March 31, 1862 The "Oregon Pony" arrives in Portland OR, the first locomotive in the Pacific Northwest.
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March 31, 1870 The southern branch of the Union Pacific becomes the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway, quickly dubbed "The Katy".
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March 31, 1873 The White River bridge on the Cairo & Fulton Railroad (later CA&T, StLIM&S, MP, UP) opens, and trains run through between St. Louis and Little Rock.
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March 31, 1901 Southern Pacific’s Coast Line between San Francisco and Los Angeles is completed.
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March 31, 1909 The Hudson & Manhattan Railroad begins operating women-only cars during the rush hour as a three-month experiment. They will be withdrawn on July 1 after proving to not be popular and to be the subject of derisive comments from men, such as "Hen Cars" or "Old Maids' Retreat".
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March 31, 1911 The Pennsylvania Railroad notes that during the past month, 92% of its Lines East passenger trains have been on time.
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March 31, 1916 Three New York Central passenger trains, including the westbound 20th Century Limited, collide in Amherst OH in heavy fog. Forty-eight die as a result of the collision. Movie star Mary Pickford, one of the passengers on the 20th Century Limited, refuses to leave the scene until all the injured have been helped.
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March 31, 1918 President Wilson signs a bill first establishing Daylight Saving Time. The railroads, however, will continue to print timetables in Standard Time.
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March 31, 1925 The Troy & New England Interurban quits. The last car to run on the line was the same one that opened it 30 years earlier.
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March 31, 1951 Passenger service on the Detroit & Mackinac ends.
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March 31, 1952 The Pennsylvania Railroad's last ferryboat operation from Philadelphia to Camden, the Market Street Ferry, ends.
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March 31, 1954 The New York Central drops passenger service on the former Ulster & Delaware.
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March 31, 1960 Great Northern’s “International” makes its last run.
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March 31, 1963 PCC and trolleybus service ends in Los Angeles.
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March 31, 1978 All high-carbon steel wheels are to be removed from cars carrying dangerous materials.
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March 31, 1980 Last day of the Rock Island. At 7,500 miles it is the largest rail abandonment in United States history.
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March 31, 1981 Conrail completes removal of #2 track between Altoona and Gallitzin PA, making the former Pennsylvania 4-track "Broad Way" 3 tracks through Horseshoe Curve.
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March 31, 1986 The Huron & Eastern Railway (MI) begins operations over former Chesapeake & Ohio trackage.
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March 31, 2010 The Union Pacific Railroad unveils locomotive 2010, painted to recognize the Boy Scouts in honor of the Boy Scouts of America's 100th Anniversary. It is only the 14th locomotive to receive special paint in the line's 150-year history.
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March 31, 2020 A Port of Los Angeles railroad engineer, Eduardo Moreno, is arrested after trying to crash his train into the hospital ship USNS Mercy. The ship was in Los Angeles to assist in treating COVID-19 patients. Moreno feared that the ship was actually part of a government take-over.
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Mark Tomlonson
