April 4, 1839 Alarmed by the fact that steamboats and railroads provide quick and superior escape routes for runaway slaves, the Maryland Legislature prohibits any slave from traveling on a steamboat or train unless in company of a master or with a signed pass.
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April 4, 1875 Following the North Carolina Railroad's change to 60" gauge despite a state prohibition, Pullman establishes a through sleeper on the Piedmont Air Line between Richmond and New Orleans.
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April 4, 1892 The 5/8-mile long Ellwood Connecting Railroad (later P&LE, NYC) is chartered.
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April 4, 1902 The Grand Rapids & Indiana agrees to operate the Traverse City, Leelanau & Manistique Railroad.
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April 4, 1909 The Kensington & Eastern Railroad, built and owned by the Illinois Central is leased to the Chicago, Lake Shore & South Bend (interurban) which today extends its service from Hammond IN through to Kensington IL and then into Chicago over the IC.
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April 4, 1910 An amendment to the Safety Appliance Act requires freight cars to be equipped with ladders, handholds and running boards.
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April 4, 1927 The first 14-single-room sleepers are placed into service, on the Pennsylvania Railroad. The cars, running between New York and Washington, offer greater privacy than the traditional berths.
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April 4, 1935 The Pennsylvania Railroad tests EMC's new "NC" 900-horsepower switcher. PRR declines to purchase any, saying the locomotive is "too light".
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April 4, 1936 Electric streetcar service ends in Flint MI.
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April 4, 1942 The Nickel Plate's "Commercial Traveler" quits, ending passenger service on the road's "East End".
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April 4, 1953 The Pennsylvania Railroad tests a Lima LS-25m on Madison Hill. The engine is equipped with dynamic brakes and a pressure-maintaining valve.
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April 4, 1960 The New Jersey State Legislature authorizes a $6 million subsidy [2025: $64.9 million] for commuter service.
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April 4, 1976 The first F40PH, number 200, begins service on Amtrak. At the end of its service life the locomotive will be rebuilt into a cab-control car.
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April 4, 2005 Greenbriar Equity Group LLC and Berkshire Partners LLC announce the completion of the acquisition of Electro-Motive Division from General Motors. The company is officially renamed Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc. (EMD).
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April 4, 2005 Tokyo introduces women-only cars in crowded rush hour trains in a bid to prevent groping by male passengers using the cover of the crowd.
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April 5, 1862 The Jamestown & Franklin Railroad (OH, PA - later CP&A, LS&MS, NYC&HR, NYC) is chartered.
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April 5, 1877 The Boston & Maine acquires the Vermont Railroad.
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April 5, 1903 The Pennsylvania Railroad closes four stations in Philadelphia due to a drop in the short-haul market that has been taken over by trolleys.
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April 5, 1910 By some accounts, the French Legislature passes a law banning kissing in railway stations. The purpose of the law was to keep parting couples from delaying the trains. In 2009, however, it was reported that this "law" may actually be an urban legend.
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April 5, 1920 A Pere Marquette ferry becomes stuck in the ice off Pt. Sauble after leaving Ludington and eleven passengers try to walk to shore. Suddenly the ice flow breaks up, and the winds carry the piece holding the group out into Lake Michigan. Hundreds of spectators line the shore and watch as the Coast Guard, with great difficulty, rescues the group.
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April 5, 1920 St. Paul (MN) Union Station is opened.
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April 5, 1964 The first driverless trains run on the London Underground.
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April 5, 1965 Police begin riding New York's subway system from 8:00 P.M. to 4:00 A.M. due to fears of rising subway crimes. The program ends ten years later, on April 5, 1975, due to the city's fiscal crisis.
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April 5, 1982 Michigan Interstate ends operation of the former Ann Arbor north of the city of Ann Arbor. Operation will briefly resume at a later date.
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April 5, 1995 CN North America opens the new St. Clair Tunnel. Improvements made in the design of the new tunnel allow double-stack trains to cross under the St. Clair river for the first time.
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April 5, 2016 San Francisco television station KCBS reports that BART is relying heavily on e-bay to source electrical and computer components to keep its aging equipment in service. New equipment is expected to arrive in the fall.
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April 6, 1858 The Galena & Chicago Union (later C&NW) signs a contract for the first sleeping cars to operate west of Chicago.
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April 6, 1869 The Lake Shore & Michigan Southern is formed by the combination of the Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana Railroad and the Lake Shore Railway.
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April 6, 1930 Streetcars end in Appleton WI.
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April 6, 1942 "The Jacksonian", operated jointly by the Pennsylvania, Louisville & Nashville, Atlantic Coast Line and Florida East Coast railroads, leaves Miami for Chicago on its last trip of the season. It is also the last all-Pullman train between the Midwest and Florida.
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April 6, 1956 The East Broad Top Railroad, a three-foot gauge carrier in Pennsylvania, quits after more than 100 years of service. It is the last narrow-gauge railroad east of the Mississippi.
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April 6, 1962 The State of New York amends its constitution to allow the state to guarantee bonds for the purchase of new commuter equipment on the New York Central, Long Island and New Haven railroads.
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Mark Tomlonson
