Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg is, according to the Guinness Book of Records, the world's largest model train set. It's so large—including airports, cityscapes and even seas—that to even call it a train set seems a good example of the German sense of humor. It covers 1,500 square meters, has 260,000 figurines in it , 9,250 cars, 1,040 trains, 42 planes, 385,000 LEDs, and cost 21 million Euros to construct. Read the rest
Thwarting Darwinism, or, more likely, a pair of earbuds, a cop from the Perth Amboy Police Department in New Jersey, hauled ass to save a man from being smooshed by a train--and it was all caught on the officer's body camera. Why anyone, unless they were in some emotional distress, would decide that walking down a set of train tracks oblivious to an oncoming locomotive was a good idea is beyond me. Fortunate for the fella in the video, the police officer that came to his rescue was in good enough physical shape that he was able to sprint with the 20 pounds of gear that most cops wear, without slowing him down. Read the rest
Sydney Trains boss Howard Collins, a former driver, told 9NEWS that incidents like those “stop the hearts” of train operators who are unable to avoid a collision.
“You might say a few expletives under your breath, you’re waiting for that impact,” he said.
The driver in the incident did activate the vehicle’s emergency brakes when the man came into vision however, at full speed, a train takes about a kilometre to come to a complete stop.
I'm not sure of the technical specifications going on here, but this calmed me down after seeing the latest from the Malabar Front this morning.
Here it is YouTube-doubled with "Biggie Smalls the Tank Engine". You're welcome. Read the rest
This unbelievable video was reportedly captured earlier this month by CCTV cameras in Inner Mongolia's Baotou Railway Station. From Mysterious Universe:
Read the restIs this a video of a ghost train? The comments run the gamut from definitely ghost train to an image from a parallel universe to a secret military cloaking train to a reflection in a window of a nearby train to a hoax. The Daily Express online says the last scenario is supported by debunker Scott Brando, who claims it’s a merger of two videos and dates back at least to 2012 to a railway station in not the Baotou Railway Station in Inner Mongolia but the Polezhaevskaya station in Moscow.
Rotary car dumpers (aka wagon tipplers) are used for quickly emptying coal and ore from hopper cars. Traditionally, hopper cars emptied from the bottom.
Enthusiast Chester Hill praises Pittsburgh-based Heyl & Patterson, who build these behemoths:
This is the Single Rail Car Dumper that has been in operation over 15 years. Drummond Coal purchased Heyl & Patterson Equipment, and are now building the the first Quad Car Coal Dumper at the Drummond Port in Santa Marta, Colombia.
Here's a longer clip from a different type that shows the entire process, not just the dumping:
• Heyl & Patterson - Single Coal Rail Car Dumper - Santa Marta Colombia (YouTube / Chester Hill) Read the rest
This dizzying display of drone-piloting skills is not only impressive, but the locale is simply gorgeous. Watch as NURK FPV takes a sunset flight through a scenic river valley as a train passes through. Read the rest
Set the brake on your baby carriage, wheelchair, or wheeled luggage if you plan to take your hands off it. Don't want this to happen. Luckily, this one was empty. Read the rest
I don't know what is funnier - the things Amtrak passengers whine about, or the way the complaints have been redacted as if they were state secrets.
In her what? C'mon, why won't Amtrak tell us?
I'm trying to imagine what was censored here. Sure there's more to it than "no snack car."
Finally, one that the censor with the black pen didn't catch, about a slow, not-friendly, screaming, laughing, smiling, lady with no name tag.
The fine folks at Super Deluxe mounted a camera on a train traveling through the desert, and it's as relaxing and scenic as it sounds. Read the rest
At the new Magic Touch Bullet Train Sushi restaurant in Cerritos, California, you order off an iPad menu and the rolls arrive via model bullet trains. I can't wait for them to upgrade to maglev trains. (via Laughing Squid)
I ride trains whenever I can, even though they can be expensive. The San Francisco Bay Area BART, for instance, charges over $20 for a round trip between Oakland and San Francisco. That's a lot of money for a daily commuter. (It's better to hitchhike instead.)
Why are train tickets so expensive, especially compared to airline tickets? The largest expense is staffing. Amtrak employs one person for every 4 passengers daily, and the average salary of an Amtrak employee is $75,000. This video by Wendover productions takes a look at this expense and the others that go into running a passenger rail company. Read the rest
This Inception-like moment as all the doorways form a straight line is both satisfying and mesmerizing. Read the rest
An Amtrak train pulls into a station somewhere up east. The only problem? The tracks are already occupied by snow, piled a good six inches higher than the platform itself. Commuter Nick Colvin knows what's about to happen and has his iPhone set to record slow-mo footage, but as he writes, there was "a more spectacular arrival than expected." Read the rest
London, city of slow trains and fleet foxes. [Via Pepo Jiménez] Read the rest
Geoff Marshall is making entertaining videos of his visits to the least used rail station in each county of the UK. In this episode, Geoff takes a ride in a cute little old old heritage train at Little Kimble - the least used station in Buckinghamshire. Read the rest
Chinese social media has been blowing up this year with images of high speed trains that have passed through heavy smog on their routes. Here's the same train when it's clean: Read the rest
