Centerfold

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TJH Centerfold

Off-the-Beaten-Track Facts

Trains in Japan are so punctual that if they are even 5 minutes late, the passengers get a formal apology, and most times they will even get a “delay certifi cate.” Delays that are over an hour will also appear on the news.

In 1865, after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, a funeral train carried his body through 180 cities on its way to Lincoln’s burial plot in Illinois. This funeral train made front-page news and was later used as inspiration in establishing train travel around the world.

In 1830, an industrialist designed a steam engine called the “Tom Thumb” which was capable of going 18 mph. As a publicity stunt, it had a race with a horse-drawn train. The Tom Thumb quickly strode ahead but later on broke a belt. This allowed the horse-drawn train to fi nish the race fi rst.  Between 2001 and 2010, the New York City MTA, instead of disposing of old trains, saved $30 million by turning 2,580 subway cars into artifi cial reefs which were placed o the coasts of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and South Carolina.

When Japan su ered a 8.9 magnitude earthquake on March 11, 2011, a special earthquake-detecting device on the country’s eastern rail detected the earthquake 12-15 seconds before it hit and sent an automatic stop signal to the Japan’s high-speed bullet train’s electric power transmission system, triggering the emergency brake on 33 trains, saving thousands of lives.

Amtrak provides the ability for rail/ train car owners to have their privately-owned rail/train cars attached to its trains between specifi ed locations so passengers can see North America in an extraordinary way.

Riddle Me This?

1. When is the time of a clock like the whistle of a train? 2. A train leaves from New York City heading towards Los Angeles at 100 mph. Three hours later, a train leaves Los Angeles heading towards NYC at 200 MPH. Assume there’s exactly 2,000 miles between LA and NYC. When they meet, which train is closer to New York City?

2. They’re both the same distance from NYC when they meet. When it’s two to two.1. Answers to riddles:

Train Trivia

1. The fi rst underground train was built in which city? a. London b. New York c. Paris d. Rome

2. Japan’s L0 Series Maglev is the fastest train in the world.

What is its top recorded speed? a. 179 MPH b. 268 MPH c. 374 MPH d. 490 MPH

3. The U.S. has the most miles of train tracks in the world.

How many miles of track are there in the U.S.? a. 40,500 b. 160,141 c. 300,100 d. 1.2 million

4. Shinjuku Station in Tokyo,

Japan, is the busiest train station in the world.

How many people pass through that station every day, on average? a. 250,000 b. 400,000 c. 1.2 million d. 3.5 million

5. How much does each NYC subway car cost? a. $75,000 b. $500,000 c. $2 million d. $4 million

6. What is the average length of freight trains in the U.S.? a. 400 feet b. 1,500 feet c. 1.25 miles d. 3 miles

7. The Trans-Australian Railway crosses the Nullarbor Plain without deviating even slightly from its straight course. How miles of absolute straight course are there on this crossing? a. 31 miles b. 92 miles c. 297 miles d. 1,400 miles

Answers: 1-A 2-C 3-B 4-D 5-C 6-C 7-C

Wisdom Key: 6-7 correct: When you sleeptalk, you probably say: “Next train to Babylon on track 19, change at Jamaica for Wantagh, Seaford, Massapequa and Massapequa Park…” 3-5 correct: There’s a reason you are still handling the hole puncher and are not in the conductor’s chair. (By the way, do you totally not care that the little part that you just punched out fl ew onto my person? I know it’s a tiny piece of paper, but maybe I’m not interested in having that piece of paper fl ying out of my scarf when I enter the meeting that I am going to, Mr. Not-Conductor!) 0-2 correct: Touch the third rail or something?

You Gotta Be Kidding Me!

Jimbo and Bobby are out drinking one night. As they stumble home, they are walking on the railroad tracks uphill. “This is the longest stairway I have ever been on,” says Jimbo. Bobby replies, “It’s not the stairs that bother me. It’s the low banister.”