April 1, 1832 The Baltimore & Ohio opens from Frederick Junction to Point of Rocks MD on the Potomac River, about 71 miles from Baltimore.
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April 1, 1836 The Erie Railroad is incorporated.
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April 1, 1861 A sleeping car designed and patented by Edward Knight is placed in service on the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore between Philadelphia and Baltimore. Knight had been elected a Pennsylvania Railroad director one month before.
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April 1, 1865 Robert Pitcairn takes over as Superintendent of the Pennsylvania Railroad's Pittsburgh Division. Pitcairn will be the first on the PRR to devise a modern system of telegraphic train orders and will be the main sponsor of experiments with air brakes.
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April 1, 1873 The first train crosses the Maumee River bridge into Toledo on the Toledo, Tiffin & Eastern Railroad (later PRR). Regular service will begin soon.
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April 1, 1873 The New York & Harlem is leased to the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad.
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April 1, 1880 The Reading Railroad tests Number 507, a 4-2-2 "Bicycle" locomotive with a pair of 78-inch drivers for passenger service. The locomotive's cab is perched on top of a large Wooten firebox.
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April 1, 1885 The Southern Pacific takes over operation of the Central Pacific.
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April 1, 1890 General Aaron Stiles patents a trolley pole.
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April 1, 1893 The Grand Trunk Railway of Canada merges several rail companies it has owned into itself.
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April 1, 1900 The Kansas City, Pittsburg & Gulf is reorganized as the Kansas City Southern.
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April 1, 1903 President Theodore Roosevelt makes a grand circle tour from Washington DC to California. Roosevelt will ride in the cab of the locomotive taking his train around Horseshoe Curve.
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April 1, 1906 The Manufacturers’ Junction, owned by Western Electric and running in Cicero IL, begins operations.
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April 1, 1911 The Long Island Railroad begins using a battery car on its Bushwick Branch.
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April 1, 1917 Hell Gate Bridge opens for passenger service.
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April 1, 1923 Construction of the steelwork for Chicago Union Station's headhouse begins.
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April 1, 1925 Last day of the last line (Cleveland & Chagrin Falls) of the Eastern Ohio Traction Company.
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April 1, 1925 The Great Northern, Northern Pacific and the Union Pacific begin pooled passenger service between Seattle WA and Portland OR.
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April 1, 1926 The Pullman Company assumes the operation of Long Island Railroad parlor car service. Nineteen LIRR parlor cars are converted to coaches.
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April 1, 1930 The Pennsylvania Railroad opens a new station at Gary IN.
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April 1, 1933 The Canadian National Radio Department and its network of stations, developed to entertain passengers on long distance runs, is turned over to the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission, and will eventually become the CBC.
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April 1, 1933 The Wabash Railroad discontinues all passenger service on its Chicago-Montpelier OH line, known as its “Fourth District”.
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April 1, 1935 Boston & Maine 6000 is christened "The Flying Yankee" and placed into service three days later.
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April 1, 1937 The Pennsylvania Railroad rejects a proposal from Electro-Motive Corporation made last November for new EA/EB 1,800 HP passenger diesels for the "Blue Ribbon Trains" at $380,000 [2025: $8.5 million] for the twin units. The proposal would cut "Broadway Limited" running time to 15 hours and cut 45 minutes from the "Spirit of St. Louis". PRR rejects the units as too small and non coal-burning. It decides instead to go with General Electric's proposed coal-burning turboelectric locomotive.
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April 1, 1939 General Electric delivers its "Steamotive" steam turbine electric locomotive to the Union Pacific. UP will place it on an exhibition tour promoting the new movie, "Union Pacific".
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April 1, 1947 The Interstate Commerce Commission approves the Chesapeake & Ohio/Pere Marquette merger.
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April 1, 1947 The 20th Century Limited is carded at 15 ? hours between Chicago and New York.
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April 1, 1949 With the entry of Newfoundland into the Confederation of Canada, the Newfoundland Railway is transferred to Canadian National Railway.
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April 1, 1949 This month’s issue of “Trains” magazine reports that the Pennsylvania Railroad’s conversion of its Grand Rapids Division to all diesel power, a project began in mid-December 1948, may already be completed. Twenty-three diesels have replaced 37 steam locomotives.
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April 1, 1952 Bulk mail traffic formerly handled by the Long Island Railroad is moved to trucks by the Post Office.
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April 1, 1954 Lionel A.F. Marks, Inc. introduces a line of ride-on HO scale (1:87) electric trains. The venture supposedly fails when it is realized that the average electric motor used in an HO scale locomotive cannot pull the weight of the average model railroader, nor can model railroad layouts support him.
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April 1, 1958 The last Union Ticket Office in New York City closes.?
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April 1, 1960 Class 1 railroads report a total of only 519 steam locomotives on their rosters.
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April 1, 1963 SEPTA is created in Philadelphia after costly strikes against the PTC and the Red Arrow.
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April 1, 1965 Chicago Great Western announces that due to operating losses of more than $300,000 per year ($3 million in 2025), it will be discontinuing its last two passenger trains on April 30. The two trains run between Minneapolis and Omaha.
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April 1, 1966 A Federal ban on running boards goes into effect for box and similar house cars ordered after this date.
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April 1, 1967 The United States Department of Transportation begins operation.
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April 1, 1969 The first ore is loaded at Chicago & North Western’s new dock in Escanaba MI.
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April 1, 1976 Conrail begins operations with the merging of Penn Central, Erie Lackawanna, Central of New Jersey, Lehigh Valley, Lehigh & Hudson River and Reading Railroads.
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April 1, 1976 The Detroit & Mackinac assumes switching duties in Mackinaw City for the car ferry “Chief Wawatam”. It had been switched previously by Penn Central.
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April 1, 1976 The Hillsdale County Railroad begins operations on former Penn Central lines in Hillsdale County MI, with branches to Quincy MI and Stubenville IN.
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April 1, 1978 VIA Rail Canada becomes an independent company, emerging from CN Rail. They also acquire the Turbotrains.
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April 1, 1980 The Rock Island ceases operations. The Chicago & North Western takes over operation of the “Spine Line” and other ex-Rock Island trackage.
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April 1, 2005 Kansas City Southern formally takes controlling interest in the Transportation Ferroviaria Mexicana Railway. This increases the KCS system to over 6,000 miles of line stretching across the Central U.S. and into Mexico.
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Mark Tomlonson
