|
|
|
TopClicks
->
Kidzone
->
Cool Stuff
->
Trains
Corey's Choo-Choo CAD - Thinking of building your own model railroad? If you have Java on your browser, you can start here by building your own railroad track and running your own little cybertrain. This program won't let you derail your train when you remove a piece of track, but you can make it turn angles that real trains can't. It is simple but entertaining fun, and it doesn't take up any space in the family room or basement.
Cyberspace World Railroad - This site has all the bells and whistles that train lovers adore. Hang out in the lounge car and check out the travel stories. Download train typefaces for your computer. In the Lounge area, you can brush up on the General Code of Operating Rules or listen to an actual recording of a train crew member's transmission as he is trapped on a runaway train. And if all the monthly articles about trains and transportation issues are still not enough, you can always switch tracks to one of the over 3,200 railroad links that will have you riding the rails all over the globe.
Fun with Trains - See the train coming? Do you think it is a short train or a long train? Scroll to the right and see what happens! Now here comes the rutabaga train. Its first car has some pretty big vegetables. But there are some bigger ones coming up. How good are you at rutabagaspotting?
Interactive Model Railroad - This one is pretty cool. You get to give commands to an actual model train at the University of Ulm in Germany! You pick the train you want to control, tell it which station to go to, and if you're quick (and lucky) enough, you're in charge. A box on the page gives the domain name of whoever happens to be controlling the train at the time.
Jeremiah L. Toth Railroads Page - This site features information about Maryland railroad stations; Washington, D.C.'s colossal and historic Union Station; railroading in Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, and Connecticut; and trolley, interurban, and heavy rail resources. This is a good, fact-driven resource center for railroad buffs looking for on-track information.
Lionel Station - Home of Lionel Trains - The Lionel Manufacturing Company was founded in New York on September 5, 1900. In 1901, they sold animated display trains called "The Electric Express" to draw customers to store windows. A year later, they published a 16-page catalog, but it wasn't until 1906 that their product line included steam locomotives, trolleys, passenger cars, freight cars, and a caboose. Since then, Lionel has become a name famous in model railroading. You can check out their history, catalogs, cool accessories, and tips for hobbyists. And there's lots of neat new stuff at Kids Station.
Operation Lifesaver, Inc. - Trains are fascinating, but dangerous. Did you know that a big 150-car freight train traveling at 50 mph can take up to 1.5 miles to come to a complete stop? In the U.S. there are about 6,000 deaths and injuries per year involving trains and cars or pedestrians walking on the tracks. Most train accidents occur when the train is traveling 30 mph or slower. Even at 30 mph, the approximate stopping distance is 3,500 feet, or two-thirds of a mile! Operation Lifesaver educates adults and kids on trains and train safety. There are also coloring pages and suggested activities. Make tracks to visit here soon.
TGVweb - A TGV (train e grande vitesse)is a high-speed system launched in the 1960s comprising train, track, and signaling technologies that when combined make high speeds possible. The TGV system is owned and operated by the French national railways, and it is an integral part of French rail travel. There are directions for "railfanning," or watching these trains as they whoosh by. But don't blink, or you'll miss it. A typical running speed is 186 mph. This site offers a scale model train for you to print out and put together. If you assemble the whole thing, it will be five feet long. Younger kids will need adult help; each car takes about 40 minutes to build and a whole trainload of patience.
The Great Circus Parade Train - It runs only once a year and creeps along at 10–30 miles per hour, but it's certainly the most spectacular train to grace Wisconsin's tracks. Circuses have used locomotives since the 1870's, so the Great Circus Train is really nothing new. It's an authentic re-enactment of old-time circus operations. In fact, dapple-gray percherons are used to load and unload the flatcars, as was done before the invention of the internal combustion engine. The Circus World Museum craftsmen even built working replicas of the special tools used for horse and train work in the 1800's: runs, jacks, and pulleys that link horsepower to load. Using horses is extra work for everybody, but it keeps the past alive. Even the train's cars bear the names of famous circuses, illustrating how they might have looked in the late 1800's. The cars were purchased from an actual circus (World of Mirth Carnivals) and research later revealed that some of the cars spent their early years with some big-name shows like Sparks, Hagenbeck-Wallace, Tim McCoy's Wild West and Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey. When it's not in use, the Circus Museum keeps its train on a railroad spur built decades ago by Ringling Brothers for this very purpose.
Webville and Hypertext Railroad Company - If you've ever wondered "How to Boot a Steam Locomotive," or what those railroad signal lights mean, or wished you had lots of audio samples of train engine horns--this is your site! It has lots of links and some of the best material we've seen on trains both large and small. (Hint: The Narrow Gauge section is about model railroads.)
|
|
