March 26, 1860 The first freight car (loaded with lard) leaves St. Louis for New York via Buffalo and the New York Central. The trip will take five days. This is the first car to run through without breaking bulk. Terre Haute & Indianapolis Railroad, New York Central and other railroads will establish a line of freight cars with wide-tread wheels for through freight to points east of Buffalo and Pittsburgh without transshipment between Ohio and the standard gauges.
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March 26, 1921 The Grand Rapids & Indiana is leased to the Pennsylvania Railroad for 999 years along with 11 other companies. The lease is retroactive to January 1.
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March 26, 1926 The Kankakee & Urbana Traction ends passenger operations. Freight operations are sold to the Illinois Terminal. IT will serve the three grain elevators on the line until June next year.
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March 26, 1930 After eight months of trying to make it as a freight only line, the Tyler Traction Company (WV) calls it quits.
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March 26, 1936 The Rexall Drug train, pulled by New York Central “Mohawk” #2873 begins its tour.
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March 26, 1945 The Pennsylvania Railroad places its S2 6-8-6 steam turbine in service between Chicago and Crestline OH. Its normal assignments are "The Trail Blazer" eastbound and "The Admiral" westbound.
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March 26, 1947 Streetcar service ends in Akron OH.
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March 26, 1951 The Bangor & Aroostook and Pennsylvania railroads arrange to have PRR lease BAR diesel locomotives when they are not needed by BAR due to seasonal lulls in traffic.
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March 26, 1962 Canadian National's eastbound "Ocean Limited" becomes the first train painted entirely in CN's new passenger paint scheme. A few engines and cars started appearing in the new scheme last year.
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March 26, 2005 Fire destroys Deval Tower in Des Plaines IL, one of the last manual interlocking towers. Union Pacific has no plans to replace the tower.
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March 26, 2013 Hartsdale Interlocking, between Canadian National’s former Elgin Joliet & Eastern and the former Pennsylvania Railroad Panhandle line in Indiana is closed and the diamond removed. CN begins service to the single customer, Midwest Pipe Coating, affected by the closing.
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Mark Tomlonson
