Railway General Knowledge.

[Calthrop]

It isnae that one laddie!

You aren't saying that it's not about the Far North line and the D of S -- Brora??

 

[D6130]

You aren't saying that it's not about the Far North line and the D of S -- Brora??

OK, here's a clue. It's not the Duke of Sutherland and it's not on the Far North line.

 

[Gloster]

OK, here's a clue. It's not the Duke of Sutherland and it's not on the Far North line.

That does still leave a fair number of possibilities. A pure guess: Robert McAlpine and Glenfinnan?

 

[D6130]

Robert McAlpine and Glenfinnan?

I'm afraid not....but you're getting warmer!

 

[Gloster]

McCaig and Oban?

 

[D6130]

Sorry, not them either....but still quite warm!

 

[DerekC]

Well - after nearly two weeks I decided it was time to cheat. This is what Bing AI says:

"According to a forum post, the Scottish station you are looking for is Ardrossan Harbour. The relief sculpture is of James McLeish, a shareholder of the Glasgow and South Western Railway Company, who donated £100,000 to save the company from bankruptcy in 1897. The sculpture was carved by Ronald Rae in 1992 and is made of pink granite."

If that's correct then open floor again.

 

[D6130]

Well - after nearly two weeks I decided it was time to cheat. This is what Bing AI says:

"According to a forum post, the Scottish station you are looking for is Ardrossan Harbour. The relief sculpture is of James McLeish, a shareholder of the Glasgow and South Western Railway Company, who donated £100,000 to save the company from bankruptcy in 1897. The sculpture was carved by Ronald Rae in 1992 and is made of pink granite."

If that's correct then open floor again.

I'm afraid that's not the one I was thinking of, although it sounds very plausible. My answer is Rannoch, where there is a relief sculpture of Glasgow businessman J. H. Renton carved in a grey granite boulder positioned at the North end of the island platform. Renton, a shareholder in the West Highland Railway Company, sunk a large proportion of his private fortune into the venture to ensure completion of the line when nearly bankrupt in 1894. In return, the grateful 'navvies' building the line heaved a boulder from the adjacent moor and carved a permanent monument to him at the station. I'm a wee bit surprised that either @Cheshire Scot , @McRhu or @InOban didn't get this one!

Anyway....open floor!

 

[Calthrop]

Question concerns a continental West European country: in which there is a preservation undertaking specifically re an independent narrow-gauge system, now defunct as such, but it had a fairly long life-span. Rather oddly: the undertaking uses motive power and stock from the system, but its line -- although in the area which the system used to serve -- was totally new-built by the preservation movement.

Which undertaking, located where, is referred to here? (I'm thinking of a particular one, but have a feeling that there might be other such in W. Europe. Answers will be "taken on their merits".)

 

[D6130]

Reseau Breton....in Brittany, France?

 

[Calthrop]

Assuming that this refers to the doings at Gouarec; those are basically on the original trackbed, whereas the set-up of which I'm thinking, is fully "new-build". Thus -- sorry, not the RB.

 

[D6130]

Eastern Greece (Pelion peninsular)....Volos to Milles?

 

[Calthrop]

Again, if I'm right: not new-build -- it's on the original route. Sorry, once more !

 

[Cheshire Scot]

I'm a wee bit surprised that either @Cheshire Scot , @McRhu or @InOban didn't get this one!

It would be a surprise to me if I even looked at any of these quizzical type threads (this being my first look-in as I was name checked) hence despite having seen at Mr Renton's carving literally hundreds of times there is no chance I would ever have seen the question. Sorry.

 

[D6130]

It would be a surprise to me if I even looked at any of these quizzical type threads (this being my first look-in as I was name checked) hence despite having seen at Mr Renton's carving literally hundreds of times there is no chance I would ever have seen the question. Sorry.

No problem.... I'm afraid I forgot to put the wink icon at the end!

 

[McRhu]

No problem.... I'm afraid I forgot to put the wink icon at the end!

I missed the quiz too. Sorry. I must do better in future.

 

[D6130]

I missed the quiz too. Sorry. I must do better in future.

You really don't know what you're missing!

 

[Calthrop]

Coming back to the current question: my seen "answer venue" is in a country -- not featuring in answers so far -- which at "rail peak" had as well as a dense national-rail conventional standard-gauge system; quite extensive narrow-gauge networks on several different gauges. The "answer" preservation site derives from one of the aforesaid; and is to the best of my knowledge, nowadays the country's only active n/g operation of any magnitude at all (just possibly, pace urban electric tram systems).

 

[Gloster]

Would it be the Östra Södermanlands Järnväg in Sweden? Or the Munksjö Järnväg?

 

[Calthrop]

Sweden isn't the country, I'm afraid.

 

[Calthrop]

It doesn't look as though things will get any further forward on the current, European-preservation-related, question. The "outfit" of which I'm thinking, is in the Netherlands. It preserves, active, motive power and rolling stock of the 1067mm gauge Rotterdamsche Tramweg Maatschappij -- RTM -- (Rotterdam steam tram) system -- which undertaking significantly outlasted any other Dutch narrow gauge lines; its last sections closing in 1966.

For a good many years, a preservation society ran a very short section of one of the system's last lines to survive -- but, this arrangement being in various ways unsatisfactory, the site was vacated in favour of a line some half-dozen kilometres in length, new-built by the preservation society; where its operations take place today. The line runs close by the North Sea coast of the island of Goeree-Oveflakkee, south-south-west of Rotterdam city; near the village of Ouddorp. Ouddorp was at one time the terminus of a line of the RTM system, this part abandoned in the 1950s; but said terminus was some way inland -- as said, the present-day "heritage" section is totally "new construction".

Open floor.

 

[Gaelan]

Where is there a passenger rail service, operated by a company that almost exclusively operates freight trains, over line owned by the region's passenger-transport body?

 

[xotGD]

Glasgow?

 

[Gloster]

Los Angeles?

 

[Gaelan]

Not the ones I was thinking, and from a quick Wikipedia check they’re not valid as alternative answers either. Gloster is a lot closer.

 

[LUYMun]

Birmingham?

 

[Gaelan]

Again, not to my knowledge - but if there's a specific service you're thinking of I'm happy to give credit for an alternative answer.

The one I'm thinking of is outside the UK.

 

[xotGD]

Vancouver

 

[Gaelan]

No, but you’re close.

 

[D6130]

Seattle?