Railways

Beginnings

Competition run by the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, in October 1829, to decide whether they used stationary engines or locomotives – won by Stephenson's Rocket		Rainhill Trials
The unsuccessful entries were Cycloped, Novelty, Perseverance and Sans Pareil

Ten locomotives were entered for the Rainhill Trials, but only these five actually took part.

Stations

Paris terminus of the line to Bordeaux and Toulouse: named after one of Napoleon Bonaparte's greatest victories		Austerlitz
Britain's highest railway station (see below): on a funicular railway that opened in 2001, at 1,097 metres (3,599 feet), on (Scottish mountain)		Cairngorm
Principal station opened in 1850, renamed '... General' in 1924, and '... Central' in 1973; the city also has a second 'hub' station, named Queen Street		Cardiff
Features a café and museum called Brief Encounter		Carnforth
Britain's highest mainline railway station (see above): at 1,340 feet (408 metres) above sea level, beside Loch Ossian on Rannoch Moor, on the West Highland Line		Corrour
On the North Yorkshire Moors heritage line, used as Hogsmeade in the Harry Potter films and Aidensfield in Heartbeat		Goathland
The world's largest railway station (opened in 1913)		Grand Central, NY
Manchester terminus of the world's first inter–city passenger railway (in which all services were hauled by timetabled steam locomotives); opened in 1830, but closed in 1844 when the line was extended; now part of Manchester's Museum of Science and Industry, it's the world's oldest surviving terminal railway station		Liverpool Road
Trains from London to Cambridge, Colchester, Ipswich and Norwich leave from		Liverpool Street
London's oldest terminal (still in operation) – opened in 1836		London Bridge
London terminus of the Great Western Railway and its successors since 1838: the station itself dates from 1854 and was designed by I. K. Brunel; located on Praed Street		Paddington
New York's main intercity railway station, and the busiest transportation facility in the Western Hemisphere: Madison Square Garden (sporting and concert venue) was built over it in the 1960s		Pennsylvania Station
London terminus of the Eurostar service, from 2007		St. Pancras
The only name that's shared by stations on the London Underground and the Paris Metro		Temple
Britain's most northerly railway station		Thurso
More platforms than any other British station		Waterloo

Bristol, Horwich (for Bolton), Southampton Airport, Thanet, Coleshill (for Birmingham), East Midlands (for Nottingham, Derby, Loughborough): all served by stations called		Parkway
Cardiff Central, Doncaster, Edinburgh Haymarket, London King's Cross, Stockport: all have		Platform 0 (zero)

Trains and Locomotives

Less formal name for the Hitachi–built British Rail 800 Class Inter–City trains, used on the UK's Great Western Main Line from 2017, and on the Great Eastern Main Line from 2019		Azuma
George Stephenson's first locomotive (Killingworth Colliery, 1814)		Blücher
Luxury train from Pretoria to Cape Town, via Johannesburg (originally Johannesburg to Cape Town, carrying passengers to the ships departing for England)		The Blue Train
Popular English name for the Japanese Shinkansen (literally New Trunk Line)		Bullet Train
Passenger train from Toronto to Vancouver		The Canadian
1937–9, London to Glasgow: gave its name to a piece of orchestral music by Vivian Ellis, which became the theme tune to the TV series Paul Temple		Coronation Scot
BR locomotive No. 71000: built at Crewe in 1954, a prototype for a class that was never built; poorly received by crews, and lasted only eight years in service, but saved from the scrapyard in 1974 by a group of enthusiasts who made improvements; now frequently seen on Britain's main lines		Duke of Gloucester
Last steam locomotive built by British Railways (no. 92220) – built at Swindon in 1960		Evening Star
London–Edinburgh service, inaugurated in 1862 as the Special Scotch Express. Left King's Cross and Waverley at 10:00. Known informally from the 1870s, and formally from 1924, as		Flying Scotsman
The world's most famous steam locomotive: No. 4472, built in 1923 at Doncaster for the LNER: gave 40 years' service on the London–Edinburgh service after which it was named (see above); the first steam locomotive to achieve a speed of over 100 mph (1934); BR number 60103; retired from regular service in 1963, after covering just over 2 million miles; set a record for the longest non–stop run by a steam locomotive – 422 miles (679 km) – in Australia, 1989; returned to service (running special tours) in 2016 after a 10–year restoration costing £4.5 million		Flying Scotsman
Informal name for the train that runs across Australia, through South Australia and Northern Territory, from Adelaide to Darwin via Alice Springs (also serves Coober Pedy, without actually passing through it) – an abbreviation of a nickname referring to the camel trains that previously plied the same route		The Ghan (Afghan Express)
Luxury service from London to Paris, 1926–72: run jointly by Southern Railways (later British Rail) and SNCF, known on either side of the Channel by the equivalent English and French names		Golden Arrow (Fleche d'Or)
The preserved GWR Hall class locomotive No. 5972 Olton Hall came to prominence in the 21st century as the		Hogwarts Express
George Stephenson's first successful locomotive – ran on the Stockton–Darlington		Locomotion
Built at Doncaster, entered service as LNER No. 4468 on 3 March 1938; set a world speed record for a steam locomotive, of 126mph (which still stands), on 3 July 1938		Mallard
Ran daily between Manchester and Bournemouth, 1910–67; believed to have been named after the trees growing in the Chines between Bournemouth and Poole		Pines Express
London–Glasgow passenger service, 1862–2003 – left Euston at 10:00		Royal Scot
Steam locomotive built by a private trust – the first built in Britain since Evening Star in 1960 – unveiled at Darlington in 2008		Tornado
Luxury train, once Calais – Riviera via Paris, now Paris – Riviera		Le Train Bleu

People

Engineer responsible for the construction of the Great Western Railway, including Paddington station; one of his less successful schemes was the Atmospheric Railway in Devon		I. K. Brunel
Designer of Puffing Billy and Wylam Willie		William Hedley
'The Railway King' – born near York 1800, made a fortune by investing in railways, but ruined by revelations of fraud and bribery of MPs		George Hudson
Run over by Stephenson's Rocket, at the opening of the Liverpool to Manchester, 1830 – first person to die in a railway accident		Wm. Huskisson MP
English engineer, known as the "Father of Railways"; gave his name to the standard gauge, estimated to be used on 55% of the world's lines, which he was the first to use		George Stephenson
Designer and builder of the first steam locomotive (1804)		Richard Trevithick
Dutch–born US engineer: invented and gave his name to the system for classifying locomotives by wheel configuration (4–6–0, 2–4–2, etc.)		Frederick Methvan Whyte

Lines and Routes

The first public railway	Eastern terminus (city)		Stockton
	Western terminus (city)		Darlington
The world's first inter–city passenger rail service – opened in 1830	Western terminus (city)		Liverpool
	Eastern terminus (city)		Manchester
Major rail line of Canada and New England, 1852–1923 – headquarters in London			Grand Trunk Railway
Met in 1869 to form the USA's first transcontinental railroad	Coming from San Francisco Bay (on the west coast)		Central Pacific
	Coming from Council Bluffs, Iowa (in the mid–west)		Union Pacific
Opened in 1893: the world's second electric "metro" railway, after the City and South London Railway (1890); closed in 1956, and dismantled in 1957; this was the Overhead Railway in (English city)			Liverpool
The world's longest continuous railway line – completed in 1917			Trans–Siberian
The Trans–Siberian Railway runs for 9,289 kilometres (5,772 miles) from Moscow to			Vladivostok
Indian Pacific Railway (completed in 1970)	Eastern terminus (city)		Perth
	Western terminus (city)		Sydney

Acronym used for rail systems in Dallas and Dublin

DART

The London Underground

This is not the only place on this website where you might read the next fifteen words.

You know the question setter is struggling for inspiration when you get a question about ... London Tube lines. Especially if you're two hundred miles from London at the time.

But it does happen – all the time – so the Quiz Monkey has to cover it.

The most common type of question goes "On the London Underground map, which line is coloured ... ?" The next most common is "Which London Underground line has termini at ... and ... ?"

In the second type of question, you can optionally name a point of the compass with either or both termini. For example: "Which London Underground line has termini at ... in the north and ... in the south?"

The following table should prepare you for both types of question.

Brown	Harrow & Wealdstone (N)	Elephant & Castle (S)		Bakerloo
Red	West Ruislip (NW)	Epping (NE)		Central
Yellow	Links Paddington, Baker Street, Kings Cross, Liverpool Street, Victoria			Circle
Dark(ish) Green	Ealing Broadway and Richmond (W) Edgware Road and Barons Court (NW) Wimbledon (SW)	Upminster (E)		District
Pink	Hammersmith (W)	Barking (E)		Hammersmith & City
Silver (Grey)	Stanmore (N)	Stratford (E)		Jubilee
Magenta	Uxbridge, Amersham, Chesham and Watford Junction (W)	Aldgate (City)		Metropolitan
Black	Edgware and High Barnet (N)	Morden (S)		Northern
Royal Blue	Uxbridge and Heathrow Terminal 5 (W)	Cockfosters (NE)		Piccadilly
Sky Blue	Walthamstow Central (NE)	Brixton (S)		Victoria
Pale Green	Waterloo	Bank		Waterloo & City

Here are a few other questions I've heard over the years. In most cases the answer is the name of a line:

The Metropolitan Railway – the world's first underground railway – opened to the public on (date)			10 January 1863
Longest (47 miles)			Central
New underground line crossing London from west to east (dividing into two branches at either end): construction began in 2009, completion originally scheduled for 2018; the longer Western branch (to Reading) opened in Jaunary 2020	Name of the construction company and project		Crossrail
	Name as part of the Underground system		Elizabeth Line
	Colour on the Underground map		Purple
Most stations (60)			District
Opened in 1979 – originally to be called the Fleet; connects with every other Underground line, following extension in 1999, including the DLR and the Elizabeth Line. (Checked in 2023.)			Jubilee
The world's first underground railway, and the first line on the London Underground (Paddington to Farringdon Street, 1863)			Metropolitan
Extended in 1977 to serve Heathrow Airport			Piccadilly
Colloquially known as The Drain, possibly because it's underground but operated by staff who normally work above ground (shuttle line, linking Bank underground to the mainline network, with no other stops on the way)			Waterloo & City

Heritage Lines

East / West Sussex border, from Sheffield Park to Kingscote		Bluebell Line
Heywood to Rawtenstall, via Bury and Ramsbottom – opened 1987		East Lancashire
Narrow gauge line built to carry slate to the coast at Porthmadog – operated commercially 1836–1946, re–opened as a heritage line 1954; the world's oldest railway company		Ffestiniog
Keighley to Oxenhope – re–opened 1968; featured in The Railway Children, Yanks, Last of the Summer Wine (one episode)		Keighley & Worth Valley
Narrow gauge line from the Cumbrian coast to Boot in the Lake District — affectionately known locally as "La'al Ratty"		Ravenglass & Eskdale
Narrow gauge line in Kent – runs from one of the Cinque ports (Hythe) to Dungeness – opened 1927		Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch
Bridgnorth (Salop) to Kidderminster (Worcs) – re–opened 1970		Severn Valley
Aberystwyth to Devil's Bridge: has operated continuously since 1902 – as part of the British Railways network until 1989, when it was the first line to be privatised; from 1968 it was the network's only steam–operated line		Vale of Rheidol

The Orient Express

Date on which the Orient Express first ran		4 October 1883
Western terminus of the Orient Express (until 1977)		Paris – Gare de l'Est
Bulgarian Black Sea port that was the eastern terminus of the Orient Express from 1883–9 (passengers then travelling to Istanbul by ferry)		Varna
Orient Express first ran direct from Paris to Istanbul (using two trains, with a ferry across the Danube from Giurgiu in Romania to Rousse in Bulgaria)		1889
Tunnel through the Alps that opened in 1919, allowing a more southerly route		Simplon
Twin destinations of the Arlberg Orient Express, 1930–39 and 1945–62		Athens
		Bucharest
Classic route via Venice, Budapest and Bucharest terminated		1962
Simplon Orient Express terminated; the Orient Express last ran to Istanbul		1977
Western terminus of the latest incarnation (in operation since 1982)		Calais
Eastern terminus of the latest incarnation (in operation since 1982)		Venice

Eurostar

Eurostar services began running (with a limited 'Discovery' service; the full daily service started in May of the following year)		14 November 1994
London terminus prior to November 2007		Waterloo
London terminus from November 2007		St. Pancras
Other stops in the UK (both in Kent)		Ebbsfleet International
		Ashford International
Paris terminus		Gare du Nord
Other European capital served		Brussels
City in northern France where the Paris and Brussels lines separate		Lille

Other

Standard gauge on British railways		4' 8½" (1.435m)
London Underground (Metropolitan Line) first opened		1863
Maximum speed of the Virgin Pendolino train (introduced 2004; in practice, limited to 125 mph)		140 mph
US equivalent of British Rail		Amtrak
Publisher of the travel guide used by Michael Portillo in Great American Railroad Journeys, since the 1840s (the US equivalent to Bradshaw's)		Appleton
The world's longest stretch of straight railway track (309 miles) is in		Australia
Welsh seaside town where (according to Wikipedia) 297 withdrawn British Railways steam locomotives were sent to be scrapped by Woodham Brothers Ltd. – 213 of which were rescued for the preservation movement		Barry
Channel Tunnel passenger services: operated by UK, France and		Belgium
Two–mile tunnel through the Cotswolds between Chippenham and Bath, which completed the GWR; over 100 men died during its construction		Box
British railway timetables, published annually 1839 – 1961		Bradshaw's Guides
The second city, after London, to have an underground railway system (opened 2 May 1896)		Budapest
Flat metal plate that connects rails		Fishplate
Distance between the rails		Gauge
Britain's second oldest underground railway system (opened 14 December 1896)		Glasgow
As of 2021, the world's four longest railway platforms are at four different locations in (country)		India
Controls the infrastructure of British railways, since buying Railtrack in 2002		Network Rail
Overhead cable for electric trains		Pantograph
Word, originating in Italian, used by Virgin for its tilting trains		Pendolino
Controlled the infrastructure of British railways, from privatisation in 1994 until sold by its parent company in 2002		Railtrack
The Ffestiniog Railway was built to carry		Slate
French high–speed train (Train à Grand Vitesse)		TGV

© Haydn Thompson 2017–24