U.S. Railroads Trivia

1. This line's official name was the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (NYC&St.L), and its reporting mark was NKP. But it was almost universally referred to as the "NPR". What did those initials mean?. Hint? Think of a five cent coin.

From Quiz Left at the Station - Railroad Alphabet Soup

Answer: Nickel Plate Road

The NPR began in 1881, and operated primarily in Missouri and the northern portions of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York, until its 1964 merger with Norfolk & Western. Several ideas abound regarding the origin of the "Nickel Plate Road" sobriquet. The most likely source was an 1881 article in the Norwalk OH "Chronicle." The editor praised the anticipated quality of the new rail line, calling it the "...New York and St. Louis double track, nickel plated railroad." The NYC&St.L lives on in locomotive 765 - a Lima-built 2-8-4 Berkshire, lovingly restored and maintained by the Ft. Wayne Railway Historical Society. And at least two other locomotives are in various stages of restoration. And the Norfolk Southern Railway - the figurative grandchild of the NPR - has painted one of its 20 "Heritage Diesel" locomotives in the traditional colors of the Nickel Plate Road. The three distractor choices are pure fiction, but reading questions and/or the II carefully will help you answer the final question.

From Quiz Snakes on a ...Train?

Answer: At the lower front of the locomotive

The cowcatcher is located in front of the lead wheels of the train. Its purpose is to deflect objects off the rails and out of the train path. Since it has no arms, the likelihood of actually "catching" a cow - or anything else - is VERY slim! The term "cowcatcher" was quickly replaced with the term "pilot" by railroad officials. This was probably because of comments from frustrated passengers: "I don't understand why you even have a cowcatcher on the front end - this train is so slow it could NEVER catch a cow. But you should put the contraption BEHIND the last car? Maybe it would discourage cows from climbing on and bothering passengers!"

From Quiz The Pennsylvania Railroad

Answer: Monopoly

The avenues and locations of the game were based on the actual locals in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

From Quiz Passenger Train Routes

Answer: Chicago

The train ran from Washington to Chicago as an all-pullman train for many years. However they did have cars from Baltimore, New York (Jersey City) and other points at different times.

From Quiz CSXT's (former) Detroit Division

Answer: Detroit

It was located on Levan Road in Livonia on the outskirts of Detroit.

From Quiz American Diesel Locomotives

Answer: Because it was built under contract by General Electric at their Erie, PA plant

The Erie-Builts were contracted out to General Electric as Fairbanks-Morse didn't have the manufacturing capacity to built them at their Beloit, Wisconsin works.

From Quiz American Freight Cars

Answer: 1825

1825: The Granite Railroad in Quincy, MA, employed primitive 4-wheel flatcars to carry granite slabs between a quarry and the river transport system.

From Quiz Washington D.C. Metro

Answer: Red Line

From Quiz Snakes on a ...Train?

Answer: Switching light freight loads in the rail yard

Yard goats were (and still are) engines used to reposition or "switch" freight cars between various tracks, and ultimately form up a train for road engines to haul. Goats were usually small engines specifically built for yard work, but obsolete or worn out road engines might also serve out their final days as goats.

From Quiz The Pennsylvania Railroad

Answer: A keystone

The Pennsylvania Railroad's logo featured gold colored "PRR" initials in a red colored keystone. The keystone is the state symbol of Pennsylvania.

From Quiz Passenger Train Routes

Answer: Olympian Hiawatha

This train had several unique cars like a full dome and the skytop observation cars.

From Quiz Light Rail in the USA, Part 2

Answer: Minneapolis/St. Paul MetroTransit (MT)

The twelve-mile long Hiawatha line, named for Hiawatha Avenue that the track parallels for much of it's route, begin construction in 2001 with the groundbreaking taking place on January 12. The line's first phase, the northern eight mile section of line servicing the downtown area to the Fort Snelling station, opened on June 26, 2004. Service to the Mall of America began with the December 4, 2004 opening of final four miles of track (second phase) with the Mall being used as a major regional transportation hub. The Mall of America, when opened, was America's second largest mall by size of total area and the largest in total stores and vendors. Although it has never been the world's largest (by any terms), it is the world's most visited with more than 40 million per year. Can you believe it, people will actual spend their entire vacation at shopping at the Mall of America, go figure.

From Quiz CSXT's (former) Detroit Division

Answer: Chicago

The new Division is called the Chicago Division.

From Quiz American Diesel Locomotives

Answer: Fairbanks-Morse

The C-Liner was an attempt by Fairbanks-Morse to produce a standard locomotive, though it was, sadly, not a big sales success.

From Quiz American Freight Cars

Answer: Sprung wheels

The very first freight cars were flatcars. Because of their small size, iron frames were not needed until cars started getting much bigger. Round wheels are a given in any freight car and bogie trucks didn't happen until, again, cars started getting bigger. But car builders realized very early on that cars needed some kind of cushioning to protect the cargo and lengthen the car's life and -poof- sprung cars appeared!

From Quiz Washington D.C. Metro

Answer: Wheaton

They are the longest escalators in the western hemisphere and take just over four minutes to ascend.

From Quiz Left at the Station - Railroad Alphabet Soup

Answer: Pennsylvania Railroad

Perhaps more famous as a Monopoly property these days, the Pennsylvania Railroad was one of the major rail lines in the US and one of the longest lived, operating from 1846 until 1968. During its lifetime, PRR acquired, bought, or absorbed over 800 other rail lines. At one time the "Pennsy" had over 250,000 employees, and was the largest publicly traded stock in the WORLD. In 1916 the PRR modestly billed itself as "the Standard Railroad of the World." The line owned about 40% of the total electrified rail in the USA. Amtrak still uses portions of that electric system on its Northeast Corridor routes. In 1968 the PRR merged with its one time "arch-enemy" New York Central, and formed the Penn Central Line. By 1976 Conrail took pieces; and by 1999, the remains were divided between Norfolk Southern and Amtrak. Before steam power disappeared in 1957, PRR built most of its own locomotives. Freight engines had a round number plate on the smoke box front; passenger engines sported the distinctive keystone plates. The K-4 "Pacific" with its 4-6-2 wheel arrangement was a fast passenger engine, renowned for hauling the all-Pullman Broadway Limited in a 20 hour dash between New York and Chicago. The GG-1 electric locomotive was used in both passenger and freight service in the Northeast electrified track regions. The K-4 and GG-1 are arguably two of the most renowned locomotives of the PRR; The state of Pennsylvania has designated them as the official State Steam and Electric Locomotives, respectively.

From Quiz Snakes on a ...Train?

Answer: Help guide the wheels through a switch (turnout)

A railroad switch or "turnout" is used to move trains from one set of tracks to another. The rail frog is part of a turnout, and is the crossing point between two rails. A frog can be fabricated from cut and bent pieces of rail, or specifically designed and cast from tough manganese steel. Oddly enough, the rail frog took its name from the horse. The shape of a rail frog resembles the frog of a horse hoof.

From Quiz The Pennsylvania Railroad

Answer: The Main Line

The Main Line grew up in the latter 19th century when wealthy Philadelphians developed country estates in the newly accessible suburban areas west of the city. The communities that grew up along PRR's main line include Overbrook, Merion, Narberth, Wynnewood, Ardmore, Haverford, Bryn Mawr, Paoli, and Villanova. They remain among the most affluent and fashionable neighborhoods in the greater Philadelphia area. Although these areas were included in the original Welsh Tract of the 1600s, the Welsh Tract did not take its name from the PRR.

From Quiz Passenger Train Routes

Answer: Oklahoma City

Once a crack train, the Frisco had downgraded to a named local by the 1950s.

From Quiz Light Rail in the USA, Part 2

Answer: Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD)

In addition to Invesco Stadium, the E (and C) line also provides services to the downtown area's Auraria West Campus, Coors Field, Six Flags Elitch Gardens and the LoDo district. Although, relativity, Denver was a newcomer to the Light Rail scene with its first line opening in October of '94' as compared to the '80s' opening of many other systems, it has more than made up for it by its aggressive expansion. Currently (1Q-2007) this system is just a hair sly of 35 miles of track (mostly double track) serving the south and southwest areas. Should the proposed 11.2 mile northwest corridor, 18 mile north corridor and 38 mile north west become a reality, Denver will have one of the largest Light Rail Systems in the states. Additionally, a west corridor is in planning stage and a east corridor is being studied. Neither Cheyenne or Colorado Springs has a Light Rail Systems. In Fort Collins, the all volunteer FCMR operates a single heritage trolley car on a 1.5 mile track only on weekend afternoons during the non-winter months.

From Quiz Light Rail in the USA, Part 1

Answer: Hudson-Bergen Light Rail

The Hudson-Bergen line, owned by the New Jersey Transit Corporation and operated by the 21st Century Rail Corporation. The Hudson-Bergen line weekday passenger trips were reported to 27,000 in March of 2006, 30,000 in February, 2007 and projected to exceed 34,000 by the end of 2007. The Hoboken Terminal, listed in the both, State and National Registers of Historic Places, is a major transportation hub serving New Jersey Transit's Bus, Commuter Trains and the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Line, Port Authority Trans Hudson and the NY Waterway/Billy Bey Ferry.

From Quiz All Around Amtrak

Answer: 3

The "Heartland Flier", "Texas Eagle", and the "Sunset Limited" offer daily and semi-daily service to the Lone Star state.

From Quiz CSXT's (former) Detroit Division

Answer: Western Region

Western Region included the Detroit, Chicago, Great Lakes divisions up to Feb 3, 2004.

From Quiz American Freight Cars

Answer: Enclosed freight cars

Enclosing freight cars had to do with American climate and the locomotives we used. Vicious summer heat, icy cold winters, baking deserts, and lots of rain are not good for freight, with was also exposed to flaming cinders pouring from the locomotive. Obviously, something had to be done: the enclosed freight car.

From Quiz Washington D.C. Metro

Answer: Red Line

From Quiz The Pennsylvania Railroad

Answer: The Federal Express

The Federal Express ran from Boston to Washington. The Jeffersonian traveled from New York to St. Louis via Washington. The Broadway Limited took passengers between Chicago and New York. The Northern Arrow ran from St. Louis to Mackinaw City, Michigan. The Federal Express was involved in one of the most famous wrecks in Pennsy history when on January 15, 1953 a Federal Express lost its brakes and slammed into Washington's Union Station. The station's floor was unable to support the weight of the locomotive and it fell into the basement. Amazingly, no one was killed or even seriously injured. The event occurred just five days before the inauguration of newly elected President Dwight D. Eisenhower threatening to cripple travel in and out of the city. The locomotive, an electric GG1 unit, was salvaged and placed back into service. It is currently owned by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

From Quiz Passenger Train Routes

Answer: Chicago

Named after James Hill who combined the Great Northern, Northern Pacific and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroads.

From Quiz Light Rail in the USA, Part 2

Answer: Utah Transit Authority (UTA)

With more than 1.6 million participants (athletes, journalists, security, spectators etc.) descending on Salt Lake City for the '02' Winter Games, Public Transportation had a major responsibility in the ensuring the success of this event. The Salt Lake Organizing Committee called on America's Public Transit Agencies to come and help. And come they did, more than sixty Transit Agencies from 27 states and Washington D.C. responded to operation "Drive For The Gold" by sending their vehicles, equipment, operators, mechanics, managers, and other support personnel. The Dallas Area Rapid Transit sent 29 Light Rail Vehicles for the games, which more than double UTA's LRV fleet.

From Quiz Light Rail in the USA, Part 1

Answer: Maryland Transit Administration (MTA Maryland)

Maryland Transit Administration (11th largest Public Transit Agency in the US - 2004 passenger trips) opened his Light Rail system in April of 1992 with 22.5 miles of track providing service from Timonium to Comwell Station/Glen Burnie. Construction of three extensions began in July of 1995 to expand the system 7.5 miles. The 4.5 miles, 5 station Hunt Valley extension, which opened on September 9, 1997, extended the line north of Timonium to the Hunt Valley Business and Industrial Park providing access to some 340 companies (with a workforce of over 30,000). The Penn Station extension, although only one third of mile long, created a direct link with Amtrak and MARC's Commuter Rail Service. The 2.7 mile BWI extension, with two stations, serves the airport's business district and the airport's International Terminal. Both, the Penn Station and BWI extensions opened on December 6. 1997. With the opening of the three extensions, this Light Rail system, now with approximately 30 miles of track and 32 stations, steadily increased the daily ridership from 20,000 to over 36, 000 over a five year period form 1998 to 2002.

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