| Trains |
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| Trains is a magazine for lovers of real-life trains, the history of railraods, rolling stock, brdiges, stations, and all things related to the railroad industry. It is also a great source of information for those who love to travel by train or want to go on a railroad related adventure. Trains have always been part of dreams and fantasies of adventure, and there are indeed some railways that have become famous thorough the world because of the adventurous undertones that they raise. The railroad section that joins Salta, in Argentina with the Pacific port of Antofagasta, in northern Chile, crosses the Andes over 6.000 metres, climbing with absolutely no mechanical help aside from standard-issue locomotives, using regular coaches and wagons. This is the 'Sky Train,' or 'Cloud Express' which literally, goes higher than most clouds and rivals aircraft in this regard. The 'Blue Train' in South Africa, is arguably the most luxurious in the whole world, while the French TGV, the German ICE and the Japanese 'Bullet Train' continuously break new speed records. The 'Acela Express' of the east coast of the United States is also a high-speed train system that offers convenience and comfort, and there are many expansion plans currently under study. But perhaps the most famous is the Trans Siberian Railway, which was actually reconstructed more than once. When it was firstly conceived and constructed, the Russians - trying to cut costs - used low quality material and reduced the number of components needed to fix the tracks to a minimum, laying only one pair of rails. This did not work and soon tracks began collapsing because they could not support the weight of increasingly heavier trains.The second incarnation of the Trans Siberian was born when the last section without rail was completed - at an extremely high cost - around the mountains of Lake Baikal. Up to then, a ferry was used to cross the lake, but it failed miserably due to various reasons; tracks were replaced along the whole railway too. And the third reconstruction implied the addition of a second track and modern signals and communication systems, turning the railways into a fully functional artery for commerce and military control of central Asia. Other technologies have evolved, like Maglev (magnetic levitation) trains as well as monorails, but since the cost of rebuilding all the infrastructure, including stations, bridges, tunnels, etc. to accommodate these new models would be prohibitive, it is likely that we will be used two iron rails for a long time to come. In fact, what is in store is more of the same, albeit somewhat more modern and ambitious. For example, there are plans to extend the Trans Siberian up the Pacific Russian coast to Kamchatka, and then into Alaska thorough a ferry or bridge across the Bering Strait. In order to review information about the company that distributes this publication or more of its products, please click here. |
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