July 19, 1858 Philadelphia City Councils pass a resolution requiring all streetcar lines to be a non-standard gauge of 5'-2 1/2" to prevent their being used by steam railroads.
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July 19, 1860 First railroad in Kansas begins operations.
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July 19, 1870 The Grand Rapids & Indiana (later PRR, PC) reaches Vicksburg MI as it builds north from Indiana.
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July 19, 1877 Police in Pittsburgh are unable to control striking railroad workers as half the police force has been laid off. The Pennsylvania Railroad hires some of the laid-off officers to try and restore order.
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July 19, 1889 The Texarkana & Northern is reorganized as the Texarkana & Fort Smith Railway Company (later KCS, CN)
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July 19, 1900 The first section of the Paris Metro opens.
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July 19, 1900 The Niagara, St. Catharines & Toronto Railway converts to electric power.
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July 19, 1902 Cable cars end in Cincinnati OH.
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July 19, 1917 The Baltimore & Ohio takes over the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton.
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July 19, 1943 The "Big Inch" pipeline opens between Texas and Pennsylvania, ending the need to ship crude oil by rail to avoid U-Boats.
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July 19, 1944 Pullman, Inc. in response to court order both to divest and to announce its plans, decides to sell the Pullman Company and retain the more lucrative car-building business.
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July 19, 1950 The last passenger train runs on the Ann Arbor between Elberta and Toledo.
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July 19, 1956 Detroit's last PCC car, #185, is sent to Mexico City.
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July 19, 1967 The first four air-conditioned New York City subway cars go into service.
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July 19, 1967 Budd puts its first "Metroliner" car on display.
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July 19, 1974 A gas explosion at the Norfolk &Western yard in Decatur IL kills 7 railroad workers and injures more than 100 other people.
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July 19, 2003 NA Tower at Martinsburg WV closes. As late as 2000 this segment of former Baltimore & Ohio railroad had four interlocking towers spaced an average of six miles apart.
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Mark Tomlonson
