Vatican Railway - Quiz
  • 1. What is the name of the only railway station in Vatican City?
A) Vatican City railway station
B) Vatican Central
C) Roma San Pietro
D) St. Peter's Station
  • 2. Who designed the Vatican City railway station?
A) Giuseppe Momo
B) Pope Pius IX
C) H. V. Morton
D) Pope Pius XI
  • 3. Which pope ordered the construction of the grand station building?
A) Pope John Paul II
B) Pope Pius XI
C) Pope Francis
D) Pope Pius IX
  • 4. How far is the station built from the Entrance Gateway?
A) Approximately 20 metres
B) Approximately 50 metres
C) Approximately 100 metres
D) Approximately 10 metres
  • 5. What material was carved from a single piece for the station's structure and decorative pillars?
A) Sandstone
B) Marble
C) Limestone
D) Granite
  • 6. What did Pope Pius XI call the station when he saw it completed?
A) The grandest gateway of Rome
B) A masterpiece of marble
C) The most beautiful station in the world
D) The holy rail terminus
  • 7. Between which years was the station built?
A) 1901 and 1905
B) 1950 and 1954
C) 1929 and 1933
D) 1829 and 1833
  • 8. Where is the station located relative to Vatican City?
A) Centre-South
B) North-West
C) Exact center
D) Far North
  • 9. Which landmark lies adjacent to the Vatican City railway station?
A) Sistine Chapel
B) Vatican Museums
C) Vatican Mosaic Studio
D) Castel Sant'Angelo
  • 10. What famous basilica is the station located in the shadow of?
A) St. Mary Major
B) St. Paul Outside the Walls
C) St. Peter's Basilica
D) St. John Lateran
  • 11. What are the dimensions of the white marble station building?
A) 50 by 15 metres
B) 61 by 21.5 metres
C) 30 by 10 metres
D) 100 by 40 metres
  • 12. How tall is the central body of the station building?
A) 5.95 metres
B) 10.2 metres
C) 20.5 metres
D) 16.85 metres
  • 13. How tall are the lateral bodies of the station building?
A) 2.5 metres
B) 5.95 metres
C) 10.0 metres
D) 16.85 metres
  • 14. Who compared the station's design to a London bank branch?
A) Benito Mussolini
B) Giuseppe Momo
C) Pope Pius XI
D) H. V. Morton
  • 15. Which bank did H. V. Morton compare the station design to?
A) Barclay Bank
B) HSBC
C) Lloyds Bank
D) Bank of England
  • 16. What was part of the station converted into due to a lack of passengers?
A) A maintenance depot
B) A goods office
C) A ticket counter
D) A museum ticket office
  • 17. What small facility is housed inside the station for Vatican residents?
A) A cafeteria
B) A post office
C) A duty-free department store
D) A souvenir shop
  • 18. Who is the duty-free department store open to?
A) Railway workers only
B) Vatican City residents only
C) The general public
D) All tourists
  • 19. Where does the Vatican City State Railway branch off from on the Italian end?
A) Rome–Viterbo line
B) Vatican-Rome express
C) Roma Termini
D) Rome–Naples line
  • 20. At which Italian railway station does the Vatican branch connect?
A) Roma Ostiense
B) Roma Termini
C) Roma San Pietro railway station
D) Roma Trastevere
  • 21. What valley does the railway cross on a stone viaduct?
A) Vatican Valley
B) Aurelia Valley
C) Gelsomino Valley
D) Tiber Valley
  • 22. What is the name of the viaduct crossing the Gelsomino Valley?
A) Pius Viaduct
B) Gelsomino Viaduct
C) Savoy Viaduct
D) Roman Viaduct
  • 23. How long is the Gelsomino Viaduct?
A) 61 metres
B) 143.12 metres
C) 300 metres
D) 112 metres
  • 24. How many arches does the Gelsomino Viaduct have?
A) Four
B) Six
C) Eight
D) Ten
  • 25. What is the length of each arch on the Gelsomino Viaduct?
A) 5.95 metres
B) 15.30 metres
C) 10.2 metres
D) 20.5 metres
  • 26. Which coats of arms and symbols are borne on the Gelsomino Viaduct?
A) The Vatican flag and cross
B) The papal tiara and keys
C) The Italian tricolor and eagle
D) The fasces and the Savoy coat of arms
  • 27. Which road does the Gelsomino Viaduct cut off?
A) Via della Conciliazione
B) Via Aurelia
C) Viale Vaticano
D) Corso Vittorio Emanuele
  • 28. What voltage is supplied to the first 100 metres of the electrified line?
A) 1500 V DC
B) 25 kV AC
C) 3000 V DC
D) 600 V DC
  • 29. When is the remainder of the electrified line distance energised?
A) Only at night
B) Only during papal visits
C) At all times
D) Only when needed
  • 30. What kind of gate is located at the Italy–Vatican City border?
A) A single wooden gate
B) A lightweight steel barrier
C) A two-piece 35.5-ton iron gate
D) A sliding bronze gate
  • 31. Where does the border gate slide into when opened?
A) Underneath the railway tracks
B) Inside the station building
C) The recesses of the Vatican walls
D) Into the Gelsomino Viaduct
  • 32. When is the border gate kept closed?
A) During the daytime only
B) Only during religious holidays
C) When trains are not passing through
D) At all times
  • 33. What lies beyond the Vatican City railway station before the line ends in a tunnel?
A) A secondary passenger platform
B) A 112-metre straight section acting as a headshunt
C) A 300-metre loop for storage
D) A large maintenance workshop
  • 34. What is located on the far side of the station?
A) The duty-free store
B) Two storage tracks
C) The goods office
D) The main platform and a passing loop
  • 35. What is located on the near side of the station?
A) The border iron gate
B) A main platform and passing loop
C) Two tracks that run to the headshunt in the tunnel
D) The Gelsomino Viaduct
  • 36. What is the purpose of the two tracks on the near side of the station?
A) Both are used exclusively for cargo transit
B) One is for the papal train and one is for emergencies
C) One is platformed for loading, and the other is for storage
D) Both are used for passenger boarding
  • 37. What is the total approximate length of the railway between the tunnel and the junction?
A) 300 metres
B) 143.12 metres
C) 5 kilometres
D) 1.27 kilometres
  • 38. How much of the railway lies within Vatican City?
A) 300 metres
B) 112 metres
C) 61 metres
D) 1.27 kilometres
  • 39. What record does the Vatican railway hold due to its length within the city?
A) The narrowest gauge railway
B) The steepest funicular railway
C) The oldest operating railway
D) The shortest national railway in the world
  • 40. What is the approximate journey time of a train between the border and the station?
A) 1 minute
B) 10 minutes
C) 5 minutes
D) A 1⁄2-minute
  • 41. Was Pope Pius XI's planned papal train ever constructed?
A) It was built and later scrapped
B) Only partially
C) Yes
D) No
  • 42. How many railway workers has the Vatican City State ever employed?
A) A dozen
B) None
C) Only Italian state workers
D) Hundreds
  • 43. What kind of train is used to run tourist services on the Vatican railway?
A) A diesel train
B) A battery-powered tram
C) A high-speed electric train
D) An electric steam-style train
  • 44. Which company owns the diesel train used for tourist services?
A) Roman State Railways
B) Vatican City Railway Authority
C) Trenitalia Vaticana
D) Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane
  • 45. Whose official train from the Papal States remains on display at the Museum of Rome?
A) Pope Pius IX
B) Pope Gregory XVI
C) Pope Pius XI
D) Pope Leo XIII
  • 46. In which museum is Pope Pius IX's official train housed?
A) Museum of Rome
B) Galleria Borghese
C) Vatican Museums
D) Capitoline Museums
  • 47. In which building is the Museum of Rome housed?
A) Palazzo Farnese
B) Palazzo Braschi
C) Palazzo Apostolico
D) Palazzo Quirinale
  • 48. How many of the five bombs dropped on Vatican City in November 1943 exploded?
A) Two
B) Four
C) Three
D) Five
  • 49. On what date did Pope John XXIII make his pilgrimage using the Vatican railway?
A) 18 April 2013
B) 21 May 2011
C) 8 November 1979
D) 4 October 1962
  • 50. Which network broadcast the trip of Pope John XXIII in 1962?
A) The Eurovision Network
B) The Italian Railway Network
C) The Turin Group of Train Friends
D) The Vatican Museums Network
  • 51. When did Pope John Paul II first use the railway to leave Rome?
A) 21 May 2011
B) 24 January 2002
C) 8 November 1979
D) 18 April 2013
  • 52. Which company owned the rail cars used by the Turin Group of Train Friends in 2013?
A) Seatrain
B) Eurovision Network
C) Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane
D) Vatican Museums
  • 53. In what month and year did the Palace of Castel Gandolfo open to the public?
A) September 2015
B) November 1943
C) October 1962
D) April 2013
  • 54. On what date was the inaugural run of the special weekly service to Castel Gandolfo?
A) 5 November 1943
B) 21 May 2011
C) 18 April 2013
D) 11 September 2015
  • 55. Which steam locomotive hauled the inaugural train to Castel Gandolfo in September 2015?
A) FS Class 625 steam locomotive 625-017
B) Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane diesel train
C) Seatrain ALn 776
D) Italian presidential train engine
  • 56. In what year was the steam locomotive 625-017 built?
A) 1915
B) 2015
C) 1962
D) 1943
  • 57. What kind of coaches were joined to the locomotive for the Castel Gandolfo service?
A) Modern diesel rail cars
B) ALn 776 rail cars
C) Presidential steel coaches
D) Restored wooden coaches
  • 58. Which treaty guaranteed Vatican City access to Italy's rail system?
A) Lateran Treaty
B) Treaty of Rome
C) Vatican Treaty
D) Concordat of 1929
  • 59. What phrase was Pope Gregory XVI reputed to have said about railways?
A) railway of iron, road of life
B) chemin de fer, chemin d'enfer
C) via ferrea, via inferni
D) road of iron, road of gold
  • 60. Which article of the Lateran Treaty guaranteed the construction of the railway station in Vatican City?
A) Article 10
B) Article 1
C) Article 6
D) Article 4
  • 61. In what year was the Vatican railway station opened officially?
A) 1932
B) 1962
C) 1934
D) 1929
  • 62. In what year did Pope Pius XI die without ever having travelled on the line?
A) 1939
B) 1962
C) 1934
D) 1945
  • 63. What rolling stock is used for the tourist services to Castel Gandolfo?
A) Trenitalia
B) Private steam locomotives
C) Historic papal carriages
D) Vatican-owned stock
  • 64. In what year did Pope Benedict XVI use the Vatican railway?
A) 2008
B) 2005
C) 2015
D) 2011
  • 65. For whom are the regularly scheduled passenger service trains at Vatican City station intended, beginning in 2015?
A) Tourists
B) Journalists
C) Cardinals
D) Daily commuters
  • 66. How often does the special passenger train run for tourists?
A) Daily at noon
B) Monthly on Sundays
C) Weekly every Saturday
D) Twice a week on weekdays
  • 67. What is the approximate journey time from the Vatican Museums to the Palace of Castel Gandolfo by train?
A) An hour
B) Thirty minutes
C) Fifteen minutes
D) Two hours
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