February 5, 1834 As railroads debate the use of steam over horse power, a satiric column appears in the West Chester Village Record urging the use of horse-drawn vehicles on the Columbia Railroad. The piece points out "the use of horses will create jobs for horse-breeders, blacksmiths, farriers, feed-growers, etc." The piece also says, "horses can go up to 12 mph and people should not desire to go faster. Besides only the rich will be able to afford locomotives."
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February 5, 1838 The Central Railroad of Michigan reaches Ypsilanti from the east.
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February 5, 1916 The last railroad-owned horse-drawn taxicabs are withdrawn from major Pennsylvania Railroad Stations. Increasing competition from private, motorized taxis have ended the service.
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February 5, 1927 Buster Keaton's movie "The General", the story of the Civil War Andrew's raid, is released. It bombs on its first release although it's now considered a classic.
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February 5, 1972 Airlines begin mandatory inspections of passengers and their baggage in attempt to curb hijackings.
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February 5, 1989 The Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe and J.B. Hunt truck lines set up an alliance whereby J.B. Hunt traffic will be moved off the roads and onto Santa Fe intermodal routes. The alliance begins when J.B. Hunt himself rides in a Santa Fe office car and sees how smoothly intermodal cars move across Illinois.
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February 6, 1815 John Stevens of Hoboken NJ is granted the first charter to build a railroad in the United States, the New Jersey Railroad Company. The line is never built. (Some sources say 1816).
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February 6, 1835 The Buffalo & Mississippi Railroad (later NI, LS&MS) is chartered to run from Buffalo NY to the Mississippi River.
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February 6, 1837 The Buffalo & Mississippi Railroad changes its name to the Northern Indiana Railroad. The line will manage to do some grading between Michigan City and La Porte IN before the money runs out.
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February 6, 1843 Through service begins between Albany and Buffalo with a gap at Rochester. The journey over several rail lines takes two days, with an overnight stop at Syracuse eastbound and Auburn westbound to avoid night running in winter.
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February 6, 1862 Pennsylvania Railroad executive and Assistant Secretary of War Tom Scott begins a trip scouting railroads in the Midwest for possible use against the South. The knowledge Scott gains will be called on during the PRR's postwar expansion.
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February 6, 1871 A New York Central & Hudson River passenger train strikes a derailed oil car near New Hamburg NY. The resulting fire kills 22.
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February 6, 1873 The Springfield, Athol & Northeastern Railroad (later B&A) is formed to rename the Athol & Enfield Railroad.
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February 6, 1879 Henry Roe Campbell, a pioneering Civil Engineer and the inventor of the 4-4-0 type steam locomotive, dies at the age of 72.
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February 6, 1883 The first train from New Orleans via the Southern Pacific reaches San Antonio. The first train from Los Angeles will arrive in San Antonio tomorrow.
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February 6, 1891 The Dalton gang robs its first train.
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February 6, 1908 The Kanauga Traction Company opens, operating with gas-electric cars between Gallipolis OH and Point Pleasant WV.
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February 6, 1908 The Florida East Coast opens its Florida Keys Extension to Knights Key, 47 miles from Key West, with a boat connection to Havana.
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February 6, 1951 Pennsylvania Railroad's "The Broker", a southbound express train running between Jersey City and Bay Head Junction is routed onto a temporary wooden overpass, built to allow construction of a permanent bridge over the New Jersey Turnpike. The train derails due to excessive speed. Some of the cars fall off the overpass, killing 85 of the 1,100 passengers. It is the deadliest U.S. train wreck since World War II. It is the third deadliest in US History.
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February 6, 1952 The New York Central approaches a consulting firm to study NYC's operating losses and to tailor its passenger services to actual demand.
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February 7, 1841 The Chicago & Rock Island Railroad, earliest predecessor of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific is incorporated.
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February 7, 1849 Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri proposes a transcontinental railroad on the floor of the Senate.
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February 7, 1855 The Buffalo & Mississippi and the Northern Indiana & Chicago railroads (later LS&NI, LS&MS, NYC) are merged into the Northern Indiana Railroad.
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February 7, 1871 The Clayton & Theresa Railroad (later NYC) is chartered.
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February 7, 1880 The first Grand Trunk passenger train leaves Chicago for points east.
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February 7, 1899 The Raquette Lake Railway (later NYC) is chartered.
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February 7, 1922 The van Sweringen brothers buy the Toledo, St. Louis & Western, also known as "The Clover Leaf". It will become part of their Nickel Plate Road.
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February 7, 1940 British railroads are nationalized.
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February 7, 1950 The Illinois Northern is acquired from International Harvester by the Santa Fe, Burlington, Pennsylvania and New York Central railroads.
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February 7, 1954 Detroit's Jefferson Avenue trolley line is converted to bus.
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February 7, 1962 A derailing Pennsylvania Railroad freight train demolishes the Wayland MI passenger depot.
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February 7, 1973 The RTV31 tracked hovercraft is given its first tests in the United Kingdom. The vehicle, an early version of Mag-Lev trains, is cancelled a week later due to budget cuts.
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February 7, 1979 "Supertrain" debuts on NBC. The TV series, patterned after "Love Boat" but set on a super-wide, super-luxurious train, will be a super-bomb. It is the most expensive TV series to date, and its failure coupled with the boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games will nearly bankrupt NBC.
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February 7, 1983 Elizabeth Dole, the first female Secretary of Transportation is sworn in.
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Mark Tomlonson
