Good morning America. / How are you? Don’t you know me? / I’m your native son. I’m the train they call / the City of New Orleans. I’ll be gone five hundred miles / when the day is done. How much do you know about trains? Give your brain a boost!
1. Which of the following is true about Amtrak’s long distance trains? Showers are available for all passengers; They are designed to give the best experience for overnight travel; They are all two levels; All of the above.
2. Amtrak’s Chicago to New Orleans train, “The City of New Orleans” (see lyrics above), was named after a song made popular by which of the following folk musicians? Bob Dylan; Boxcar Willie; Arlo Guthrie; Johnny Cash.
3. True or False: Amtrak services every state in the “lower 48”.
4. What is Amtrak’s official name? American Railways; America’s Track; National Intercity Passenger Rail Service; National Railroad Passenger Corporation.
5. In what year was Amtrak founded? 1981; 1990; 1961; 1975.
6. True or False: “Piglet” is a name used for a locomotive engineer trainee.
7. True or False: The U.S. Standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is four feet, eight-and-a-half inches.
8. Richard Trevithick is credited with having built the first steam locomotive. In what time period did this happen? 1600’s; 1700’s; 1800’s; 1900’s.
9. In railway jargon, what is a roundhouse? A type of steak; A location for passengers to buy tickets; A building for service and repair of train engines; A place where tracks cross.
10. Where can the longest railroad track in the world be found? United States; China; Russia; Brazil.
ANSWERS
1. They are designed to give the best experience for overnight travel. Long Distance Trains are designed to give passengers a comfortable and pleasant travel experience both by day and overnight. 2. Arlo Guthrie. The song was also covered by Willie Nelson. It tells the story of hobos riding the train from Chicago to New Orleans. 3. False. Amtrak and partner companies do not service South Dakota. 4. National Railroad Passenger Corporation. 5. 1971. Amtrak was formed to salvage traditional train travel services, which were becoming non-profitable for independent railroads. 6. True. 7. True. Why? Because that’s the way they built them in England, and the U.S. railroads were designed by English expatriates. 8. In 1804, this locomotive was used to power a tram. Trevithick built this locomotive with the financial sponsorship of Samuel Homfray. 9. A building for service and repair of train engines. A circular construction, a roundhouse has a turntable that allows entire locomotives to be turned while still on track. This enables them to be placed into repair bays located around the circumference of the building. 10. China. The Wuhu Yangtze River Bridge has the distinction of being the longest train bridge in the world, at a length of over six miles.