California
What is the largest city in California?
A. Los Angeles
B. San Jose
C. Sacremento
A. Los Angeles, with a population of over 3 million.
There's a town named Fox Lake North of Chicago. Is there a train station named Fox Lake near there?
Yes
NO
Yes, there is indeed a station named Fox Lake. There's a Metra line that ends there, called the Millwaukee District North
One thing you might pick up from this trivia is that Metra likes to name their lines in weird ways. Instead of naming them after landmarks or areas the lines run through, they name them after the directing they serve, a fallen railroad, a freight railroad, or some other reason.
What is the rail line closest to the school?
A. Union Pacific North (Metra)
B. Chicago Subdivision (BNSF)
C. Chicago & Millwaukee Subdivision (Canadian Pacific)
A. Union Pacific North (Metra)
It stops at a station about a half mile north, named Ravenswood. I've been there, it's just concrete and metal.
Fact: This station is the most used on the Union Pacific North Line, running from Downtown Chicago to Kenosha, Wisconsin.
What place do I want to go to/go back to the most?
(There's more than one)
A. The Continental Divide
B. Liberty Bell/Philidelphia
C. Boston
D. Maine
E. Michigan's Upper Penninsula
F. California
G. New York City
ALL of them, but if you chose NYC, you're WRONG, so you get half of the points (500). NYC is just Chicago times 1000.
What's Barack Obama's last name?
A. OBAMA < < < < < < < < < <
B. Barack
C. On this date in WORLD HISTORY!
D. EMD SD40-2 Deisel Locomotive
guys...
you know this
How deep is the San Francisco bay at it's maximum depth?
Daily Double - Guess between 300 - 400 and if you were the closest to the actual depth you get 800 points!
The San Francisco Bay is 357 feet deep, near the Golden Gate Bridge.
If you guessed between 350 - 360, you get 800 points!
Many campgrounds and recreation areas are next to a specific river in Illinois. What is the name of this river?
(If you've been to Starved Rock State Park, you may get this, because it's next to this river)
A. Illinois River
B. Fox River
C. Mississippi River
D. Wabash River
A. Illinois River, I can say that this is the river I've seen the most, because I've been to 5 campgrounds near this river.
What is my favorite flavor of Ice Cream?
A. Mint Chocolate Chip
B. Cookies and Creme
C. Cookie Dough
D. Vanilla
B. Cookies and Creme, but I like all of them!
What are my favorite games? One is a physical game and one is a video game, so choose 2.
A. Monopoly (Board Game)
B. Uno (Card Game)
C. Team Fortress 2 (Video Game)
D. Fortnite (Video Game)
E. Kids Against Maturity (Card Game)
If you chose both Uno and Team Fortress 2, you get full points! If you got one of them right, you get half the points!
157, i dont know what to do for this one
FREE POINTS
There is a route named the Surfliner in Southern California. Where does this route END when going north? You must choose two answers.
A. Los Angeles
B. San Louis Obispo
C. Santa Barbara
D. San Diego
E. Goleta
F. ?
While most trains terminate their journeys from San Diego in LA, some trains end at the official end of the line, San Louis Obispo.
If you chose Los Angeles or San Louis Obispo, you are correct! If you chose one of the two, you get half of the amount of points.
What is the most frequent rail line in Illinois?
A. BNSF Chicago Subdivision
B. Mendota Subdivision
C. Aurora Subdivision
D. Marceline Subdivision
A Subdivision is a specific section of track ending and starting in different towns. For example, the Marcelene Subdivision starts in Fort Madison, Iowa and ends in Kansas City, Missouri.
A. BNSF Chicago Subdivision, it supports Metra, Amtrak, and BNSF Freight trains.
A Subdivision is a specific section of track ending and starting in different towns. For example, the Marcelene Subdivision starts in Fort Madison, Iowa and ends in Kansas City, Missouri.
A swing bridge is a type of railroad bridge that has a space in the center and the entire center of the span rotates 90 degrees to allow boat traffic.
Where is the largest one of these bridges located?
A. Mobile, Alabama
B. Fort Madison, Iowa
C. St.Joesph, Michigan
B. Fort Madison, the bridge is 1,625 feet long and the part that rotates 90 degrees, called a swing span, is 525 feet.
It's also a double decker bridge, with a two lane highway on top and a rail line on the bottom.
What is one thing I hate about trains?
A. The horns
B. The sound
C. The lack of variety
D. I don't feel any hatred
C. The lack of variety, but it's mainly native to Chicago and other big cities. I go out to see many, and I mean many Metra trains. They all look the same! If you DONT know what one looks like, visualize a boxy locomotive with a bunch of shiny, stainless steel train wagons behind it with windows. That's what they look like, thats what they ALL look like.
What is water?
A. Grilled Cheese Sandwich
B. Liquid
C. Skittle Bag
D. Mexico
E. Barcelona
Why did I make this? FREE POINTS
The Altamont Commuter Express goes from San Jose to Stockton, California. What is the insperation for this name?
A. The Altamont Pass
B. Altamont, California
C. Altamont Valley
D. None of the above
A. The Altamont Pass, which is a rail bypass going through the Coast Range Mountains.
How many trains depart Chicago a day? (estimation)
A. 500
B. 750
C. 1000
What is the population of Norman, Oklahoma/my hometown?
A. 9000
B. 150,000
C. 500,000
Norman, OK has a population of 150,000. It also supports a train station.
In 1889, Central Oklahoma was up for purchase. Many people gathered over a line in the dirt to claim land for free. However, some people went into the center of Oklahoma and claimed land early.
What was the nickname given to these people?
A. Gunners
B. Sooners
C. Cheaters
D. Grabbers
B. Sooners, a name that would go on to define Oklahoma....for some reason.
I mean, nicknaming your state a name of people who cheated their way to glory is unorthodox.
Still not gonna bother.
FREE POINTS!
There are three routes in the Amtrak California brand that serve different areas of California. What is the total length of all 3 lines combined?
Closest answer wins!
The Capitol Corridor, going to Sacramento from San Jose, is 168 miles long
The San Joaquin Line, going to Bakersfield from San Jose, is 365 miles long.
The Pacific Surfliner, going from San Diego to San Louis Obispo, is 351 miles long.
So if we add all of these numbers together, we get a total length of 884 miles for all of the routes.
What is the most hilly area in Illinois?
A. Starved Rock State Park
B. Driftless Area (next to the Wisconsin and Iowa borders)
C. Mississippi River Valley
B. Driftless Area, this area is extremely close to Iowa and Wisconsin. Dubuque is the nearest town, and it's 5 miles away in Iowa. This area is home to Charles Mound, which is the tallest natural point at 1,235 feet.
How do you say please in Japenese?
A. Ku-da-sa-i (ください)
B. Tet-su-dō (鉄道)
C. Go-han (ご飯)
A. Ku-da-sa-i (ください), means please.
Translations for other words.
Tet-su-dō (鉄道) - Railroad
Go-han (ご飯) - Cooked Rice, or just rice.
Steam locomotives are a large peice of railroading history, thus many make excusions into many states or just one. In 2024, a steam locomotive made an excursion across the Great Plains, even coming to Chicago! What is the name of this locomotve?
A. Canadian Pacific 2816
B. Union Pacific 4014
C. Pere Marquette 1225
D. Nickel Plate Road 725
B. Union Pacific 4014, it made a long journey from Cheyenne, WY to Chicago and back. 4014 is known as the "Big Boy" as it's over 15 feet tall and 100 feet long, which makes it the biggest locomotive...in the world. I was gonna go see it, but it was like 95 degrees, so we didn't want to go. Man, I regret that.
I'm not even gonna bother with this category.
Hooray FREE POINTS!