January 4, 1875 The Prince Edward Island Railway opens between Summerside and Tignish.
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January 4, 1877 Commodore Vanderbilt dies at his home at the age of 82. He leaves the bulk of his estate and control of the Vanderbilt Lines to his son, William Henry.
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January 4, 1891 The Southern Railroad inaugurates its "Washington and Southwestern Vestibule Limited", an ancestor of the "Crescent Limited".
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January 4, 1901 Union Traction Company opens its Anderson-Indianapolis line.
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January 4, 1915 The "Dixie Flyer", running between Chicago and Florida on a C&EI/L&N route receives all-new steel cars.
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January 4, 1920 Ottawa Central Station (Ontario) is renamed Ottawa Union Station.
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January 4, 1932 The Indiana Railroad (interurban) abandons its main line between Indianapolis and Dunreith branch.
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January 4, 1952 The Chesapeake & Ohio carferry "Spartan" is launched.
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January 4, 1962 New York City installs the first automated subway train.
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January 4, 1963 The Baltimore & Ohio ends passenger service to Cleveland.
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January 4, 1965 In his State of the Union address, President Johnson calls for funds to study high-speed rail service in the Northeast Corridor.
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January 4, 1969 The Port Authority Transit Corporation of Pennsylvania and New Jersey (PATCO) begins operations between Broadway, Camden and Lindenwood NJ.
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January 4, 1970 The "Lake Cities" makes its last run between Chicago and Hoboken, ending long-distance passenger service on the Erie-Lackawanna. The train will arrive at its end terminals tomorrow morning.
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January 4, 1987 Conrail engines running light run through a signal and collide with an Amtrak train at Gunpow Interlocking on the Northeast Corridor, killing 16. Ricky Gates, the Conrail engineer was found to be using marijuana and watching TV at the time of the accident. The incident will lead directly to licensing and drug testing of locomotive engineers.
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January 4, 1990 An overcrowded 16-car passenger train strikes a standing freight train in Sindh Province, Pakistan, killing 307 and injuring an estimated 700 people.
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Mark Tomlonson
