The Gravesend Railway Enthusiasts Society

                                                                     Round 1 - Motive Power

1 What was the name and number of the last Castle Class loco to be built?

2 Only one queen was commemorated by the "Britannia" Class - who was she?

3 During the 1950’s, several of the then new BR Standard locos were built to an unusual design incorporating a separate boiler underneath the normal boiler and a side mounted chimney. What Class were they and what were they called?

4 The Class 33 diesel electric locos were a familiar sight on the Southern Region for many years. Can you tell me what they fondly known as?

5 With what part of a steam locomotive would you associate a horn guide?

6 What is a ‘Thunderbird’?

7 What year was the experimental APT train withdrawn from service

8 A class 55 is more commonly known as a - A) Peak  B) Deltic C) Thumper

9 How many powered wheels do a Bo-Bo Diesel locomotive have?

10 10 Whose system is used to classify steam locomotive wheel arrangements; e.g. 4-6-0, 2-6-2, etc.

Round 2 - Superlatives

1 Where is the highest railway station in England

2 Which former Great Western terminus never had any track

3 Which railway first introduced Pullman cars into Great Britain in 1874?

4 On which route is the longest straight section of track, and how long is it?

5 Where in the UK is the steepest railway gradient regularly traversed by passenger trains?

6 Which is the deepest tunnel in England?

7 There was only one 4-6-4 steam tender locomotive built in this country. Unusually it was a compound. What was its nickname and what railway did it run on?

8 What is the worst rail disaster in British history?

9 Where is the longest station platform in England?

10 In what year did the Channel Tunnel open for passenger business?

Round 3 Moving Things

1 What is the name given to the weight of the vehicles of a train without passengers or luggage?

2 Where would you use a Pandrol Clip?

a) To hold a set of points closed in an emergency

b) To secure a points lever

c) To fix track to a sleeper.

3 What is the steepest gradient on a line called? Is it

a) The ruling gradient

b) The summit

c) The long drag

4 In signalling terms, what is an Overlap?

5 Why do trains always carry a lamp showing a red light on the last coach or wagon?

6 In a manual signal box what is the function of a black lever?

7 On semaphore signalling, what is the name given to a yellow signal with a fishtail end and a black chevron

8 What is the normal gauge of the railways of Russia?

a) 3' 6"

b) 4- 8 1/2"

c) 5-0" 

9 What was carried on the Jellicoe Specials during World War 1?

10 British railways replaced their horse drawn wagons with a vehicle called a mechanical horse. How many wheels did it have?

A) Six

B)Three

C) Four

Round 4 - What’s in a Name?

1 Near what station was the London Necropolis railway station?

2 Which of the following stations really existed?

a) York Minster

b) Reading West

c) Sittingbourne Midland road

d) Dorchester South

3 Which fictional school took over the Longmoor Military Railway in 1966 to stage their own "Great Train Robbery"?

4 The 2-6-4 tank loco was a fairly common sight on BR. Do you know what the name for the wheel arrangement was?

5 In 1986, loco 37425 was given a nameplate reading Concrete Bob, and another for the opposite side with that gentleman’s real name. What is it?

6 Many railways were given nicknames. What was the real name of the Muddle and Go Nowhere?

7 What were the buildings common to Hereford, Worcester and Oxford which gave their name to an express to those places?

8 Who was the author of Re-Shaping of British Railways in 1963

9 We have all heard of Virgin Pendilinos. Can you tell me what Class No they are and the year of introduction?

10 What does the acronym ATOC stand for?

Round 5 Geographical

1 What was the name of the 1st Railway to come to Gravesend?

2 Which city is served by Laira TMD?

3 Eurostar trains run a three-hour schedule from London, Waterloo to Paris, Gare du Nord. Where, in London, are the train sets maintained and serviced?

4 At which railway station was part of the film Brief Encounter made

5 Where has a prison been built on the site of an old railway marshalling yard

6 Why was every passenger train obliged to stop at Swindon on the GWR routes to Bristol and South Wales until 1895?

7 Which bridge crosses the Menai Straits to Anglesey?

8 Where is Dainton Bank, is it in

a) Somerset

b) Yorkshire

c) Devon

9 Of what material was Glenfinnan Viaduct on the Mallaig Extension of the former North British Railway constructed?

10 What happened in the town of Soham, in Cambridgeshire on 2nd June 1944?

Round 6 Pot Luck

1 What is the voltage that goes through the electrified 3rd rail on the southern railways in Britain?

a) 750 Volts

b) 2,500 Volts

c) 240 Volts

2 Which is the fastest train in the world?

3 What was the western terminus of the Devon Belle

a) Plymouth

b) Ilfracombe

c) Torquay

4 Stephenson’s Rocket won the Rainhill Trials. What was the purpose of the trials?

5 What does a platelayer do?

a) - Put out Crockery in a restaurant car

b) - Repair and maintain the permanent way

6 Which pioneering railway engineer is buried in Dartford East Hill cemetery?

7 What is the function of a sand drag?

8 The recently closed Joyce Green hospital had a claim to transport fame. Can you tell what that was?

9 A member of the LMS Coronation class has recently been re-fitted with streamlining. What is the loco called?

10 Santa lives in Lapland as we all know. Starting from Britain, through which country would you travel by rail to see him?

Answers