March 29, 1869 The Kalamazoo, Allegan & Grand Rapids Railroad (later LS&MS, NYC, PC) is completed from Allegan to Grand Rapids MI. (Some sources say March 1.)
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March 29, 1909 The Pennsylvania Railroad places an order for 24 examples of a new class of electric locomotive: the DD1.
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March 29, 1929 The Pennsylvania Railroad completes a program of painting town names in 10-foot high letters on railroad buildings to aid pilots of Transcontinental Air Transport. The lettering appears in 36 different cities.
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March 29, 1931 Great Northern's "Oriental Limited" makes its last run, having been superseded by the "Empire Builder". The name will be used again by GN, and then dropped for good with the creation of the "Western Star".
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March 29, 1936 10,000 people gather in Indianapolis to watch the 200-inch mirror blank for the Palomar observatory pass through on its cross-country trip aboard well-hole flat car NYC 499010.
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March 29, 1955 The French National Railways set a new rail speed record of 207 mph.
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March 29, 1957 The New York, Ontario & Western is abandoned, the first Class I railroad to quit and the first railroad to be abandoned in its entirety.
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March 29, 1957 The Central Vermont dieselizes.
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March 29, 1960 Revenue steam ends on the Grand Trunk Western as 2-8-2 4070 pulls a 50 car freight from Pontiac to Durand in Michigan.
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March 29, 2018 Florida¡¯s ¡°Brightline¡± commuter rail makes its first test run into the unfinished Miami station.
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Mark Tomlonson
