MArch 24, 1828
Philadelphia & Columbia Railway (First state owned) authorized.
MARCH 24, 1890
The Supreme Court rules that a Minnesota state law authorizing a commission to set rates that are not subject to judical review is unconstitutional.
MARCH 24, 1900
New York City Mayor Van Wyck breaks ground for the city's first subway.
MARCH 24, 1932
New York radio station WABC makes first broadcast from a moving train, a variety show on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in Maryland.
MARCH 24, 1967
Last regular passenger service on the Soo Line.
CANADIANPACIFIC2816
Today, MARCH 25, 2007, marks the 200 anniversary of the world's first rail passenger service, which occurred in Wales in the United Kingdom. See www.welshwales.co.uk/mumbles_railway_swansea.htm It was killed off by the local Council on January 5th, 1960. And I thank Martin for his contribution!
MARCH 25, 1901
55 die as Rock Island train derailed near Marshalltown, Iowa.
MARCH 25, 1961
The Tallulah Falls Railway, which was used as a setting in the 1950 film "I'd Climb the Highest Mountain" and in 1960 by Disney for "The Great Locomotive Chase", ceases operation.
MARCH 25, 1986
Conrail goes public at $28.00 a share.
MARCH 26, 1884
High winds push eight coal cars for 100 miles on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad east of Denver.
MARCH 26, 1891
Rogers Locomotive Works rolls out ten-wheeler #4493 which eventually becomes Sierra Railroad #3. Starting with The Virginian with Gary Cooper on March 26, 1929, Sierra RR #3 becomes the most photographed locomotive in the world. Othe movie appearances include Dodge City, High Noon, Duel in the Sun and Back to the Future III. It also made many TV appearances including The Lone Ranger, Rawhide, Bonanza, Petticoat Junction, Gunsmoke and Little House on the Prairie.
MARCH 26, 1987
Norfolk Southern fires up former Norfolk & Western 2-6-6-4 #1218.
MARCH 27, 1857
Memphis & Charleston Railroad completes 271 mile line from Memphis, Tennessee to Stevenson, Alabama.
MARCH 27, 1887
Treaty of Boston agreement reached between Denver & Rio Grande, The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, and the Union Pacific railroads. The D&RG agreed not to build south of Espanola, New Mexico, the AT&SF was not to enter Denver or Leadville, Colorado for 10 years and the Union Pacific agreed to stay out of the Colorado Rockies.
MARCH 27, 1938
Santa Fe begins San Diegan service between San Diego and Los Angeles.
MARCH 27, 1953
21 die in a train crash in Conneaut, Ohio.
MARCH 27, 1960
Grand Trunk Wester runs last official regular steam powered passenger train.
MARCH 27, 1964
Earthquake results in an estimated $30 million damage to the Alaska Railroad.
MARCH 28, 1907
A misplaced switch causes derailment of Southern Pacific train at Colton, California, killing 22.
MARCH 28, 1975
American Freedom Train departs Washington, D.C. with ex-Reading 4-8-4 #2101 and begins a 2 year, 17,000 mile tour.
MARCH 28, 1980
Last train operated on the former Rock Island track from Amarillo, Texas to Tucumcari, New Mexico.
MARCH 29, 1839
Railway Express Agency is established.
MARCH 29, 1916
28 killed in train accident at Amherst, Ohio.
MARCH 29, 1922
Rail Union asks President Harding to abolish U.S. Labor Board.
MARCH 29, 1957
New York, Ontario & Western Railroad abandoned. At that time, it was the largest railroad abandonment in the U.S. (541 miles).
MARCH 30, 1883
Denver & Rio Grande Western Railway reaches Salt Lake City.
MARCH 30, 1908
Columbia Railway & Navigation Co. (CR&N) purchased by SP&S Ry.
MARCH 30, 1954
Canada's first subway line opens in Toronto.
MARCH 31, 1862
The "Oregon Pony" becomes the first locomotive in the Pacific Northwest.
MARCH 31, 1946
First regular through sleeping-car service from the Atlantic to Pacific coasts.
MARCH 31, 1963
Los Angeles ends streetcar service after 90 years.
MARCH 31, 1980
The 7500 mile Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific ceases operations, becoming the largest U.S. abandonment.
MARCH 31, 1986
Illinois Central Gulf sells 403 miles of track from Meridian, Mississippi to Shreveport, Louisiana to Midsouth Rail Corp.
APRIL 01, 1857
The first southern link from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River (Charleston to Memphis) is completed.
APRIL 01, 1932
Oregon Electric's Holley Branch opens.
APRIL 01, 1946
A portion of the Oahu Railway is destroyed by a Tsunami.
APRIL 01, 1947
E.B. Stanton replaces T.F. Dixon as Vice-President and General Manager of the SP&S Railway.
Last run on the 190-mile Pittsburg, Shawmut & Northern.
APRIL 01, 1949
Newfoundland becomes the tenth province of Canada, and the Newfoundland Railway becomes part of the Canadian National system. This narrow gauge system had been operated by the island government since 1923.
APRIL 01, 1972
Pacific Great Eastern Railway changes it's name to British Columbia Railway.
APRIL 01, 1976
Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail) formed. Conrail took over operations of six bankrupt railroads: Centrail Railroad of New Jersey, Erie Lackawanna, Lehigh & Hudson River, Lehigh Valley, Penn Central and Reading plus the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines. In doing so, Conrail acquired 15,000 miles of track, 3800 locomotives, 140,000 cars and 103,000 employees.
APRIL 01, 1979
VIA Rail Canada assumes financial responsibility for passenger service formerly operated by the Canadian Pacific and Canadian National railroads.
APRIL 01, 1996
Last train traverses the full length of the former Canada Southern line between Detroit and Buffalo.
APRIL 02, 1834
First train to run on a state owned railroad, the Philadelphia & Columbia Railway.
APRIL 02, 1917
Gales Creek & Wilson River Railroad incorporated.
APRIL 02, 1933
Canadian National and Canadian Pacific pool certain passenger services as a result of the Canadian National Canadian Pacific Act.
Pooling of Canadian National and Canadian Pacific passenger trains begins at Ottawa and Toronto. Passenger service is discontinued on the Canadian National line, (trains 7, 8, 35 and 36) from Ottawa to Napanee (for the next 33 years) and the traffic is handled by Canadian Pacific to Brockville with connection to Canadian National trains 6 and 15.
APRIL 03, 1883
Humphrey H. Reynolds was the first black inventor to patent an improved windo ventilator for railroad cars. His invention was adopted on all Pullman cars, but as an employee, he received no payment from the Pullman Company. Reynolds quit his job as a porter and successfully sued Pullman for $10,000.
APRIL 03, 1900
Vanderbuilts take over Reading, Lehigh Valley and Erie railroads.
APRIL 03, 1972
Lehigh & Hudson River files bankruptcy.
APRIL 03, 1992
The Goderich Exeter Railway commences operations over the former Canadian National line between Stratford Junction and Goderich and from Clinton Junction to Centralia in Ontario.
APRIL 04, 1895
Astoria & Columbia River Railroad (A&CR) organized.
APRIL 04, 1976
Amtrak accepts the first of 414 F40PH's from EMD.
APRIL 04, 1993
The Sunset Limited becomes the first true coast-to-coast transcontinental train when it's route is extended from New Orleans to Jacksonville and Miami, Florida.
APRIL 05, 1887
First meeting of the Interstate Commerce Commission.
APRIL 05, 1941
In San Francisco, buses replace Castro & Fillmore streetcars.
APRIL 05, 1995
Canadian National Railway opens new 6,130 foot St. Claire tunnel which replaces the 104 year old tunnel beneath the St. Claire River between Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario.
APRIL 06, 1898
First Run over the A&CR.
APRIL 06, 1956
Last revenue freight train on the East Broad Top Railroad.
APRIL 06, 1964
Earthquake damaged Alaska Railroad restores freight service between Anchorage and Fairbanks.
APRIL 06, 1988
First run for Amtrak's Auto Train.
APRIL 07, 1871
The Illinois Railroad Act creates a commission to fix maximum rates on railroad and warehouse use and forbids discrimination that favors large corporations over small businesses.
APRIL 07, 1914
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway mainline is completed between Winnepeg, Melville, Edmonton, Jasper and Prince Rupert. The last spike was driven at a location 93 miles west of Prince George, British Columbia. The first sod was tuned at Fort William, on the Lake Superior branch by Sir Wilfred Laurier on September 11, 1904.
APRIL 07, 1920
500,000 (?) railroad workers go on strike, affecting 25 railroads.
APRIL 07, 1932
GN line from Bend, Oregon to Bieber, California opens.
APRIL 07, 1947
Edaville Railroad opens two foot gauge railroad for tourists.
APRIL 07, 1957
Last electric trolley line operation in New York City.
APRIL 07, 1989
Chicago, Southshore & Southbend Railroad declares bankruptcy.
APRIL, 07, 1991
Amtrak moves from New York's Grand Central Terminal to Penn Station, consolidating Amtrak operations in New York City.
APRIL 08, 1921
In Ottawa, Canada: The Henderson Avenue, Ottawa station, built by the Canadian Northern Railway, is closed to passenger trains which are diverted to the Ottawa Union Station. The last passenger train to use the station was Canadian National train 47 to Pembroke.
APRIL 08, 1961
Pacific Electric's last passenger route (Long Beach) ceases operation.
APRIL 08, 1968
Last run for Southern Pacific's Lark.
April 8, 1957
Last regular steam operation on the Central Vermont Railroad - wayfreight between Palmer, MA, and Brattleboro, VT.
APRIL 09, 1968
Santa Fe terminates it's El Pasoans.
APRIL 10, 1869
President Ulysses S. Grant signs joint resolution of Congress desigating the common terminus for the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads
APRIL 10, 1878
California Street Cable Car Railroad Company begins service.
APRIL 10, 1962
In Ottawa, Canada: Canadian National is authorized to abandon the former Renfrew subdivision between m. 0.0, Mann Avenue, or Deep Cut, to m. 1.66 Bronson Avenue. This allows for the construction of the Queensway (?) on the site of the former crosstown tracks.
APRIL 11, 1862
Union Troops occupy Huntsville, Alabama severing the Memphis & Charleston Railway, and cutting a vital link to the western theater for the Confederacy.
APRIL 11, 1885
In Ottawa, Canada: Canadian Pacific Railway carries out a trial of an automatic type of coupler at Union Station (Broad Street). This greatly reduced the danger to the lives and limbs of trainmen who then did not need to go between cars when coupling and uncoupling. This saw the eventual elimination of link and pin coupling. A trial of a different model was carried out at the Canada Atlantic Railway station on July 18, 1885.
APRIL 11, 1947
Last scheduled train on the Sumpter Valley Railway.
The Denver & Salt Lake Railroad merges with the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad.
APRIL 11, 1964
Earthquake damaged Alaska Railroad restores passenger service from Anchorage to Fairbanks.
April 11, 1969
Auto-Train Corporation incorporated.
APRIL 12, 1831
Construction begins on the the first railroad tunnel in the U.S. near Johnstown, Pennsylvania on the Allegheny Portage Railroad.
APRIL 12, 1862
James J. Andrews and 19 disguised Union soldiers steal a locomotive at Big Shanty, Georgia as part of a daring, but unsuccessful, attempt to disrupt rail traffic between Atlanta and Chattanooga. An 87 mile chase ended when the stolen 4-4-0 locomotive, the General, ran out of fuel and the raiders were captured by the Confederates. There is a new book out about the Andrews Raid, "Stealing the General" by Russel S. Bonds, published by Holthouse. With a little more than 400 pages in length, if you include the author's notes and bibliography, it is the most complete historical account of the Andrews Raid that I have ever seen. I got my copy through the History Book Club and I am now just getting into it. It's pretty good reading.
APRIL 12, 1987
First excursion for Pennsylvania Railroad K-4 4-6-2 #1361 out of Altoona, Pennsylvania.
APRIL 13, 1846
The Pennsylvania state legislature passes an act incorporating the Pennyslvania Railroad.
APRIL 13, 1869
George Westinghouse receives patent #88,929 for Improvement in Steam Power Brake Devices. The Westinghouse Air Brake was the first commercially successful application of air brakes and made faster, longer trains possible.
APRIL 13, 1910
The Pennsylvania Railroad begins running trains through Manhattan tunnels.
APRIL 14, 1911
A Canadian Pacific train runs into a washout two miles from North Wakefield, Ottawa, Canada. The engineer, William Alexander McFall, stuck to his post and only the engine toppled into the hole. Fourty passengers were saved as the remainder of the train remained upright. Engineer McFall, who was badly scalded by steam and died on April 16th, was awarded the King Edward medal for his heroic actions.
APRIL 14, 1920
U.S. Attorney General A. Mitchel Palmer charges than an illegal railroad strike is part of an international Communist conspiracy, fomented by the I.W.W.
APRIL 14, 1960
Final runs of the longest motor- car runs in the U.S., Gulf, Mobile & Ohio's 362 mile run from Kansas City and Bloomington, Illinois.
APRIL 14, 1983
Mudslides cover D&RGW mainline at Thistle, Utah,forcing the Rio Grande Zephyr to use Union Pacific to return to Salt Lake City from Denver.
APRIL 14, 1986
MidSouth Rail buys Gulf & Mississippi.
APRIL 15, 1880
In Ottawa, Canada: Passengers and freight are carried on the Canada Central Railway extension west of Pembroke to Mackey's station by the contractor James Worthington. This section was handed over to the Canada Central on December 1st, 1880.
APRIL 15, 1954
Patrick McGinnis wins control of the New Haven from Buck Dumaine.
APRIL 16, 1856
East Broad Top Railroad and Coal Company incorporated.
APRIL 16, 1901
In Ottawa, Canada: The Ottawa and Gatineau Railway is authorized to open 1.87 miles of line extending from a point on it's constructed line, then opened as far as Gracefield, in the township of Hull to a point of junction with the approach to the Interprovincial Bridge in Hull. Later that same year the Ottawa and Gatineau would change it's name to Ottawa, Northern and Western Railway.
APRIL 16, 1953
Fairbanks-Morris introduces first high-horsepower road switcher, the 2400 hp Train Master.
APRIL 17, 1893
In Ottawa, Canada: The world's largest cheese is shipped from Perth as Canada's entry for the dairy exhibit at the World's Columbian Exhibition in Chicago, Illinois. This 22,000 pound monster, measuring 6 feet in height and 8 3/4 feet in diameter, was made in a section of the Canadian Pacific freight shed in Perth. The cheese, along with a special horse drawn wagon designed to haul the cheese, was loaded in the Perth station yard on Saturday, April 15th, and placed on show before being shipped. At every station at which the train stopped, the people crowded on the flat car on which the cheese was on and wrote their names on the box. By the time it reached Chicago there were about 200,000 autographs and not a square inch of space left.
APRIL 17, 1934
M.C. LaBertew becomes superintendent of the SP&S Railway.
APRIL 17, 1991
Railroad workers go on strike in U.S. Congress ends the strike the next day.
APRIL 18, 1934
The stainless steel streamliner Pioneer Zephyr of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, the first train of this type to use diesel power and the first to be placed in scheduled passenger service, is delivered by the manufacturer at Philadelphia.
APRIL 18, 1991
Congress ends 1 day railroad worker strike.
APRIL 19, 1891
Two trains, because of an engineer's faulty timepiece, collided near Cleveland, Ohio with 9 casualties. Following the disaster, a commission was appointed to addopt a UNIVERSAL set of timekeeping standards by ALL railroads. Precision was now needed in this now enormous industry. By 1893 the GENERAL RAILROAD TIMEPIECE STANDARDS were in effect. Watches that fit this description became known as Railroad watches.
APRIL 19, 1940
30 killed in train accident at Little Falls, New York.
APRIL 19, 1964
Southern Pacific's Golden State and Sunset trains consolidated into single train between El Paso and Los Angeles.
APRIL 20, 1866
At a meeting of representatives of several railroads, the first set of rules for governing the interchange of freight cars is adopted. The rules established common colors, reporting marks, and repair arrangements.
APRIL 20, 1932
The first completely air conditioned sleeping car train begins operation on the Baltimore & Ohio.
APRIL 20, 1948
New York City hikes subway fare from 5 cents to 10 cents.
APRIL 20, 1964
Earthquake damaged Alaska Railroad restores freight service to Whittier.
APRIL 20, 1983
Dedication of a new rail barge doubles the Canadian National Aqua-Train rail capacity to Alaska from Prince Rupert, British Columbia.
APRIL 21, 1856
The first railroad bridge over the Mississippi River opens from Rock Island, Illinois to Davenport, Iowa.
APRIL 21, 1865
President Abraham Lincoln's funeral train departs Washington, D.C.
APRIL 21, 1933
London, Midland and Scottish Railway (UK) 4-6-0 steam locomotove Royal Scot arrives in Montreal, Canada with eight passenger cars enroute to the Century of Progress Exhibition in Chicago. It was exhibited at the following cities (numbers in brackets show number of visitors).
May 1-Montreal Windsor Station (16,979); May 2- Ottawa (11,870); May 3-4-Toronto Exibition Grounds (20,687); Hamilton (3,631).
The train then ran via the Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway through U.S. cities to Chicago. After the exhibition, it left Chicago October 11 and ran via the U.S. to Vancouver:
October 27-Vancouver (19,885); October 29-Kamloops; October 30-Calgary (16,000); October 31-Moose Jaw; October 31; Regina (6,986); November 1-Winnipeg (22,900). From Winnipeg the train ran via Minneapolis and Detroit.
November 7-London, Ontario; November 8-Straffford; November 8-Guelph; November 9-Toronto; November 10-Port Hope; November 10-Bellville; November 11-Kingston; November 11-Brockville; November 12-Montreal.
The train ran via the Canadian Pacific on the outward trip and in Western Canada and on the Canadian National on the return leg to Ontario. It returned to the UK from Montreal on October 24.
APRIL 21, 1958
Canadian National opens a new freight terminal at Riverside and Alta Vista drives in Ottawa, Canada. This $300,000 building was funded by the Federal District Commission as part of the Ottawa railway relocation. The building was actually completed during 1957 and commenced operation in March 1958.
APRIL 21, 1970
Canadian Pacific unveils Canada's first double-deck passenger train comprising nine air-conditioned cars built by Canadian Vickers Limited at a cost of $2.8 million. The cars went into operation April 27 on the Montreal Lakeshore suburban service.
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