December 11, 1845 The Nashville & Chattanooga (later NC&StL, L&N, CSX) is chartered in Tennessee. It will be built to a 5-foot gauge and will be the first railroad to operate in the state of Tennessee.
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December 11, 1867 Cornelius Vanderbilt is elected President of the New York Central railroad without opposition, giving him control of railroads between New York and Buffalo.
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December 11, 1868 Four members of the Reno gang are lynched in New Albany IN. They were in jail following the great train robbery of May 22, 1868.
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December 11, 1879 The Lake Erie & Western (later NKP) is formed by the merger of several railroads linking Fremont OH and Bloomington IL.
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December 11, 1887 The two-foot gauge Gilpin Tram Railway begins operations in Colorado.
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December 11, 1889 John Frank Stevens along with Coonsah, a Flathead Native guide, find Marias Pass, which will enable the Great Northern to cross the Continental Divide in Montana.
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December 11, 1906 The first revenue MU electric train on the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad enters Grand Central Station. (Some sources say December 13)
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December 11, 1946 A report requested by Pennsylvania Railroad Vice President-Operations J.M. Symes compares projected results of freight service with 80 A-B-B-B-A diesel sets vs. 202 4-4-6-4 Q2's. The diesels would save over $14 million per year (2024: $206 million) plus an additional gain of $6.5 million ($95.4 million) annually if the diesels can improve on-time performance.
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December 11, 1998 Canadian National Railway operates its last train in Ottawa ON. Operation in Ottawa will begin in two days by the Ottawa Central Railway.
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December 11, 2000 Amtrak's "Acela" service begins between Washington and Boston.
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Mark Tomlonson
