which city is Vitebsky Station, the very first station in Russia, located?
a) In Moscow;
b) In St. Petersburg;
c) In Yekaterinburg;
d) In Krasnodar.
(The first one-story wooden building of the Vitebsk station was erected in 1837 for the first Tsarskoye Selo railway in Russia, connecting St. Petersburg and Tsarskoye Selo. The original name was Tsarskoye Selo, then Detskoselsky.)

How many main train stations are there in Moscow?
a) 3;

b) 5;

at 7;

d) 9.

(Belarusian, Kazan, Kiev, Kursk, Leningrad, Paveletsky, Rizhsky, Savelovsky, Yaroslavl.)

What is the unofficial name for Komsomolskaya Square in Moscow?

a) The area of ​​two stations;

b) Area of ​​three train stations;

c) The area of ​​five stations;

d) The area of ​​seven stations.

What station is not on Komsomolskaya Square (the square of three stations) in Moscow?

a) Leningradsky;

b) Kievsky;

c) Yaroslavsky;

d) Kazansky.

The railway station of which Russian city is the most tall building station in Europe and the largest station in Russia?
a) Chelyabinsk;
b) Yekaterinburg;
c) Samara;
d) Rostov-on-Don.
(The height of the Samara station with its spire is 100 meters.)

Name the most railway city in Russia, where every fourth resident is a railway worker.

a) Tambov;

b) Lipetsk;

c) Liski;

d) Balashov.

(City in Voronezh region, which is a major railway junction. The city's coat of arms depicts a winged wheel – symbol of the decisive role of railways in the development of the city.)

What is the route of the main train of the country with the name “Russia”?
a) Moscow – St. Petersburg;
b) Moscow – Nizhny Novgorod;
c) Moscow - Vladivostok;
d) Moscow – Chelyabinsk.
(The Rossiya train is the longest railway passenger route on the planet, passing through the territory of one country. Route length – 9259 km. The train crosses almost all of Eurasia by land, passing through 14 regions, 90 cities, 8 time zones. It is on the way for 6 days.)

What name was given to train No. 1, running between Moscow and St. Petersburg?
a) “Red Arrow”;

b) “White Nights”;

c) "Lotus";

d) "Amber".

(The “White Nights” train runs on the route St. Petersburg – Vologda, “Lotos” – on the route Astrakhan – Moscow, “Yantar” – on the route Kaliningrad – Moscow.)

Which of the following rivers is NOT crossed by the Red Arrow passenger train?
a) Volga;

b) Volkhov;
c) Msta;

d) Don.

What bird name did the Moscow high-speed electric train get?– Saint Petersburg?

a) “Hawk”;

b) "Swift";

c) "Sapsan";

d) "Falcon".

Where is the Central Museum of Railway Transport of Russia located?

a) In Moscow;

b) In St. Petersburg;

c) In Samara;

d) In Novosibirsk.

What railways are in the Russian Railways system?

a) Toys;

b) Children's;

c) Junior;

d) Student.

(Children's railways are institutions of additional education for children, in which children aged 8-15 years study railway specialties. The main part of the Children's Railway is a narrow-gauge railway line on which practical lessons young railway workers.)

How many children's railways are currently operating in the Russian Railways system?
a) 5;
b) 10;
in 20;
d) 25.

Which children's railway (children's railway) is the longest in Russia?
a) Svobodnenskaya Children's Railway;
b) Krasnoyarsk Children's Railway;
c) Kazan;
d) Chelyabinsk.
(In the city of Svobodny, in the Amur region of the Russian Federation. It is part of the Trans-Baikal Railway. Its length is 11.4 km. The Krasnoyarsk Children's Railway is the first “small” road in Russia. Its length is the smallest - 1300 m.)

Which of these Russian writers was a railway engineer who worked on the construction of the largest Russian railways?

a) Mamin-Sibiryak;

b) Garin-Mikhailovsky;

c) Chekhov;

d) Kuprin.

(The fourth story of the tetralogy by N.G. Garin-Mikhailovsky, the first three parts of which are entitled “Tema’s Childhood”, “Gymnasium Students”, “Students”, is called “Engineers”. The square near the Novosibirsk railway station and the Novosibirsk station are named after the writer metro.)

In Voronezh, on the centenary of the birth of this writer, who spent many years serving on the South-Eastern Railway, a memorial plaque with the following text was unveiled on the building of the railway station: Voronezh is the birthplace of the writer... - the author of many works about railway workers? Say his name.
a) Andrey Platonov;

b) Ivan Nikitin;

c) Alexander Kuprin;

d) Alexey Koltsov.

How does the title of the story by A.S. end? Pushkin “Station...”?
a) Observer;

b) Caretaker;
c) Observer;

d) Overseer.

What is the name of the historical station of the October Railway?

a) Shore;

b) Pool;

c) Bottom;

d) Stranded.

(The famous abdication of the throne took place at this station. Everyone has known it since childhood, because it was here that a certain dog was discovered missing from a lady who checked in her luggage.)

Land transport.

Railway transport– a type of transport that transports goods along rail tracks in wagons (trains) using locomotive traction. railway track – a complex of structures and devices that form a road with a guide rail track for the movement of rolling stock railway transport. The main elements of a railway track: superstructure, subgrade, engineering structures (bridges, tunnels...).

Rail transport is an inland mode of transport. Serving transportation in the states of any region, it gains importance international type transport. Railways do not always form unified system due to different track widths. In the Russian Federation, the track corresponds to Western European, but wider than Eastern European.

Advantages railway transport: high throughput and carrying capacity; reliable operation due to independence from climatic conditions(exception - breakage of electrical wires when natural disasters); the possibility of constructing communication routes on any land and water territory in the presence of ferries; direct connection with industrial and agricultural enterprises of any sectors of the economy (individual sectors have their own access roads to access the main network); mass transportation combined with low cost and fairly high delivery speed; a shorter route compared to natural water transport routes.

Flaws railway transport: “linking” to the track; high initial cost of fixed assets (a carriage is more expensive than a car, but cheaper than an aircraft or sea vessel); high metal consumption, labor intensity, low labor productivity.

The technology of railway transport is complex. This is due to the connection to the railway track. The basis of the work technology is the theory of schedules (traffic schedule); plan for the formation of trains according to travel directions; agreed plan for the formation of trains for mainline direction with the operating schedule of access roads of enterprises connected to the main railway network.

Operating principles of railways:

1. another train cannot enter a busy section (to increase capacity, the sections are divided into sections);

2. movement is carried out only by trains (passenger, freight, mail, mixed), which are reorganized along the route;

3. cargo travels between marshalling stations where trains are reorganized;

4. the transport process is managed through a dispatch center;

5. The locomotive crew is changed after 100 – 120 km (water intake is necessary after 600 – 800 km); modern traction allows you to change the crew after 200 - 300 km, and the locomotive - after 1000 km;

6. transportation occurs at different track widths;

7. shipment of goods - by carload, in small batches, by train or by block trains (typical for the transportation of bulk cargo).

The rolling stock of railway transport includes: locomotives (freight, shunting, electric trains for suburban transport and the metro) and cars (freight, passenger, special, specialized by type of cargo).

The emergence and development of railway transport dates back to the first half of the 19th century. and is associated with the rapid growth of the capitalist mode of production. The birthplace of this type of transport is Great Britain.

The first public railway in Russia, with a length of only 26 km, St. Petersburg - Tsarskoe Selo - Pavlovsk, was put into operation in 1837 and had a purely demonstration value. Three years earlier, the factory railway began operating in Nizhny Tagil. Russia was late in organizing railway communication compared to developed countries that time for 10 - 12 years.

The full-scale beginning of the formation of the domestic railway network dates back to 1851. Then the two-track railway line St. Petersburg - Moscow was put into operation. Subsequently, the construction of highways began in radial directions from Moscow (to Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod, Saratov). And also from grain regions to sea export ports of the Baltic and Black Seas. Railway construction in Russia has acquired a particularly large scale in late XIX– beginning of the 20th century. In the pre-revolutionary period, the main “backbone” of the country’s modern railway network was formed. By this time, the Trans-Siberian Railway (Moscow - Vladivostok) and railways connecting Moscow with the Caucasus and Central Asia were functioning along their entire length. The St. Petersburg – Warsaw – Berlin highway connected the Russian capital with the railway network Western Europe. Highways to Odessa and Murmansk gave St. Petersburg access to the Black and Barents Seas.

IN Soviet period the main emphasis was not on the construction of new railways, but on the reconstruction and increase in the capacity of the busiest existing highways. This approach was completely justified. The concentration of the main cargo and passenger flows on relatively few highways made it possible to carry out a corresponding concentration of capital investments in their reconstruction and technical re-equipment. The result is a significant reduction in unit costs for transporting goods and passengers.

By the end of the 80s. railway lines Soviet Union were the busiest in the world. They accounted for about half of the world's rail freight turnover. Moreover, Russian roads were characterized by the most intense train traffic. On the territory of our country there is the busiest highway in the world - the Trans-Siberian Railway. The maximum cargo flow on it is confined to the Novosibirsk - Omsk section, where more than 130 million tons of cargo were transported in both directions in the pre-crisis year of 1990.

The high intensity of traffic on Russian railways has made it possible to carry out such expensive and capital-intensive types of reconstruction as the transition of railway transport to electric traction.

New railways were built mainly in the newly developed regions of Siberia, the Far East and the European North. To relieve the load on the Trans-Siberian Railway, its “back-ups” were built - the South Siberian Mainline (Abakan - Novokuznetsk - Barnaul - Pavlodar - Tselinograd - Magnitogorsk) and the Central Siberian Mainline (Kamen-on-Obi - Kokchetav - Kustanai - Chelyabinsk). A significant part of these roads are in Kazakhstan. Consequently, today they have interstate significance. Along with domestic Russian connections, they play a big role in the international territorial division of labor between Russia and Kazakhstan. Railways were also built to develop the fuel and energy resources of the European (Vorkuta - Konosha) and Western Siberian North (Tyumen - Surgut - Urengoy). The most significant road in the territory of Eastern Siberia and the Far East is also the northern “backup” of the Trans-Siberian Railway - the Baikal-Amur Mainline (Taishet - Ust-Kut - Severobaikalsk - Tynda - Komsomolsk-on-Amur - Sovetskaya Gavan). The Small BAM - the BAM - Tynda - Berkakit highway was built. This route gave the South Yakutsk TPK access to the Trans-Siberian Railway. In the future, it was planned to extend the Small BAM to Yakutsk and further through Susuman to Magadan in order to provide Russia’s third railway access to Pacific Ocean. There are projects to connect the “island” railway Dudinka – Norilsk – Talnakh with the main Russian railway network by extending the Tyumen – Surgut – Urengoy highway to Dudinka with a bridge over the Yenisei. However, the implementation of all these projects requires large capital investments.

To characterize the operation of railway transport on modern stage development, not quantitative, but qualitative indicators, in particular, electrification, are becoming increasingly important. In terms of the length of electrified railways, Russia ranks first in the world (75.3 thousand km), followed by Germany, France, Italy, India and China. In terms of the length of railways, Russia ranks 2nd - 124 thousand km. However, our country is one of the last in terms of network density. The railway network in Siberia is especially rare, Far East and the European North. Although Russia still holds the lead in terms of total freight turnover of railway transport, both the railway network and vehicles are largely physically worn out and require immediate renewal.

This state of railway transport and railways is the result of a systematic reduction in capital investment in the industry, as well as the practical cessation of supplies of rolling stock and various equipment from the former Soviet republics and people's democracies. Russia, with its vast spaces and large volumes of transportation of bulk cargo over long distances, urgently needs well-developed railway transport (high-speed routes with high capacity and modern rolling stock).

The Government of the Russian Federation adopted a resolution on the creation of JSC Russian Railways, the largest transport company that began economic activity since October 1, 2003. Today, the railway transport reform is recognized as one of the most successfully developing reforms in the economic sphere. As a result of the implementation of the program of structural reform of railway transport, a breakthrough was achieved in the field of passenger transportation - passenger turnover increased. Already in the first year of the company’s operation, the quality of cargo transportation was improved: the speed of cargo delivery increased by 6%, the share of cargo shipments delivered on time exceeded 90%.

The transportation of goods by railways in Russia has always been dominated by such bulk cargo as timber and timber, agricultural cargo and, to a large extent, grain and coal. Later - oil and oil products, raw materials, ferrous ores and metals, mineral construction materials. A much smaller share was made up of manufacturing products. And today this picture has changed little. Nevertheless, over the past 2–3 decades, a very positive trend has emerged – gradual (extremely slow) growth specific gravity manufacturing products in the total volume of cargo turnover and a reduction in the share of other types of cargo.

The geography of cargo transportation is dominated by cargo flows of fuel and raw materials from Siberia in a western direction (to European part Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic states, as well as countries of Eastern and Western Europe). There is also a large flow of raw materials from the European North to central and southern Russia.

There is a project for an underwater tunnel connecting the Russian Federation with the United States, but so far it has no basis.

In passenger traffic, the Trans-Siberian Railway in its European part, the Moscow-St. Petersburg road, as well as other radial highways diverging from Moscow are especially busy.

Suburban passenger service is most developed in the vicinity of Moscow, St. Petersburg and others major cities Russia.

At seven largest cities Russia - Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Yekaterinburg, Kazan and Novosibirsk - has a metro. Construction of subways is also underway in Omsk, Chelyabinsk, Krasnoyarsk and Ufa. In Volgograd there is a metrotram - an underground high-speed tram system. The metrotram, despite the tram rolling stock, is actually considered a metro. The total length of Russian metro lines is about 453.0 km, with 280 stations operating on them. Every year, metro systems carry over 4.2 billion passengers. This is almost twice the passenger transportation of the entire Russian railway network. Russia ranks third among countries in the world in terms of the number of cities with operating metro systems and fourth in terms of the total length of the network. The leading place among Russian metropolitans is occupied by Moscow.

In 1992, the construction of Russia's first high-speed railway line Moscow - St. Petersburg began. Thus, the first high-speed passenger rail line in Russia - VSZhM-1 - is a Moscow-St. Petersburg passenger line for the circulation of specialized high-speed trains.

On December 18, 2009, regular scheduled service of the Sapsan train began between Moscow and St. Petersburg. The original travel time between the two capitals was 3 hours 45 minutes. In the future, it was planned to reduce travel time. However, on the contrary, it has been increased and now varies from 3 hours 55 minutes to 4 hours 45 minutes.

The high-speed train "Sapsan" (Velaro RUS) is a joint project of Russian Railways and Siemens. The first train in Russia is made up of 10 cars. On the way, it reaches speeds of up to 250 km/h. At the same time, during testing it accelerated to 281 km/h. Sapsan carriages have a two-class layout - tourist and business class. A number of problems during train operation arise due to the fact that high-speed traffic is organized along railway tracks shared with conventional trains. In this regard, a decision was made to build Russia’s first specialized high-speed railway line Moscow – St. Petersburg. Trains will be able to travel along the new route at speeds of up to 400 km/h. Completion of construction is scheduled for 2017. Also, JSC Russian Railways plans to issue a through ticket for passengers of Sapsan (Moscow - St. Petersburg) and Allegro (St. Petersburg - Helsinki) - travel on both trains will be carried out on one ticket.

The second high-speed railway of Russia - Moscow - Nizhny Novgorod. Travel time along the route is 3 hours 55 minutes, with a maximum speed of 160 km/h. Along the route, the train makes two-minute stops in Vladimir, as well as in Dzerzhinsk. The first flight was carried out on July 30, 2010. The traffic intensity is two pairs per day - one pair goes from St. Petersburg to Nizhny Novgorod and back through the Kursky Station in Moscow. Since September 6, 2010, the second pair has been traveling from Moscow to Nizhny Novgorod from the Kursk station and back. The total travel time is 7 hours 55 minutes from St. Petersburg to Nizhny Novgorod and 3 hours 55 minutes from Moscow to Nizhny Novgorod.

Currently, there are projects for the construction of new railway lines where Sapsan trains will be operated: 1) the Moscow - Kazan line; 2) line Moscow - Yaroslavl.

The longest railway is considered Trans-Siberian Railway, which has a length of about 9300 kilometers.

Interesting fact #3

The middle station of the Trans-Siberian Railway is called “Polovina”. From it to Moscow and to Vladivostok the same distance.

Interesting fact #4

The first railway was opened between St. Petersburg and Moscow, and the first three days of transportation were free of charge. Simply no one wanted to ride such an unknown thing as a train.

Interesting fact #5

If you want to work at Russian Railways, apply to railway institute in Krasnoyarsk.

Interesting fact #6

In France, kissing is prohibited at train stations, as it often caused train delays. The law has been in force for 100 years, and no one has yet repealed it.

Interesting fact #7

Railway It is known that trackmen who check the serviceability of train wheels have a sensitive ear for music. After all, they have to identify wheel defects by changes in the tone of the knock.

Interesting fact #8

On one train in western Peru, conductors provide oxygen bags to their passengers. The fact is that the train travels along the highest railway in the world, which is located at an altitude of about three kilometers.

Interesting fact #9

Once, in the USA, in Ohio, a train collided with a steamship. Lake Ohio overflowed its banks at that moment, and the railroad sank into a meter of water. The driver, however, still decided to drive across the river, but his path was blocked by a steamer.

Interesting fact #10

In Bavaria, in 1910, an order was issued on behalf of the local authorities, which prohibited drivers and stokers from drinking beer during stops.

Interesting fact #11

In Argentina, you have the opportunity to ride the famous Patagonia Express train, which once survived the robbery of the century. Tourists who decide to ride this train will not only be able to enjoy the scenery outside the window, but also unwittingly take part in a planned performance simulating a real train robbery.

Interesting fact #12

In Argentina, you can now take a tour on the legendary Patagonia Express train, which was restored especially for tourists. In addition to being impressed by the surrounding landscapes, passengers can, without their consent, become participants in a carefully planned “Train Robbery” event.

Interesting fact #13

For several years there was a railway route “Paris-Venice”, where a special “Train of Love” ran. Special service was organized in the compartment of such a train. Passengers had at their disposal a TV, a shower, and a special sleeping berth for two persons.

Interesting fact #14

Once in Switzerland they organized a train tour, where all the high society of Swiss society was: officials, honorary citizens, politicians, etc. For this occasion, the entire train was made up of restaurant cars. However, the organizers of this celebration did not take into account the fact that there are no toilets in dining cars in Switzerland. As a result, when the train reached its destination, passengers jumped out of the cars, surprising all the citizens who had gathered to greet the honored guests.

Trains are one of the most popular modes of transport. Every day they carry more than a million passengers around the world. But few people know that there are many interesting facts associated with trains.

1. Abandoned station

In New York there is a subway station, City Hall, when passing it, the train slows down without stopping or opening the doors. This beautiful station was opened in 1904 on a new metro line, but was closed in 1945 due to low passenger traffic and unsafe use. But today the No. 6 train passes through the station very slowly every day so passengers can admire its luxurious interior.

2. From kamikaze planes to high-speed trains

During World War II, the Japanese used special aircraft designed by designer Miki Tadanao to attack American warships. Thanks to optimized streamlined shape they picketed with great speed, hitting their targets with lightning speed. But after realizing how many pilots had died because of his kamikaze planes, Miki Tadanao focused on more peaceful projects. Using his knowledge, he participated in the creation of the first generation of bullet trains. During a test run in 1963, they reached a speed of 256 km/h. Today's bullet trains can reach speeds of over 600 km/h.

3. Steam vs Horse

In 1830, a horse and cart railroad was built between Baltimore and Ohio. Peter Cooper suggested using a steam engine instead of horses. To implement this idea, Peter designed and built a small steam locomotive, Tom Thumb. His test was very successful. After this, Peter Cooper decided to organize exhibition races “Steam versus Horse”.

At the beginning of the race, the advantage was on the side of the horse, since the locomotive needed time to accelerate, but, having picked up a speed of 29 km/h, it easily overtook the horse. However, after some time, the locomotive jumped drive belt, he slowed down and the horse finished first. But, nevertheless, the superiority of the steam locomotive was obvious, and soon trains with steam locomotives began to run on the railway.

4. Hogwarts Express

The world of Harry Potter is filled with magic, and, of course, we would all like to see it in reality. And some traces of that world still remain in our lives. Arriving in Scotland, you can ride the same express train that students, including Harry Potter, took to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Trains with those same red carriages still run along the picturesque West Highland route today. They drive along the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct, and outside the windows flash the same wonderful landscapes as in the Harry Potter film.

5. American Civil War

6. “Horsepower”

The horsepower unit of power has been used for hundreds of years. But what is this unit and where did it come from? James Watt proposed using steam power instead of horses in breweries. While observing horses, Watt noticed that a horse could drag a load weighing 14.774 kg over a distance of 0.3 m in 1 minute. Rounding 14.774 kg to 15 kg, he introduced the “horsepower” unit of power measurement. By comparing the performance of a horse and a steam engine using this unit, Watt convinced brewers to replace horses with steam, and as a result, the efficiency of the brewing process increased significantly. And the term “horsepower” began to be widely used from that time on.

7. Presidential Funeral Train

George Pullman noticed that train cars were not very comfortable for night travel and decided to improve them. In partnership with his close friend, Benjamin Field, he created a company to design comfortable railroad cars, and six years later the company produced two such cars, the Springfield and the Pioneer. In 1865, after President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, his body had to be transported by train to Springfield. Along the entire route, in dozens of cities, there were mourning people. Lincoln's widow, seeing all this, upon arrival in Chicago, fainted from nervous exhaustion. Pullman, in order to make it easier for her to endure the rest of the journey, offered to use his Pioneer carriage. The convenience of this carriage was appreciated, and since then all trains began to be equipped with sleeping cars.

8. Time zones

How to tell time on site big country, V different parts in which the daylight hours proceed asynchronously. Time zones were invented for these purposes. In 1883, representatives of US railroad companies met to develop a Convention for the Determination of General Time. On November 18, at 12 noon, a telegraph signal was sent from the American observatory, according to which all railway stations adjusted their clocks. In 1918, the US Congress officially approved nine time zones in the country.

9. Railway fever

After steam locomotives began to be used in America, the need arose for large-scale construction of railway tracks. In 1830, when the first steam locomotive was tested, the length of railway tracks in the United States was 37 km. By 1861 it reached 48,000 km, between 1890 and 1900 another 64,000 km were added, and by 1916 the length of railways in the United States (402,000 km) exceeded the distance from the Earth to the Moon. By 1930, the length of roads was 692,000 km. Later, with the advent of automobiles, the construction of railway lines began to decline.

10. Right on schedule

All trains in Japan run without delay; a delay of even one minute is very rare. The Japanese achieved this by taking train drivers seriously and severely punishing them for being late. In case of delay, an apology is made to passengers at the station via loudspeaker, and a document is issued confirming the delay of the train indicating the reason. Passengers can present this official document to their employer if problems arise due to them being late for work.

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