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Railway General Knowledge.

Cowley

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That's the one Peter and you weren't too far out with 6 (it was actually 16) so over to you
 
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Peter Mugridge

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Going a bit further back in time now but it's a ridiculously easy one... what were the two extremities of the Churnet Valley Line, both of which are still open...
 

Calthrop

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Thanks Mr. M.

Which line in which country might -- had it not been for dramatic events almost exactly 75 years ago -- have beaten the Talyllyn by about a decade, in being the first railway ever rescued from closure on a volunteer-enthusiast / preservation basis?
 

Cowley

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Was it a narrow gauge line in Malta? It's ringing a very faint bell. I'm not sure of the railway
 

Calthrop

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Narrow gauge yes, Malta no (pity -- from photographs, the one-time Malta Railway, metre-gauge, looks to have been a gorgeous thing).
 

Calthrop

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A place I wouldn't ever have thought of being suggested in this context ! Hong Kong did have a 2ft gauge local line from 1912 to 1928; not to my knowledge, though, the target of any first-ever preservation venture. Not this one -- sorry...
 

martinsh

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"Almost exactly 75 years ago" sounds like Pearl Harbor to me - and you have confirmed the USA anyway.

I know one of the first "heritage" lines was the Edaville in New England, and Wikipedia says they got their stock from the Bridgton & Saco River RR, so I'm going to guess that.
 

Calthrop

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"Almost exactly 75 years ago" sounds like Pearl Harbor to me - and you have confirmed the USA anyway.

I know one of the first "heritage" lines was the Edaville in New England, and Wikipedia says they got their stock from the Bridgton & Saco River RR, so I'm going to guess that.

You've got it -- certainly near enough to do the job. The Bridgton & Saco River, alias Bridgton & Harrison, was the last of the several 2ft gauge railways in the state of Maine, to keep a passenger service. The line closed completely in September 1941: a railway-enthusiast group was formed to look at ways and means of somehow reviving the line and running it largely, anyway, with volunteer labour. Then, as you say, Pearl Harbor and what resulted therefrom, came about. Frivolities such as railway preservation had to be shelved for a while: by the time life returned to normal, the railway had been dismantled, and the chance to save it "as had been", was gone. Locos and stock were still in existence, and -- as above -- were acquired for the ("purpose-built") Edaville line. Said outfit also got some motive power and stock from the 2ft gauge Monson Railroad in Maine, which outlived the Bridgton & Harrison by a little while; but was way up north in the very back of beyond, and had lost its passenger service long since.

Giving you the highball, buddy...
 

Mvann

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The dates are dates office held. I only recognise tom hurry riches and he was something like a CME for one of the welsh railways. Can't remember which one tho
 

Calthrop

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OK, easy one.

What was "Dartmoor Gauge", and what was the last line in the UK to use it ?

4ft. 6in. Last used by the Lee Moor Tramway (horse-worked, genuine everyday use ceased about end of WW2, but "token" operations to keep the company notionally functioning, continued until 1960).
 

Calthrop

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Thank 'ee, midear.

Which railway -- effectively railmotor-only operated, working life 1931 to 1948 -- was inaugurated as an early "green solution" for transport on a "paradise island" from which private cars were banned?
 

AlterEgo

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Thank 'ee, midear.

Which railway -- effectively railmotor-only operated, working life 1931 to 1948 -- was inaugurated as an early "green solution" for transport on a "paradise island" from which private cars were banned?

That must be the Bermuda Railway, as I can't think of many other railways in places where cars were banned.
 

Calthrop

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That must be the Bermuda Railway, as I can't think of many other railways in places where cars were banned.

Five minutes -- this has got to be a record. Congratulations !

Your turn on de coral outcrop, mon.
 

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