December 3, 1844 Cobble Hill Tunnel in Brooklyn opens, however it will not be finished until late spring next year. Many regard the 2,517-foot tunnel as the first subway tunnel in the world. It has been built to carry the Brooklyn & Jamaica Railroad (later LIRR) under Atlantic Avenue. It will be taken out of service and sealed in 1861.
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December 3, 1853 Illinois Central and Michigan Central railroads begin using a temporary station built on fill on the lakefront of Chicago between Randolph and Water Streets. The track has been extended north from 12th Street.
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December 3, 1919 The Quebec Bridge opens to pedestrian, rail and automobile traffic. Planning for the bridge began in 1899, and it has collapsed twice during construction, killing 89 workers. It is currently owned by Canadian National.
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December 3, 1920 Canadian National launches its new trans-continental “Continental Limited” passenger train. The train features electrically lit, all-steel cars, and will include open-air observation cars between Jasper and Kamloops in the summer months.
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December 3, 1927 The old Boston North station is razed in preparation for a new building. Meanwhile, Erie PA dedicates its new Union Station.
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December 3, 1950 Regular passenger service between Cadillac and Petosky MI ends. Summer-only service continues.
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December 3, 1953 To cut costs, the Pennsylvania Railroad places an "automatic buffet-bar" car on New York to Washington trains with vending machines and tables. A single bar attendant replaces the dining car staff.
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December 3, 1957 Eight-year-old Maria Rudolph is kidnapped and murdered in northern Illinois. In 2011, her killer will be found when a newly discovered unused train ticket breaks his alibi, resulting in an arrest.
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December 3, 1967 Last run of New York Central's "20th Century Limited". A more prosaic numbered train will protect the service.
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December 3, 1978 Southern Railway's "Southern Crescent" enters a curve at excess speed in Shipman VA. All of the consist except for the lead engine and the last car derail and slide down into a ravine. Six people are killed, including Governor Jimmy Carter's former chef, Lewis Price, who was killed in the galley of the dining car. Sixty others are injured, most of them trapped in the wreckage.
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December 3, 1979 The ICC grants permission to Grand Trunk Western to buy the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton, confirming a court order handed down in July. The ICC gives GTW six months to compete the sale.
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December 3, 1980 The last continuous, daily, non-fireless steam operation in the United States comes to a close as Chicago's Northwestern Steel & Wire drops the fires of its ex-Grand Trunk Western 0-8-0 switchers for the last time.
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December 3, 2005 Bennett and Vivian Levin of Philadelphia organize a private train to the annual Army-Navy game for patients in Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center. Amtrak and private car owners contribute 12 additional cars to carry 88 patients from Washington Union Station to Philadelphia. The private car owners pay for the trip. Publicity is minimal at the time as no reporters or politicians are allowed on the train.
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December 3, 2010 The Chinese claim the World Record for fastest unmodified train, when one of their new high-speed trains hits 486 km/h (302 mph) between Beijing and Shanghai. A modified French TGV train holds the record for a modified train, at 574.8 km/h (357.2 mph).
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Mark Tomlonson
