January 14, 1851 First train into Salem IN on the New Albany & Salem Rail Road (later CIL, L&N).
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January 14, 1878 The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the federal government has no power to overturn state laws creating segregated accommodations in railroad cars, opening the way for Southern states to impose "Jim Crow" segregation. Many northern railroads with branches in the south are also affected.
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January 14, 1905 Pennsylvania Railroad's Enola Yard opens. An urban legend arises that the name of the yard comes from an early operator at the site who felt all "alone", but the truth is that it is named after the daughter of the owner of the land on which the yard is built.
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January 14, 1923 In the Pennsylvania Railroad Timetable for its Southwest Region issued today, many branch-line and rural passenger trains are removed due to competition from buses and private automobiles.
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January 14, 1939 The last scheduled Southern Pacific commuter ferry run sails on San Francisco Bay. Other SP ferry service will continue in the bay until 1958.
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January 14, 1940 The Santa Fe drops its San Francisco – LA – Chicago “Navajo”.
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January 14, 1942 German U-Boats begin attacking United States coastal shipping. At first, the lack of blackouts on the east coast makes the ships easy targets. Attacks by U-Boats will force much cargo from ships onto the railroads.
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January 14, 1990 VIA’s “Canadian” and its “Super Continental” make their last runs. A new train will be introduced tomorrow under the “Canadian” name traveling mostly on the former “Super Continental” route.
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January 14, 2015 A bus carrying 12 prison inmates and 3 guards slips off a highway bridge near Odessa TX and strikes a Union Pacific freight train. Eight inmates and 2 guards are killed. The incident is blamed on black ice on I-20.
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January 14, 2022 Railfan & Railroad magazine reports that potatoes are being shipped by rail out of northern Maine for the first time since 1976. A bumper crop of potatoes has farmers shipping on the former Bangor & Aroostook (now Maine Northern) to markets in Washington state.
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Mark Tomlonson
