Railway General Knowledge.

[martinsh]

I'm guessing Mauritius and Reunion - but I don't know anything about what operations still exist in either place

 

[Calthrop]

@Gloster enquired: "Is one Reunion?"

I'm guessing Mauritius and Reunion - but I don't know anything about what operations still exist in either place

Those are the two: quite-closely-neighbouring "twin islands" with many similarities, but also strongly stamped by the different cultures of their respective European parent nations, Britain and France. Mauritius had a delectable standard-gauge British-branch-line-ish network serving most parts of the island; Reunion, a close equivalent of the classic French metre-gauge local light railway, running "coastwise" around some 60% of the island's shores and not venturing into the very mountainous interior. The lines of both islands suffered much from road competition, from quite early on: closed in stages, with last workings in early / mid 1960s; except that a short section of Reunion's line was retained for another 15 years or so, for one highly specialised purpose; and a shorter stretch (about 6 km.) of that section, was subsequently preserved by local enthusiasts -- is now, if I have things rightly, in rather "low water", and runs only as and when chartered by a client.

@martinsh: with you having got the "twosome" -- the floor's yours.

 

[martinsh]

My mind is blank, so - open floor

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

A small community in Wales has got eight stations/halts
None of them carries the name of the community. One used to be an important node

Please name all the stations

 

[Calthrop]

I for one am totally bemused by this one. Might I have the temerity to ask whether these eight stations are open for passenger traffic; or in whatever degree, closed; or a bit of both -- or would that totally give the show away?

 

[Gloster]

Is it a question of somewhere that officially has the Welsh spelling of the place name, but all the stations have the English spelling of it (or vice-versa)?

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

Not a language puzzle, but I was surprised that relatively few residents speak Welsh

Two stations are on the main line, one is a request halt, I think the other is a mandatory halt
Two stations and four halts are seasonal
All eight are passenger stations

The place is a 'community' made of more than one village

 

[Gloster]

Fairbourne.

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

Fairbourne [BR] is one the stations

Fairbourne the English settlement belongs to a community with an old Welsh name

 

[SteveyBee131]

I think the other mainline station would be Morfa Mawddach. One of the seasonal ones might be Barmouth Ferry, and after that I'm stumped.

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

Morfa Mawddach [Barmouth Junction], Fairbourne BR, Barmouth Ferry are correct

How does one get to BF?

 

[SteveyBee131]

I know it's on the Fairbourne Railway. I can't remember if their other terminus also goes by the name Fairbourne?

 

[Calthrop]

Fairbourne Ry.'s southern terminius: Gorsaf Newydd aka Fairbourne (Fairbourne Railway); then halts Traeth Mawr, Golf House, and Penrhyn Point ? If correct so far, eighth station still required -- might that be, simply Barmouth (standard gauge) ??

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

Estuary Halt
Loop Halt
Golf Halt
Beach Halt
Two termini: Six on the FR
Barmouth Junction, now MM
Fairbourne BR
(Barmouth/Abermawddach is over the water, does not count)

The community is Arthog, includes Friog, Fairbourne (mostly English) & Arthog (mostly Welsh)
Arthog station closed many years ago

Unfortunately the Fairbourne no longer has the station with the longest name

@Calthrop is the nearest, your turn to press the request halt buzzer

 

[Calthrop]

I'll decline, if I may -- am annoyed at self for the Fairbourne / Arthog area not having so much as crossed my mind until @Gloster mentioned it; and I got the FR's station / halt names from a railway atlas. People, please would you sort out who goes next: as you feel best.

 

[Calthrop]

No event for two and a half days -- had wondered whether it would be deemed or declared open floor; or some other solution taken up. Hopefully it will be OK, if I do set another one --

There are two important trunk lines of the same country's rail system: which lines can be said to be both complementary, and in some sense rivals for traffic flows. Their titles initials-wise -- allowing for different ones of the world's languages having sometimes different alphabets -- are TZM, and BAM.

What is the country; and where in it are (basic essentials) the two trunk lines?

 

[Gloster]

Russia; the lines are in Siberia. BAM is something like Baikal-Amur-Magadan and the other is presumably the Trans Siberian.

 

[Calthrop]

That's it: Baikal -- Amur Magistral, and Transsibirskaya Zheleznodorozhnaya Magistral; basically, after diverging in western Siberia, parallelling each other at a varying number of hundreds of kilometres' distance.

With Communist jargon now "out of the window" -- I'll just say, "your floor".

 

[Gloster]

An unusual consequence of the Abermule collision in 1921 was that a well-known person was able to make a purchase of great importance to them. Who and what?

 

[DerekC]

Well, I knew that Lord Herbert Vane-Tempest, a director of the Cambrian Railways, was killed in the collision and I guessed that he was the key to the question. I confess to Googling the rest - Lord V-T left Winston Churchill (a cousin) a bequest which WC put towards the purchase of Chartwell.

Since I have 50% cheated you may want the floor again - if not then make it open.

 

[Gloster]

Correct. Winston Churchill was Lord Herbert Vane-Tempest’s first cousin once removed and was left several thousand pounds.

Open forum.

 

[DerekC]

Well, I will have a go anyway. Which railway bridge across the Thames River has an opening span for shipping?

 

[LSWR Cavalier]

Is it another Thames River, outwith the UK?

 

[DerekC]

Is it another Thames River, outwith the UK?

Yes it is.

 

[alistairlees]

There is one in the uk that would fit your description (just). Is the one not in the uk in Canada?

 

[DerekC]

There is one in the uk that would fit your description (just). Is the one not in the uk in Canada?

Right continent but wrong country for the one I was thinking of. Which is the one in the UK? That must be worth several bonus points!

 

[alistairlees]

Right continent but wrong country for the one I was thinking of. Which is the one in the UK? That must be worth several bonus points!

The Rewley Road Swing Bridge in Oxford is over the Sheepwash Channel of the Thames (the Thames splits into two, sort of). The Oxford Preservation Trust defines it as being "over the Thames" anyway: see https://www.oxfordpreservation.org.uk/content/rewley-road-railway-swing-bridge.

 

[DerekC]

The Rewley Road Swing Bridge in Oxford is over the Sheepwash Channel of the Thames (the Thames splits into two, sort of). The Oxford Preservation Trust defines it as being "over the Thames" anyway: see https://www.oxfordpreservation.org.uk/content/rewley-road-railway-swing-bridge.

That's definitely a bonus point although slightly dubious as to whether it really crosses the Thames! Interesting information, though. The bridge I am thinking of is still in use by trains and capable of opening - in fact it was converted from a bascule bridge to a vertical lift bridge in 2008 and opens around for times per day for shipping.

 

[DerekC]

I think @alistairlees should have the floor for getting an opening bridge across the proper River Thames that I hadn't thought of. The alternative (and much larger) version was built by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad and now carries electrified Amtrak and Metro North services across the Thames River between New London and Groton, Connecticut. A slightly sinister picture is below.

So @alistairlees - your floor.

 

[alistairlees]

Thank you DerekC. I couldn't think of much, but here's one:

Where is, or will be, the longest continuous tunnel containing a railway that is wholly in the UK (i.e. not including the Channel Tunnel or anything associated with it)?