Q 01/05

Which Cornish engineer built the locomotive for the world's first railway train, at Penydarren in 1804?

A) Isambard Kingdom Brunel

B) George Stephenson

C) James Watt

D) Richard Trevithick

Answer · why

D) Richard Trevithick

He was also the pioneer of high-pressure steam; his son said he first made it work in England in 1799.

Q 02/05

Which 1825 English railway was the world's first public railway to use steam locomotives?

A) Great Western

B) Liverpool and Manchester

C) Canterbury and Whitstable

D) Stockton and Darlington

Answer · why

D) Stockton and Darlington

Passengers rode in horse-drawn coaches until steam-hauled carriages arrived in 1833; the bicentenary was celebrated in 2025.

Q 03/05

Stephenson's Rocket won which 1829 competition to pick locomotives for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway?

A) The Crewe Cup

B) The Doncaster Trials

C) The Rainhill Trials

D) The Darlington Derby

Answer · why

C) The Rainhill Trials

Ten engines were entered, five could compete, and the £500 prize even attracted a horse-powered entry called Cycloped.

Q 04/05

The Liverpool and Manchester, the world's first inter-city railway, opened in which year?

A) 1830

B) 1835

C) 1840

D) 1845

Answer · why

A) 1830

It was also the first to run entirely on steam, the first fully double-tracked, the first timetabled, and the first to carry mail.

Q 05/05

What is the width of standard-gauge track, used by about 60 percent of the world's railways?

A) 1,435 mm

B) 1,520 mm

C) 1,600 mm

D) 1,676 mm

Answer · why

A) 1,435 mm

It is also called Stephenson gauge; Russia uses 1,520 mm and India's broad gauge is 1,676 mm.