How do trains work? We went to Union Station in Washington, DC to answer a whole wagonload of questions with Amtrak's Patrick Kidd.
A few years ago, we left our studio in Vermont to hop on the Amtrak Acela train that runs multiple trips per day between Washington, DC, New York City and Boston. But don't worry; we got off before the train departed! It was so much fun, we wanted to bring you that journey again!
Questions we're answering in this episode: How do trains work? What about electric trains? Steam trains? Bullet trains? Why do they have to go on tracks? How can trains go so fast even though they're so heavy? And why don鈥檛 trains have seat belts?
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- Trains have a locomotive that pulls the cars. There are electric locomotives and diesel locomotives. Diesel is the gas that powers those locomotives, just like gas in a car.
- Electric trains have overhead wires, called catenary, that carry electric currents. The train has a pantograph at the top, it looks kind of like an arm. The pantograph draws electricity from the wires down to the locomotive.
- Trains do not have a steering wheel. The tracks guide the train.
- Tracks are made of two long rails that the wheels of the train move along. The rails are tied together with ties, which are usually made of wood and concrete. Train tracks need a strong foundation of crushed stone to support the weight of the trains.
- We don鈥檛 have bullet trains in the United States. But in other countries, like China, bullet trains can travel up to 286 miles per hour!
- Bullet trains run on electricity. They are streamlined and the tracks are straightened so they don鈥檛 have many corners and they don鈥檛 cross roads or have a lot of stops.
- If you and your family are interested in trains, check to see if there's a local train museum near where you live. And many trains operate short trips for families to see the sights from the seat of a cozy train.
