"Vaudeville Hero" Interesting facts from the history of the first railway. For future railway workers: quiz questions for children and schoolchildren about the railway, railway professions. Choice of profession. Career guidance in kindergarten and school. Extracurricular activities

For all of humanity, trains have already become more than a common form of transport. However, the world of carriages and railway tracks is anything but simple. In this article we will tell you about some interesting facts related to this vehicle: from historical to funny.

• The railway connects cities, countries, and sometimes entire parts of the world! Such a road is the Trans-Siberian Railway. Its length is about 9300 km.
• In the collection of Faberge eggs there is also an example depicting the Trans-Siberian Railway. The egg contains a clockwork model of an imperial train made of gold and platinum.

• Just like in Bologoye, where, according to legend, the St. Petersburg curb turns into the Moscow curb, the Trans-Siberian Railway has its own middle - this is the “Polovina” station. Historically, the Trans-Siberian Railway ran from Vladivostok to Miass, and “Half” divided this route in half.
• The first railway line was the road between Moscow and St. Petersburg. In the year of the death of Nicholas I, during which construction began, it was named Nikolaevskaya. For the first three days, travel on the Nikolaev railway was free, since no one wanted to ride on an unfamiliar “scary thing”.
• The first train in our country with refrigeration unit was designed and created specifically for transporting fresh oysters from Sevastopol to the royal table.
• In France, for a hundred years now, there has been a law prohibiting kissing at train stations. The reason for this rule was frequent train delays due to touching farewells from passengers and mourners.

In Russia, so far they are limiting themselves to simple warnings - at one of the airports you can see a poster with the words: “We ask passengers to start kissing right now so that the plane takes off on time.”

• Do you know the similarities between a violinist and a lineman? They both need absolute pitch. To the employee railway it is required in order to determine the presence of faults in the wheels. But many thought that any person could handle this work - go and knock to your heart’s content.
• In our relatively flat country there is no problem with the construction of high mountain roads. But in Peru the routes pass high in the mountains - at an altitude of 3 km from sea level. Passengers on this section are offered oxygen bags.

• All branded trains in Russia have their name written on the side of the carriage. But some trains also have names given to them by passengers. This, for example, is the Rostov-Odessa train. He was nicknamed “Papa-Mom”.
• The Australian railway, running across the desert plain, is listed in the Guinness Book of Records. There is not a single turn on its 500 km section.
• A monument to a dog who waited for nine years for the return of his owner, who had left on a train, stands at Shibuya Station in Japan. This story has become the most famous illustration of canine devotion and loyalty.
• On the first section of the road built between Liverpool and Manchester, the British decided to hold a competition between five steam locomotives. However, immediately before the race, the fifth participant was removed from the competition with the wording “due to an outdated engine.” Real horses were hidden under the shell of the locomotive.
• The driver of the Ahvaz-Tehran train was severely punished for driving during namaz (prayer). The fact is that during the ritual, a Muslim must be turned strictly towards Mecca, and with each turn of the train, passengers had to spin in place.
• Safety experts advise purchasing tickets for central seating and avoiding the first and last carriages in case of an accident. In general, the safety of a train is estimated to be 45 times higher than that of a car.
• They say that one day there was a collision completely different types transport - trains and ships. Lake Ohio in the USA overflowed its banks and flooded the railway tracks with a meter-long layer of water. The driver decided to continue along the flooded path, but collided with the steamer. Obviously, neither life nor training prepared these drivers for such a turn.

People have always been fascinated by trains. And for some they gave a reason for creativity. The Lumière brothers chose a steam locomotive as the subject of their first film. As we remember, the film was called “The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat Station” and horrified viewers with its realism.

Trains today are one of the most popular modes of transport. Every day they transport more than a million passengers around the world. And it is with trains that many interesting stories and facts unknown to the general public.

1. Hogwarts Express

The world of Harry Potter is filled with magic, and, of course, we would all like to see it in reality. And some traces of that world still remain in our lives. Arriving in Scotland, you can ride the same express train that students, including Harry Potter, took to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Trains with those same red carriages still run along the picturesque West Highland route today. They drive along the famous Glenfinnan Viaduct, and outside the windows flash the same wonderful landscapes as in the Harry Potter film.

2. Abandoned station

In New York there is a subway station, City Hall, when passing it, the train slows down without stopping or opening the doors. This beautiful station was opened in 1904 on a new metro line, but was closed in 1945 due to low passenger traffic and unsafe use. But today the No. 6 train passes through this station very slowly every day so that passengers can admire it luxurious interior.

3. From torpedo planes to high-speed trains

During World War II, the Japanese used special aircraft designed by designer Miki Tadanao to attack American warships. Thanks to their optimized, streamlined shape, they picketed with great speed, hitting their targets with lightning speed. But realizing how many pilots had died because of his torpedo planes, Miki Tadanao focused on more peaceful projects.

Using his knowledge, he participated in the creation of the first generation of bullet trains. During a test run in 1963, they reached a speed of 256 km/h. Today's bullet trains can reach speeds of over 600 km/h.

4. Steam vs Horse

In 1830, a horse and cart railroad was built between Baltimore and Ohio. Peter Cooper suggested using a steam engine instead of horses. To implement this idea, Peter designed and built a small steam locomotive, Tom Thumb. His test was very successful. After this, Peter Cooper decided to organize exhibition races “Steam versus Horse”.

At the beginning of the race, the advantage was on the side of the horse, since the locomotive needed time to accelerate, but, having picked up a speed of 29 km/h, it easily overtook the horse. However, after some time, the locomotive's drive belt came off, it slowed down, and the horse reached the finish line first. But, nevertheless, the superiority of the steam locomotive was obvious, and soon trains with steam locomotives began to run on the railway.

5. American Civil War

Steam locomotives were widely used to transport passengers and goods. But, starting in 1861, during civil war, they also began to transport soldiers and military equipment. In September 1863, the Allies delivered 20,000 soldiers to the front using trains that covered 1,900 km in 11 days. Unfortunately, in the future, the widely used railways became the target of multiple terrorist attacks.

6. "Horsepower"

Power unit “ Horsepower” has been used for hundreds of years. But what is this unit and where did it come from? James Watt proposed using steam power instead of horses in breweries. While observing horses, Watt noticed that a horse could drag a load weighing 14.774 kg over a distance of 0.3 m in 1 minute.

Rounding 14.774 kg to 15 kg, he introduced the unit of power measurement “horsepower”. By comparing the performance of a horse and a steam engine using this unit, Watt convinced brewers to replace horses with steam, and as a result, the efficiency of the brewing process increased significantly. And the term “horsepower” began to be widely used from that time on.

7. Presidential Funeral Train

George Pullman noticed that train cars were not very comfortable for night travel and decided to improve them. In partnership with his close friend, Benjamin Field, he created a company to design comfortable railroad cars, and six years later the company produced two such cars, the Springfield and the Pioneer. In 1865, after President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, his body had to be transported by train to Springfield. Along the entire route, in dozens of cities, there were mourning people.

Lincoln's widow, seeing all this, upon arrival in Chicago, fainted from nervous exhaustion. Pullman, in order to make it easier for her to endure the rest of the journey, offered to use his Pioneer carriage. The convenience of this carriage was appreciated, and since then all trains began to be equipped with sleeping cars.

8. Time zones

How to tell time on site big country, V different parts in which the daylight hours proceed asynchronously. Time zones were invented for these purposes. In 1883, representatives of US railroad companies met to develop a Convention for the Determination of General Time. On November 18, at 12 noon, a telegraph signal was sent from the American observatory, according to which all railway stations adjusted their clocks. In 1918, the US Congress officially approved nine time zones in the country.

9. Railway fever

After steam locomotives began to be used in America, the need arose for large-scale construction of railway tracks. In 1830, when the first steam locomotive was tested, the length of railway tracks in the United States was 37 km. By 1861 it reached 48,000 km, between 1890 and 1900 another 64,000 km were added, and by 1916 the length of railways in the United States (402,000 km) exceeded the distance from the Earth to the Moon. By 1930, the length of roads was 692,000 km. Later, with the advent of automobiles, the construction of railway lines began to decline.

10. Right on schedule

All trains in Japan run without delay; a delay of even one minute is very rare. The Japanese achieved this by taking train drivers seriously and severely punishing them for being late. In case of delay, an apology is made to passengers at the station via loudspeaker, and a document is issued confirming the delay of the train indicating the reason. Passengers can present this official document to their employer if problems arise due to them being late for work.

And recently it appeared on the Internet. Real luxury!

Every year more than a billion people use railway services. According to statistics, every Russian travels by train an average of 9 times throughout the year. Buying train tickets now is not difficult, but not all travelers know how much interesting and exciting the railway is fraught with.

It is interesting to know about the following facts:

* Englishman Richard Trevithick became a pioneer in the railway. In 1804 he invented the locomotive-powered train. The train also included a carriage for passengers, however, people did not dare to ride it, so it went empty.

* In the same year, a competition was held between locomotives. Its main feature was that one of the participants decided to cheat and hid the horses under the iron shell. Fortunately, this was noticed in time and not a single animal was harmed.

* In Ohio, a train collided with a steam locomotive. How could this happen?! The rails were flooded by the lake, but this did not stop the driver, which led to the incident.

* A flat road without a single turn stretches for 500 km in Australia.

* You can buy train tickets and see with your own eyes the longest railway line in the world. The Trans-Siberian Railway stretches 9,300 kilometers across Russian expanses.

*Every person on the train traveling to Peru is given an oxygen mask. There is no way without it, since the road stretches at an altitude of 3 thousand kilometers. The highest mountain railway.

* The so-called “Love Train” runs between Paris and Venice. It has a shower, TV and other amenities, and all the conditions for creating a romantic atmosphere.

* In New Mexico on a platform equipped rocket engine, managed to accelerate an incredible speed of 9851 km/h!

* For a century, France has had an unusual law - you can’t kiss on platforms. This excludes delays and delays of trains.

* The freight train, which became a record holder, consisted of 440 cars. The 6.5 km long train traveled on the Russian railway.

* Russia promises to develop and put into operation double-decker trains. They will have everything for the comfort of passengers, and tickets will cost less.

* Many routes and trains are given names. One of the most unusual is “Papa-Mama”. This is the name of the route connecting Rostov and Odessa.

A lot of interesting and exciting things happen on the railway, so travel and observe to become a participant amazing facts and incidents.

Such a familiar thing to us - the railway! One of the most reliable and affordable and loved by many modes of transport. I bought a train ticket and came to the station. Nowadays no one remembers that when the railway between St. Petersburg and Moscow opened, travel was made free for the first three days precisely because everyone was afraid of this “terrible thing.”

On average, each of us becomes a railway passenger 9 times a year. The average number of passengers of JSC Russian Railways per year is 1 billion 300 million.

The most remarkable railway is the Trans-Siberian Railway. It is the longest in the world. From Moscow to Nakhodka - 9438 km and 97 large stations. The Rossiya branded train runs along this route and travels for 8 days, 4 hours and 25 minutes.

The very middle of the Trans-Siberian Railway is called: Polovina station. It is the same distance from Moscow and Vladivostok.

The coldest section of the Trans-Siberian Railway is located between the Mogocha and Skovorodino stations. The temperature here reaches -62 degrees. Although geographically this is not the northernmost point of the highway.

And the highest point, where the Trans-Siberian rails are laid, lies at an altitude of 1040 m, between the Turgutui and Yablonovaya stations. This is 6110 km, Yablonovy Pass.

The longest freight train was 6.5 km long, consisted of 440 cars and regularly transported 42,000 tons of coal from Ekibastuz to the Urals back in Soviet times. On the other side of the world, in South Africa, another record was recorded in 1989: a 7.3 km long train consisting of 660 cars. True, the experiment was not repeated. The track couldn't stand it.

The first railway in Russia was a freight railway, 2 km long. It was built in the Urals, at the Kolyvanovsky plant, and it was horse-drawn. The first passenger road was the well-known Tsarskoye Selo.

The speed of the first passenger trains in the 19th century was 33 km/h. And railway workers at that time were a kind of elite: they were treated like, for example, aviators at the beginning of the 20th century, or astronauts in the 60s. Modern trains can reach speeds of up to 580 km/h.

The requirements for hiring trackmen have not changed during this time: they must have a good ear for music, since they can determine the malfunction of a wheel by the change in tone when it is tapped.

According to statistics, the railway is 45 times safer than a car. For those who are still worried, experts advise choosing carriages in the middle of the train, and in seated carriages - buying a train ticket for seats against the traffic.

Thrill-seekers are invited to Argentina. The legendary Patagonia Express train, specially restored for tourists, runs there. Except vivid impressions from the local landscapes, you can unexpectedly find yourself taking part in an action called “Train Robbery” :)

IN South America a lot of surprises. For example, German engineers who examined the Isthmus of Panama for the construction of the Trans-American Railway said that it was unprofitable to make rails from local iron. Gold is a more affordable metal here...

The first train was free

The opening of the Moscow – St. Petersburg railway connection was a real event. But ordinary people were in no hurry to take advantage of the innovation. The terrible rumbling thing caused genuine fear. To promote rail travel to the masses, it was decided to make travel free. And this measure had an effect. Very soon they stopped being afraid of trains.

It’s just a pity that free travel from Moscow to St. Petersburg is a thing of the past. The history of the action was short-lived. It was possible to travel there and back for free only in the first three days after the opening of the corresponding railway line.

The magic of numbers

The first trains in Russia and Europe were available to approximately 9% of the population of those cities between which railway connections were established. Today (on average, of course) every Russian travels by rail approximately 9 times a year. A total Passengers have long exceeded 1.3 billion people per year.

Remarkable Transsib

Among domestic railways, the most remarkable was and remains the Trans-Siberian Railway. She has many statuses. For example, this railway is known as the longest in the world. The Trans-Siberian Railway is 9438 kilometers, more than 8 days on the road. On the route the train stops at 97 large stations and many small ones pass by.

And there is also half the way on the Trans-Siberian Railway. The station, located exactly in the middle of the railway between Moscow and Vladivostok, is called that. The distance from “Half” to both cities is the same. Transsib is also considered the coldest railway. Part of it passes through climatic zone, where -62˚С is the usual temperature. Remarkable fact: the most cold spot route does not coincide with the northernmost one.

Evolution of speed

First passenger train in the world went on rails at a speed that barely reached 33 km/h. A little later it was possible to accelerate to 38 and even 42 kilometers per hour. Modern high speed trains They drive along the railway at a speed of 320–430 km/h. And experimental innovative compounds can accelerate to 603 km/h. And this, as scientists and engineers say, is far from the limit.

Freight trains also set records

The first freight railway in Russia was only 2 kilometers long. This miracle of science and technology of its time was powered by - what do you think? Horse drawn!

The longest freight trains in the history of the railway traveled to different parts of the world. One transported coal (neither more nor less - 42,000 tons per trip) to the Uraliz of Ekibastuz back in the Soviet era. The train consisted of 440 cars. Their total length exceeded 6.5 kilometers.

The record was broken in South Africa. Here a train of 660 cars entered the route. Their total length was 7.3 km. But the experiment, unlike the Soviet one, had no practical meaning. The track could not withstand the load, and the railway had to be closed for a long time for repairs.

Safety first

Are you afraid to travel by train? Perhaps the following fact will help you change your attitude towards this transport. Traveling by rail is 45 times safer than traveling by road. The risk of getting into an accident on a train is significantly lower than in a car.

Do you want maximum security guarantees? Choose carrier TKS. Their location in the train and modern technical equipment ensure safety and comfort during the trip.