1. Torque
   Watts
2. Ohms
   Horsepower

The term "horsepower" comes from Scottish inventor James Watt, who helped develop what would become the steam locomotive engine in the 1760s. Needing a measurement that would convey how powerful the engine could be, he came up with a unit of power that a single horse working in a mill could generate. We still use the term "horsepower" today.

1. They are more robust.
   They work better in all temperatures.
2. They reduce resistance.
   Tradition

Steel wheels are better for trains than rubber tires (or other substances) because they generate less rolling friction. The steel wheels don't deform and more energy from the locomotive can be put to use moving the freight instead of having to overcome friction. The drawback is that they don't provide a lot of traction.

1. 1,000 to 2,000 horsepower
   6,000 to 7,000 horsepower
2. 9,000 to 10,000 horsepower
   More than 15,000 horsepower

Used primarily between large cities in the northeast, although its trains run all across the United States, the electric locomotives generally used by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation — better known as Amtrak — can produce between 6,000 to 7,000 horsepower. This is a tough figure because Amtrak uses a variety of different locomotives, but it's a good average.

1. Sand
   Adhesive
2. WD-40
   Rubber pellets

Since steel wheels on steel tracks don't have a lot of traction — something needed for slowing and stopping — locomotives employ a system of compressed air to spray sand between the wheels and the rails to increase their grip. The system is automatic and is used when the wheels slip or the engineer needs to make an emergency stop.

1. 250 mph
   375 mph
2. 175 mph
   450 mph

The trains of the Shinkansen network of high-speed railway lines in Japan — known in English at the "bullet train" — are breathtakingly fast. The maglev L0 Series line set a world record on April 21, 2015 by hitting 375 mph on the Yamanashi test track.

1. Solar cells
   Wind turbines
2. Geothermal heat
   Atomic reactors

In the 1950s, Dr. Lyle Borst of the University of Utah was funded by U.S. railroads to study the feasibility of running locomotives using atomic reactors to heat steam to run the engine. The conclusion was not promising; the reactor would need a 200-ton chamber with five-foot-thick steel walls to produce the 6,000 hp needed to run a train.

1. 1837
   1899
2. 1953
   2005

The first electric locomotive, powered by galvanic cells, was built in 1837 by Scottish chemist Robert Davidson. He went on in 1841 to build a seven-ton locomotive that could haul six tons for 1.5 miles. It was destroyed soon after its testing by railway workers who feared for their jobs.

1. Steam
   Nuclear
2. Diesel fuel
   Gasoline

Most modern locomotives use diesel fuel to power their engines. Diesel engines are more efficient than gasoline engines and that efficiency is important when moving heavy objects over long distances.

1. Internal combustion engine
   Caterpillar drive engine
2. Heat exchange engine
   External combustion engine

With an external combustion engine, the fuel burns outside the engine. In the case of a steam locomotive, steam is created in the boiler and pressurized to move the engine's pistons inside their cylinders. With an internal combustion engine, the fuel is ignited inside the piston to generate force.

1. 60 mph
   100 mph
2. 160 mph
   220 mph

Train speed limits are set by the type of track they run upon. There are nine classes of track quality (although there are currently no tracks rated as in Class 9). The top speed for Class 8 is 160 miles per hour.

1. United States
   England
2. Canada
   China

In 1804, Richard Trevithick, a British mining engineer and inventor, built a steam engine that was designed to transport ironworks. Trevithick not only contributed to the transportation industry but to the industrial revolution!

1. A smaller engine used for moving cars around the trainyard
   An engine using light crude oil to operate
2. A hybrid locomotive running on electricity
   A locomotive running without a train behind it

Although railroads try to minimize their occurrence because they're not earning money, sometimes a locomotive needs to be moved around either to get to where it can be put to use or when it has to be moved for maintenance purposes. A locomotive without a train is known as a "light" engine.

1. China
   United States
2. Canada
   All the above

Although they ruled the railways for a century, steam-driven locomotives used for transporting freight are now rarely used. Northern regions of China, however, still make use of this technology. Steam-driven trains are used elsewhere, however, for tourist attractions and nostalgic recreational use.

1. True — they are designed to pull, not push.
   True — technology, however, is being tested to allow engines to push
2. False — Engines can be placed on the front or back of the train (although it must be one or the other)
   False — they can be at the front, back and the middle of the train.

Depending on the load of the train, engines can be put in the front AND the back of the train to help with steep grades or other issues. Engines can also be put in the middle of a train, which is helpful if a train is going to split and go to two different destinations during the journey.

1. Ironwork
   D.P.D.
2. Cowcatcher
   Hobo persuader

The cowcatcher, sometimes called a pilot, on the front of older steam locomotives was designed to scoop and throw obstructions away from the track to give the train a smoother journey and avoid a derailment. From the name, you can guess what one obstruction might be.

1. Ropes
   Animals
2. Gravity
   All the above

Rail transport dates all the way back to Greece in the 6th century BC, where people and animals pulled trains set in limestone grooves. Other methods in the intervening years, such as the use of rope and gravity, were used in conjunction with animal labor. The introduction of powered engines gave trains new life and functionality, and saved a lot of backbreaking work!

1. The structure of the motor
   The transmission system
2. A quirk of the chemical structure of diesel fuel
   It can't actually go as fast backward as forward.

In a modern diesel-electric locomotive, the diesel-powered engine doesn't actually move the wheels; they are operated by the electric motor that is powered by the diesel engine. Electric motors can be designed to spin as quickly in one direction or the other, and this adds versatility to the locomotive's operation.

1. Power classification
   Fuel type
2. Wheel arrangement
   Company affiliation

Different locomotives have different arrangements of wheels — how many wheels, where the power is distributed, etc. For steam engines, the Whyte notation is used in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Ireland. The AAR wheel arrangement classification is used for diesel and electric trains in North America, while in Europe they use the UIC classification.

1. One-stroke
   Two-stroke
2. Three-stroke
   Four-stroke

Although two-stroke engines are generally thought of being used in garden equipment and other small-engine uses, it turns out that huge diesel engines are the best fit for locomotives, large ships and electric-generating facilities. This is because two-stroke engines can produce power up to twice as fast as their four-stroke cousins. Always use the right tool for the job!

1. Batteries
   Solar power cells
2. Electrified third rails or overhead wires
   Wind turbines

Electric locomotives have been in general use since the late 1800s, and are often used in mass transit vehicles and subways. Their power is supplied by a third rail alongside the track or by an overhead wire, called a catenary.

1. New York
   London
2. Glasgow
   Madrid

The world's first subway system to make use of electric locomotives opened in London in 1890. The locomotive pulled carriages with small opaque windows that were nicknamed "Padded Cells."

1. Tender
   Fuel box
2. Sub-engine
   Caboose

The tender, located directly behind the locomotive, carries the fuel and water needed for the combustion process that generates the steam used to power the engine.

1. New Delhi, India to Geneva, Switzerland
   Kathmandu, Nepal to Paris, France
2. Paris, France to Istanbul, Turkey
   Strasbourg, France to Vienna, Austria

Although it has gone to many far-flung destinations since it first was run on June 5, 1883, the current incarnation of the Orient Express travels from Strasbourg to Vienna. The train ran from Paris to Istanbul until 1977. If you'd like to experience that area of the world by train, however, you can still do it; you'll just have to take multiple train lines.

1. The North Coast Limited
   The Royal Blue
2. The California Limited
   The California Zephyr

The California Zephyr is a train route operated by Amtrak that runs 2,438 miles between Union Station in Chicago and Emeryville Station in Emeryville, California, with stops along the way. Amtrak trains make the run daily, and carry more than 400,000 passengers a year.

1. They lack friction.
   They are quieter.
2. They are faster.
   All the above.

Maglev — or magnetic levitation — trains use magnets to both float above the track and to rocket toward their destination. Because the train doesn't make physical contact with the track, there is no friction (or moving parts at all). The ride, therefore, is quieter, smoother and much faster than a conventional train can achieve.

1. About 20%
   About 30%
2. About 40%
   About 50%

A massive amount of cargo is carried by rail across the world — approximately 40%, and that number is rising — because rail transport is less expensive than other forms of hauling for a number of reasons. Trains, by weight, are more fuel efficient than trucks, for example.

1. It's a locomotive used for temporarily pushing a train.
   It's an engine within the locomotive that is only used when extra power is needed.
2. It's a locomotive design that has proven especially effective.
   It's a term that describes the handling of a locomotive around a sharp curve in the track.

A banking engine is used when a train needs a short-term boost in power, such as when it needs to go up a sharp incline or if a particularly heavy train needs some extra "oomph" to get underway.

1. Diesel-hydraulic
   Diesel-electric
2. Gas turbine
   Diesel-gasoline

The vast majority of diesel locomotives in use today are actually diesel-electric, where the diesel engine powers either an AC alternator-rectifier or a DC generator that, in turn, powers the wheels.

1. About 4.5 miles
   About 3.7 miles
2. About 2.8 miles
   About 1.9 miles

On June 21, 2001, a train going between Newman and Port Headland in Western Australia (about 170 miles) was connected that spanned 4.57 miles and consisted of 682 loaded iron ore cars. The train, which used eight locomotives arranged at various places in the line, weighed 99,734 tons, making it the heaviest train ever operated, as well.

1. False — it's a computer-generated effect.
   False — it was a set built in the Scottish countryside.
2. True — It's in use daily.
   True — It was built for the films but now is open to the public.

The "Hogwarts Express" is actually part of the West Highland Line that connects the ports of Mallaig and Oban in the Scottish Highlands to Glasgow and is operated by the U.K.'s National Rail. The most iconic shot from the films is the train when it is on the Glenfinnan Viaduct. The line is regularly voted as one of the most scenic railway lines in the world.

1. 1892
   1912
2. 1930
   1947

The first diesel-powered locomotive was operated on the Winterthur–Romanshorn railroad in Switzerland in the summer of 1912. The technology, however, wasn't quite mature enough and the undertaking wasn't a commercial success. The outbreak of World War I further hampered development.

1. It's the meeting of two trains of different lengths.
   It's a type of switching mechanism.
2. It's the practice of an experienced engineer teaching a new engineer.
   It's a type of locomotive arrangement.

In a "cow-calf" set up, a locomotive with a driving cab (the "cow) is coupled with one or two locomotives without a cab (the "calves"). This type of arrangement was generally found in the 1930s through the 1950s and was used to build trains or help trains up steeper grades.

1. Top hat
   Relief valve
2. Chimney
   Stove

The chimney is one of the most iconic parts of a classic steam locomotive, with great clouds of exhaust billowing as the train reaches full speed.

1. The person in charge of stoking the boiler
   The owner of the railway
2. The ticket taker on passenger runs
   A particularly difficult stretch of track

The diamond cracker on a train was another name for the fireman, whose job it was to tend the fire in the boiler by shoveling coal (raw diamonds, if you will) into the boiler's firebox. Firemen also went by the names "smoke agents," "soda jerkers," "bell ringers" and other colorful names.

1. Cabbies
   Engineers
2. Conductors
   Railroad yard supervisors

Like any profession, railroad workers quickly generated their own jargon to describe the equipment and the roles they dealt with every day. There were plenty of handles for engineers, including "mileage hogs" for engineers who were paid by the mile and "highball artists" for those who liked to run their trains fast.