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Trains: fun facts and quiz
The essentials in 7 ideas, with fun facts, an illustrated story and a quiz to see how much you know.
The essentials
The First Railways
Horse-drawn wagons ran on rails for centuries. In 1825, England’s Stockton and Darlington Railway became the first public railway to use steam locomotives.
Key fact
George Stephenson built its first engine, Locomotion No. 1.
Steam, Diesel & Electric
Steam locomotives burned coal to boil water. Diesel engines took over in the mid-1900s, and today many main lines run on electricity from overhead wires.
Key fact
Electric trains can feed power back to the grid as they brake.
High-Speed Rail
Japan’s Shinkansen, the first bullet train, opened in 1964. Today, high-speed trains often run at 300 km/h or more.
Key fact
The Shinkansen’s average delay is well under a minute.
Metros
London opened the world’s first underground railway in 1863. Today, cities from Tokyo to Mexico City rely on metros to move millions every day.
Key fact
London’s first underground trains were pulled by steam engines.
Maglev
Maglev trains float above the track on magnets, so there’s no wheel friction. A Japanese maglev test train reached 603 km/h in 2015.
Key fact
Shanghai’s maglev has carried passengers since 2004.
Great Train Journeys
The Trans-Siberian Railway runs about 9,300 km from Moscow to Vladivostok, the longest line in the world. The whole trip takes about a week.
Key fact
The journey spans seven hours of time difference.
Freight Trains
Trains are very efficient for heavy loads. Some freight trains in Australia have stretched more than 7 km.
Key fact
Rail freight uses far less fuel per tonne than lorries.
Fun facts
The standard track width used across much of the world, 1,435 mm, comes from Stephenson’s early lines.
The fastest steam locomotive ever, Britain’s Mallard, reached 203 km/h in 1938.
One Shinkansen’s nose was modelled on a kingfisher’s beak, to cut the boom when leaving tunnels.
Moscow’s metro stations are so grand, with chandeliers and mosaics, that they were called “palaces for the people”.
The world’s first commercial maglev ran at Birmingham Airport in England, from 1984.
The famous Orient Express first ran in 1883, linking Paris with the East.
Many North American freight trains carry shipping containers stacked two high.
Story: The Race at Rainhill
The Race at Rainhill
October 1829. To choose engines for the new Liverpool and Manchester Railway, its owners hold a contest at Rainhill, with a £500 prize.
Crowds watch the rivals. One breaks down; another turns out to be powered by a horse on a treadmill. Stephenson’s Rocket reaches nearly 50 km/h.
Rocket was the only engine to finish. Its design, with many small tubes to boil water fast, shaped steam locomotives for over a century.
True or false?
Tap your answer to see if you got it, and why.
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Question 1 of 10
Locomotion No. 1 ran on an early public railway.
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True. Built by George Stephenson.
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Question 2 of 10
Many modern trains run on electricity from overhead wires.
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True. Or from a third rail.
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Question 3 of 10
Japan opened the first bullet train line in 1964.
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True. Just before the Tokyo Olympics.
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Question 4 of 10
London had the world’s first underground railway.
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True. In 1863.
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Question 5 of 10
Maglev trains float using magnets.
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True. No wheels touch the track at speed.
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Question 6 of 10
The Trans-Siberian is the world’s longest railway line.
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True. From Moscow to Vladivostok.
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Question 7 of 10
Rail freight uses less fuel per tonne than lorries.
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True. Steel wheels on steel rails roll easily.
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Question 8 of 10
The first public steam railway opened in the United States.
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False. It opened in England.
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Question 9 of 10
Steam locomotives ran on petrol.
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False. They mostly burned coal.
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Question 10 of 10
Bullet trains are often badly delayed.
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False. The Shinkansen’s average delay is under a minute.
Keep going in the app
KnowSoda learns what you know and brings back what you’re about to forget. Trains has 6 more ideas at the Advanced and Expert levels.
Sources
- National Railway Museum (UK) — Stockton and Darlington Railway
- Central Japan Railway Company — Shinkansen and SCMaglev
- London Transport Museum — The world’s first underground railway
- Encyclopaedia Britannica — Trans-Siberian Railway, maglev
- International Union of Railways (UIC) — Rail and sustainable development
- Encyclopaedia Britannica — track gauge, railway signalling
