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British Railways #3 Trivia Quiz

Another exciting and thrilling quiz about the British Rail network.

A multiple-choice quiz by m1a2lt. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
m1a2lt

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
102,499

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
828

Last 3 plays: Barbarini (3/10), Guest 86 (5/10), gracious1 (2/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. What was the name of the engineer responsible for planning and constructing the West Coast Main Line between Carlisle and Glasgow in 1845? Hint

George Stephenson

Isambard Brunell

Robert Stephenson

Joseph Locke

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Question 2 of 10

2. In the early 1990s, British Rail had a Class 73 specially livered to haul the Venice Simplon Orient Express. However, the majority of Orient Express trains were hauled by this class of locomotive: Hint

Class 37

Class 47

Class 86

Class 50

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Question 3 of 10

3. The last triple-headed Class 37 trains ended with privatization and the import of Class 56 and Class 60 locomotives into this region. What area of Britain did these train run? Hint

Northern Scotland

Cornwall

East Anglia

South Wales

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Question 4 of 10

4. What is unusual about the station at Liskeard, Cornwall? Hint

The station has two levels with the Looe Branch under the Penzance-London Mainline.

The Looe Branchline platform is separate from the main station and at right angles to the main line.

Trains for London actually leave the station heading west, even though London is almost directly east of Liskeard.

All of the above.

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Question 5 of 10

5. At Exeter St. David's Station, trains for London Waterloo can depart heading either east or west, a fact that was confusing for many travellers.

True

False

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Question 6 of 10

6. What are the names of the two major summits that the West Coast Main Line must cross between Crewe and Glasgow?

Answer: (no commas or "and", just the names without "summit".)

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Question 7 of 10

7. The British National Railway Museum is located at ________. Hint

Crewe

York

Cardiff

Plymouth

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Question 8 of 10

8. The APT-P (not the APT-E) was an experimental passenger train developed in 1979 to provide faster services on the West Coast Main Line. What special feature did it have that allowed this? Hint

A diesel-turbine engine

A tilting mechanism in the coaches

Two power cars and a center mounted power car that produced over 10,000 hp in operation

It was run on magnets. At the time, British Rail wanted to replace the WCML with a maglev line.

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Question 9 of 10

9. Class 86 locomotives, which work the West Coast Main Line and the East Anglia Main Line, had an improvement made to them that ultimately was a complete failure. What was this improvement? Hint

Thyristor control

Axel-hung traction motors

Brecknell Willis High Speed Pantograph

GEC Cross-arm Pantograph

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. Originally, the Class 90 was to be an upgraded variant of the Class 87.

True

False

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Most Recent Scores

Apr 24 2024 : Barbarini: 3/10
Apr 24 2024 : Guest 86: 5/10
Apr 14 2024 : gracious1: 2/10
Mar 28 2024 : Guest 77: 3/10
Mar 27 2024 : Guest 84: 9/10
Mar 26 2024 : Guest 90: 5/10
Mar 22 2024 : Guest 1: 3/10
Mar 19 2024 : Guest 90: 5/10
Mar 16 2024 : AndySed: 1/10

Score Distribution

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What was the name of the engineer responsible for planning and constructing the West Coast Main Line between Carlisle and Glasgow in 1845?

Answer: Joseph Locke

Joseph Locke was responsible for the mapping, surveying and the engineering of the WCML from Carlisle to Glasgow. He selected to use the Lune Gorge, via Oxenholme instead of the route through Windermere that would require an extensive tunnel north.

Answer: Class 47

A Rail Express Systems Class 47 was commonly used on this route since the specially painted Class 73 would regularly work departmental trains. This can be seen in the latest version of "Murder on the Orient Express".

3. The last triple-headed Class 37 trains ended with privatization and the import of Class 56 and Class 60 locomotives into this region. What area of Britain did these train run?

Answer: South Wales

The triple-headed Class 37 trains were used hauling iron ore between Port Albert Docks and Llanwern Steel Works. This ended with the train load companies taking over (Transrail brought Cl.56 and Cl.60s in) and continued when EWS finally took over.

4. What is unusual about the station at Liskeard, Cornwall?

Answer: The Looe Branchline platform is separate from the main station and at right angles to the main line.

The main line platforms actually run east-west while the branch line to Looe runs north out of a seperate platform. Furthermore, it is interesting to note that although the branchline heads north, Looe is directly south of Liskeard.

5. At Exeter St. David's Station, trains for London Waterloo can depart heading either east or west, a fact that was confusing for many travellers.

Answer: False

Although trains heading to London Waterloo can depart from either direction, the tracks head north-south.

6. What are the names of the two major summits that the West Coast Main Line must cross between Crewe and Glasgow?

Answer: beattock shap

Beattock and Shap were major obstacles for the WCML to pass. During the planning phase for the WCML, Joseph Locke suggested a short tunnel under Beattock, but this was overruled, so the new route became the curse of engineers and it wasn't until electrification that full-length trains could be run at speed over the summit.

7. The British National Railway Museum is located at ________.

Answer: York

The National Railway Museum at York was established in 1975 when they took over the British Railways Museum and the York Railway museum.

8. The APT-P (not the APT-E) was an experimental passenger train developed in 1979 to provide faster services on the West Coast Main Line. What special feature did it have that allowed this?

Answer: A tilting mechanism in the coaches

The APT adopted a tilting mechanism to allow the train to round the WCML's numerous curves at a higher speed. When the WCML was constructed, many land-owners did not want to have a railway crossing their land, so they refused to sell. Therefore, the line became one long, twisty curve from London to Glasgow. Because of this, the trains on the line had very few opportunities to reach their maximum speed.

However, the APT was retired to Crewe after only a few years of running and was reduced to poor condition due to neglect. Recently, however, volunteers have restored all the cars (except for powercar 49006 that is currently stored in appalling condition at MoD Kineton for the National Railway Museum).

9. Class 86 locomotives, which work the West Coast Main Line and the East Anglia Main Line, had an improvement made to them that ultimately was a complete failure. What was this improvement?

Answer: Axel-hung traction motors

The Axel-hung motors were designed to give smoother ride than the frame mounted motors. However, the reverse was true, so many had flexicoil suspension added or were given Class 87 bogies (86/1s). Thyristor control was first adopted in 87101 "Stephenson" and this was highly sucessful.

The Brecknell Willis HSP was added to many (but not all) Class 86s during the 1980s and 1990s to increase performance. The GEC Cross-arm type pantograph was the original pantograph on the loco, but these were also used on Classes 81-85, the first generation electrics.

10. Originally, the Class 90 was to be an upgraded variant of the Class 87.

Answer: True

Originally, the Class 90 was going to be an upgraded Class 87 (possibly an 87/2 subclass?) but BR realized the two locomotives really had nothing in common, so the Class 90 designation was given.

Source: Author m1a2lt

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor ozzz2002 before going online.
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