May 11 National Train Day #NationalTrainDay is another Holiday that makes me miss Suzzane because she used to take the train back and forth to Oklahoma City to visit her grandparents and our other family. Fast forward and Charlie is growing up and I’m nearing 60 and Charlie and I’ve only ridden the Thomas the Tank Engine Train once and the train in our local Zoo. Looks like I need to book a train ride for my family before Charlie grows up and move out of our home. Would you like to come with us on a train ride or two or even three?
Did you know National Train Day is observed every year on the Saturday closest to May 10, which falls on May 11th this year. National Train Day was first celebrated in the year 2008 and continues to be celebrated to this day. The celebrations were conceptualized by Amtrak as a way to spread awareness about the history of railway networks in the U.S. and why more people should use this mode of transport.
Railways are one of the most eco-friendly ways to go from one place to another. Amtrak offers railroad service in countless Cities in the U.S. and three Cities in Canada. Railways don’t just transport people from one place to another but are also involved in the transportation of goods and certain services.
Modern trains have developed rapidly since their invention some 200 years ago. Trains can be classified as one of the most important inventions of modern history but train transport has drastically changed business, exploration, and the way we travel daily.
In the 1800s, the steam train made its way to the railways of industrial England. Today, we have bullet trains that carry passengers at incredible speeds, with a distance of thousands of miles in no time. There are also freight trains that are used to transport goods, including food, post, and fuel. Distant lands have become almost instantly reachable. Long distances can be covered in a matter of hours.
The industrial revolution was hastened by the arrival of trains, which made the transport of raw materials and outgoing transport of finished goods an easy task. Even with the arrival of airplanes, trains still continue to do a fair haul of public and commercial transport around the world. Trains are used in a variety of ways – from trams, subway electric trains, distance trains, and specialized tourist trains to freight trains and high-speed bullet trains that can go up to 275 miles an hour.
National Train Day marks the anniversary of the establishment of the Golden Spike in Promontory, Utah, at the Promontory summit. The day also observes the first anniversary of the rail route system in the United States. Events such as exhibitions of railroad layouts are organized on the day to celebrate the event.
LET”S OBSERVE NATIONAL TRAIN DAY
- Celebrate National Train Day by boarding a train to work or taking a small vacation and you can ride a tram, cable car, or a long-distance train.
- If you can’t travel on National Train Day today don’t lose heart and post photos of your train travel and reminisce about the good times.
FACTS ABOUT TRAINS
- The longest train ride in the world went from Portugal to Vietnam, and it is 10,056 miles long and takes approximately 12 days to complete.
- Japan holds the fastest commercial magnetic-levitation train in the world with a speed of 374 mph.
- In Japan, trains are usually on time but if a delay lasts more than five minutes, the staff personally apologizes to each passenger.
- Trains can run on four kinds of power sources, namely horse-drawn, steam, diesel, and electricity.
- Hogwarts Express train from the popular movie franchise “Harry Potter”, takes passengers on a beautiful ride through Scotland.
WHY NATIONAL TRAIN DAY IS IMPORTANT
- Trains are a popular form of transport, and they make us nostalgic and trains remind us of happy times spent in the company of our loved ones, usually during a vacation.
- With an increased urgency to go green, trains have become an eco-friendly way to travel long distances. The emissions are minimal, and thousands of people can be ferried across long distances in a matter of hours.
- Trains also remind us of the incredible progress that human beings have made in a matter of a few Centuries and trains have ushered in an era of increased mobility, and National Train Day celebrates just that.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
