Tag Archives: railways

Turning a locomotive on a reversing star

Posted on September 3, 2020 by Marcus Wong

There are many ways for a locomotive to be turned – reversing loops, turntables, and triangular junctions. But there is one bizarre track configuration that can also do the same job – a reversing star. Google Maps How they work […]

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Moscow Metro curved, side and triple track stations

Posted on August 6, 2020 by Marcus Wong

Each of the 232 stations on the Moscow Metro might have a unique look, but there is one design feature the majority share – two tracks flanking a central island platform. But how about the exceptions? Adopting a standard Russian-language […]

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Cable hauled train at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport

Posted on July 4, 2019 by Marcus Wong

Automated people movers between airport terminals are a common sight around the world, but the system at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport is a little different – the trains are hauled by cables. Photo by A.Savin (Wikimedia Commons · WikiPhotoSpace), via Wikimedia Commons It is […]

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‘Do Re Mi’ music as the train powers out of the station

Posted on June 6, 2019 by Marcus Wong

It’s normal for electric locomotives to make some kind of ‘buzzing’ noise as their accelerate, due to the way that power is applied to their traction motors. But the Siemens EuroSprinter family of electric locomotives make an unexpected sound – […]

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Why did the train stop to close the bridge?

Posted on April 25, 2019 by Marcus Wong

On Facebook I recently came across a video of a train coming to a halt, so that a man could swing a piece of track into place before it could then proceed. So what is the story behind it? The […]

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Track laying trains of Russia

Posted on March 1, 2018 by Marcus Wong

My my journey across Russia by train I came across a curious looking piece of equipment parked in a siding – a track laying machine. Called a Путеукладчик in Russian, here is a similar machine at work laying track for […]

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Шаропоїзд – a Ukrainian monorail that ran in a trough

Posted on February 1, 2018 by Marcus Wong

Monorails are a mode of rail transport that is yet to break into the mainstream, despite decades of research and development on a wide variety of track standards. Most monorail trains are suspended from a track, or run on top […]

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Funding Russia’s suburban commuter train routes

Posted on October 12, 2017 by Marcus Wong

I’ve written about the three tiers of Russian rail service before – and today I am looking at the middle tier of suburban trains. Known as электри́чка (Elektrichka), they run along tracks shared with freight and long distance passenger services, […]

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Shower and laundry trains for the Russian army

Posted on September 28, 2017 by Marcus Wong

Sitting, dining and sleeping carriages are a common sight around the world. But in Russia the army operates a special type of train – the банно-прачечный дезинфекционный поезд (БПДП). Translated to English, that is the “bath and laundry disinfection train” or “bath on wheels”.

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Riding the Kiev Funicular

Posted on August 3, 2017 by Marcus Wong

Funicular railways seem to be quite common in European cities, and the Ukranian capital is no different. The Kiev Funicular is a 238 meter long railway opened in 1905 that links the top and bottom of a hill. Here is […]

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