January 22, 1857 The Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad (later PM, C&O, Chessie, CSX) is chartered to construct a rail line from Flint to Lake Michigan via Saginaw.
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January 22, 1858 The directors of the Great Western take control of the Detroit & Milwaukee Railroad (later GT).
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January 22, 1869 The Muskegon & Ferrysburg Railroad (later MLS, GHR, C&WM, PM, C&O, Chessie, CSX, MQT) files incorporation papers in Michigan to build from Ferrysburg to Muskegon Harbor. The papers were drawn up last April.
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January 22, 1880 Jay Gould announces the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway (later Wabash) has leased the Toledo, Peoria & Western.
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January 22, 1893 The Ashland Light Power & Street Railway Company begins streetcar service in Ashland WI.
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January 22, 1912 The Florida East Coast's line to Key West is opened. It will become a popular passenger train destination with boat connections to Havana.
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January 22, 1914 The Great Northern opens a new passenger depot in Minneapolis.
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January 22, 1929 The driver of a Greyhound bus in Bellevue OH does not see an approaching Lake Shore Line interurban in heavy snowfall and pulls onto the tracks in front of the car. Nineteen of the 32 passengers on the bus die. Passengers on the interurban suffer only minor injuries.
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January 22, 1949 The first American Freedom Train officially ends its tour.
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January 22, 1956 A two-RDC train from Los Angeles bound for San Diego approaches a 15-mph curve at Redondo Junction near Olympic Street at 70 mph and is unable to slow down in time. Thirty people are killed and 130 injured in Los Angeles' worst railroad accident. The Los Angeles police are unable to completely control the crowds. Widespread looting of the dead and injured takes place. The LAPD ties at least one person to a tree in their attempts to restore order.
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January 22, 2014 A Pakistani teen, in England as part of a work-study program, is killed instantly when he places his head on the live third rail to see if a train is coming. In Pakistan, which does not use third-rail electric locomotives, it is common practice to listen for oncoming trains by putting an ear on a rail.
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January 23, 1869 George Westinghouse applies for his first air-brake patent.
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January 23, 1872 The Baltimore & Ohio completes the first grain elevator at Locust Point, Baltimore.
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January 23, 1876 A plan is formed to consolidate all railroads operating on Long Island NY into the Long Island Railroad, eliminating duplication of services.
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January 23, 1880 The Coney Island Elevated Railroad is incorporated.
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January 23, 1900 The Dayton-Xenia Traction Company opens from Dayton to Xenia via Belmont.
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January 23, 1905 The Great Northern-owned steamship "Minnesota" makes its maiden voyage from Seattle to ports in Japan and China. Patrons can buy a single ticket for their St. Paul to Tokyo journey.
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January 23, 1911 A new speed record is set for Washington to New York: 3 Hours 55 minutes. J.P. Morgan has rented a special Pennsylvania Railroad train for the trip.
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January 23, 1932 The Pennsylvania Railroad begins a trial of fixed ladders for upper berths in New York to Washington service.
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January 23, 1946 The Pennsylvania Railroad Board of Directors authorizes the purchase of 214 passenger cars to re-equip Blue Ribbon trains at a cost of $20.5 million. ($277 million in 2017) Eighty-seven cars are ordered from Pullman-Standard, 70 from Budd and 57 from AC&F. PRR wants the cars in the first quarter of 1947, but the crush of orders from other roads and postwar reconversion problems will cause the last delivery to be in August 1949.
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January 23, 1949 The Pennsylvania Railroad cuts its Chicago-Detroit service to two daily round trips.
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January 23, 1952 The Pennsylvania Railroad queries a consulting firm about reducing the financial losses of passenger service. The idea of eliminating long-distance trains duplicated by the New York Central and Baltimore & Ohio railroads is suggested.
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January 23, 1955 A new ticket bureau is installed in 30th Street Station, Philadelphia. With new "Ticketfax" and other machines, it can deliver a Pullman ticket in as little as 1 minute, as opposed to up to 1 hour previously.
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January 23, 1980 Amtrak AEM-7 900 makes its first trial run. The AEM-7's will eventually replace the GG-1's.
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January 23, 2014 The London Underground’s Victoria Line is shut down when workers accidently pour fast-setting concrete into a signal-relay vault.
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January 24, 1828 Horatio Allen of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company sets sail for England. His mission is to examine rail roads in that country and to buy 5 steam locomotives of no more than 5 ? tons, one of which is to come from Robert Stephenson & Co.
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January 24, 1833 Freight service begins on the Camden & Amboy Railroad. Three cars, each pulled by its own horse, provide the service.
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January 24, 1848 William Marshall discovers gold at Sutter's Mill on the American River in California. This discovery, combined with famine and revolution in Europe, will restore prosperity in the United States. Many railroad projects will be revived and new ones launched, particularly in the Midwest.
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January 24, 1853 The Toledo, Norwalk & Cleveland Railroad Company (later LS&MS, NYC, PC, CR, NS) opens, forming the last link in the chain of roads from Chicago to New York and Boston.
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January 24, 1916 In “Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad”, the United States Supreme Court rules that the Federal Income Tax is legal.
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January 24, 1954 Cleveland streetcars make their last revenue run.
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January 24, 1970 President & Mrs. Nixon take the Metroliner from Washington to Philadelphia to attend a chamber music concert.
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January 24, 1980 Judge Frank McGarr orders the shutdown of the Rock Island Railroad. Lines south of Kansas City will quit by March 24. All other lines will finish up by March 31.
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Mark Tomlonson
