railroad
Rails guide train wheels. This topic is part of Transportation within Technology. This page currently draws on 31 supporting questions, with answers and bonus facts available below.
railroad trivia questions
A railroad carries trains on what?
Answer: Tracks
Bonus fact: Rails guide train wheels.
What wooden or concrete supports hold rails at the correct spacing?
Answer: Ties or sleepers
Bonus fact: Ties maintain track gauge.
What stone layer beneath railroad ties distributes loads and drains water?
Answer: Ballast
Bonus fact: Ballast stabilizes track.
What material is commonly used as ballast beneath railroad tracks?
Answer: Crushed stone
Bonus fact: Railroad ballast supports ties and aids drainage.
The Underground Railroad helped enslaved people escape toward what?
Answer: Freedom
Bonus fact: It was a secret network of routes and safe houses.
Was the Underground Railroad an actual railroad?
Answer: No
Bonus fact: Railroad terms were used as code.
Which abolitionist is famous for guiding many people to freedom through the Underground Railroad?
Answer: Harriet Tubman
Bonus fact: Tubman repeatedly returned south to assist escapees.
The first U.S. transcontinental railroad connected the eastern rail network with what coast?
Answer: Pacific coast
Bonus fact: It linked rail lines across the continent.
Where were the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads joined in 1869?
Answer: Promontory Summit, Utah
Bonus fact: The ceremonial Golden Spike marked completion.
Which two companies built the first transcontinental railroad from opposite directions?
Answer: Union Pacific and Central Pacific
Bonus fact: The Union Pacific built westward and Central Pacific eastward.
The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 began in which industry?
Answer: Railroads
Bonus fact: Wage cuts triggered strikes across multiple rail lines.
Which Whitehead novel won the Pulitzer Prize and imagines a literal underground railroad?
Answer: The Underground Railroad
Bonus fact: The novel won the 2017 Pulitzer.