January 8, 1855 The first through train runs from Chicago to Cairo, IL.
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January 8, 1855 A mob in Erie, PA tears up the tracks of the Erie & North Eastern, the last battle in the "Gauge War".
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January 8, 1863 Ground is broken for the Central Pacific Railroad in Sacramento.
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January 8, 1872 James Fisk of the Erie Railway is shot and mortally wounded by Edward Stokes, a blackmailer and rival in a love triangle.
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January 8, 1902 Two trains collide in a smoke-filled tunnel under Park Avenue in New York City, killing 17 and injuring 38. Public outcry following the accident will lead to the banning of steam engines in lower Manhattan and the building of Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station.
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January 8, 1923 The van Sweringens acquire the Chesapeake & Ohio.
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January 8, 1937 The Beech Grove (IN) Traction Company shuts down at 1:00 a.m. Its electric supplier, Indianapolis Railways, terminates electric service due to Beech Grove Traction owing almost $30,000 ($536,000 in 2019 dollars). It has been rumored that employee's pay consisted partly of BGT trolley tokens.
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January 8, 1954 The Sunset Limited becomes the first train to use the new New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal.
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January 8, 1956 Steam locomotive servicing at New York Central's Jackson MI shops officially ends.
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January 8, 1957 The New Haven's "Dan'l Webster", a "Train X' built by Pullman-Standard, makes its first public appearance. During the run the trailing unit catches fire due to a problem with a third rail shoe. When the damaged cars are towed home they derail, blocking the tracks and delaying rush hour trains.
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January 8, 1962 In the worst railway accident in the history of the Netherlands, the driver of one passenger train misses a signal and collides nearly head on with another. The accident, which kills 91 people, takes places just outside Harmelen.
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January 8, 1962 The Interstate Commerce Commission begins hearings on the "Big John" grain rate case. The American Watercraft Operators et al. have protested the Southern Railway's proposed discounts for bulk shipments of grain. The ICC will sit in almost continuous session through August 29 to hear the case. It will be resolved with a ruling in favor of the railroad by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1967. The decision is the first chink in the armor of regulated railroad freight rates.
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January 8, 1973 Pipe Major Gordon Speirs is asked to restrict his bagpipe playing in Liverpool Street Station, London to just one minute in fifteen. Hired by the Scottish Tourist Board, his playing is alleged to ¡°interfere with station business¡±.
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January 9, 1830 Ground is broken in Charleston, South Carolina for the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road (later SRR, NS). It will be the first railroad in South Carolina to use steam locomotives. In 1833 its 136-mile length will earn it the title of world's longest railroad.
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January 9, 1850 A freight train crew on the Pennsylvania Railroad that had earlier run into the rear of a passenger train is disciplined. It is the first mention of a wreck on the PRR.
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January 9, 1882 The first train from Cincinnati OH to Dayton on the Cincinnati Northern (narrow gauge, not the later NYC ancestor) leaves Cincinnati. It will not arrive in Dayton, however, until January 12th due to poor track work.
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January 9, 1882 The re-opened Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad, now owned by Jay Gould and converted to standard gauge, opens between Huron and Massillon OH.
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January 9, 1891The Ann Arbor & Ypsilanti Street Railway begins service using a small steam car. A trial run had been made on January 3.
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January 9, 1897 Today¡¯s ¡°Literary Digest¡± carries an article on the Fitchburg MA trolley system, which has fitted a former flatcar with traction motors, armor plate, two 6 pound (3 ? inch) cannons and one 18 pound (5 1/8 inch) cannon. The car¡¯s designers christen it ¡°The McKinley¡±, style it like a battleship, and hope that it will aid the navy in coastal defense against the Spanish fleet. Other than providing a campaign float for William McKinley¡¯s Presidential bid, it never sees service.
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January 9, 1955 The departure of the 20th Century Limited from New York is broadcast live on the Television show "Omnibus".
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January 9, 1969 The Canadian National pulls the Turbotrain from service due to problems operating in winter conditions.
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January 10, 1863 London's first subway begins operation, powered by steam. Parts of the line have been built in cuts and many ventilators are installed in the covered portions, yet it will remain very smoky until electric propulsion is adopted.
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January 10, 1864 The Indiana Central Railway, the Richmond & Covington Railroad and the Columbus & Indianapolis Railroad sign an agreement for the joint operation of their properties. This forms a railroad line between Columbus and Indianapolis via Bradford, OH, and Richmond, IN. The new line, later part of the Pennsylvania Railroad will be known as the "Great Central Line".
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January 10, 1872 Michigan's first Grange, a political and social group directed to the needs of farmers, is organized. By 1875, 600 local Granges will form throughout Michigan. The Grange movement will become one of the leading lobbyists for railroad rate regulation.
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January 10, 1872 The first Pennsylvania Railroad coal car runs over the Northern Pacific Railroad from Duluth to Moorhead, MN. The car has been carried by ship from Erie PA.
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January 10, 1878 The New York Central & Hudson River Railroad begins running RPO's to Chicago, replacing all-mail trains.
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January 10, 1900 A carbarn fire destroys all 10 streetcars and a snowplow owned by the Holland & Lake Michigan Railway.
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January 10, 1940 Streetcar service ends in Wausau WI.
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January 10, 1953 The last trolley line in Indianapolis, the College line, is converted to bus, ending rail service.
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January 10, 1956 The Chicago Indianapolis & Louisville officially becomes the Monon.
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Mark Tomlonson
