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March 3, 1831 George M. Pullman is born in New York.

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March 3, 1834 Cleveland sees its first railroad: the Cleveland & Newburg Railroad is chartered to serve quarries. It is horse operated with wooden track without iron strapping.

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March 3, 1842 The Pittsfield & North Adams Railroad (Later WRR, B&A, NYC) is chartered in Massachusetts to build between its namesake cities.

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March 3, 1851 The Northern Indiana Railroad (later LS&MS) is chartered in Ohio to create a better route into Chicago for the Michigan Southern and associated companies.

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March 3, 1853 Congress authorizes a survey for a trans-continental railroad.

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March 3, 1863 Congress authorizes a land grant for the Atchison & Topeka Railway (later AT&SF). The grant requires that the line be completed and operation between Atchison and the Kansas/Colorado line by March 3, 1873.

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March 3, 1871 An Act of Congress incorporates the Texas Pacific Railroad Company to build from Texas to San Diego.

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March 3, 1921 President-Elect Harding travels to Washington DC from his home in Marion OH. East of Harrisburg PA the train makes the run in one-half hour less than the fastest schedule between Harrisburg and Washington.

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March 3, 1938 The “Mallard”, which will later set the steam speed record, is built in LNER’s Doncaster Works.

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March 3, 1944 A double-headed mixed train in southern Italy near Balvano stalls in a tunnel. Carbon monoxide poisoning kills 521 people. Five people survive. One hundred ninety-three who carried no identification, most of them black marketers, are buried in a mass grave at the site.

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March 3, 1947 The Baltimore & Ohio begins its "Sentinel" freight service, offering guaranteed delivery of fast freight between major cities.

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March 3, 1949 American Car & Foundry tests the new Spanish "Talgo Train" at Berwick PA. It will later be tested on the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western.

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March 3, 1955 The Pennsylvania Railroad runs its first "TrucTrain" TOFC train from Chicago to Kearny, NJ. It is the first time the Pennsylvania has carried trailers of common-carrier trucking companies on its flatcars.

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March 3, 1966 For the first time GG-1's are retired by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Numbers 4804, 4831 and 4847 leave the fleet. 4804 has cracks in the running gear, a problem that will plague other GG-1's.

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March 3, 1997 Union Pacific opens the former Western Pacific line through Feather River Canyon after repair of the damage from January flooding is completed.

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Mark Tomlonson

February 28, 1952 The Pennsylvania Railroad announced plans to abandon the Whitemarsh branch from Fort Washington to the Chestnut Hill branch connection between Allens Lane and St. Martin's because of low ridership despite the buildup of new territory in Cedarbrook. The start of PTC bus route X, the re-equipping of trolley routes 6 and 23 with new PCC cars, the restructuring of bus routes H, H-1, and S, and the start of new bus route XH, which all connected with the Reading Railroad's Chestnut Hill branch have cut into the PRR's ridership.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? February 28, 1953 Boston's first PCC car 3001, the only one built by St. Louis Car Company and known as the Queen Mary, was scrapped at Everett Shops because of a lack of a center-door on the left side and other non-standard features. It was built with Brooklyn's PCC cars.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? March 1, 1955 National City Lines took over Philadelphia Transportation Company and named Douglas H. Pratt, president of Baltimore Transportation Company, as new president.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? March 1, 1964 Port Authority of Allegheny County Transportation took over Pittsburgh Railways and the city's 31 independent bus companies.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Dennis M Linsky?

February 28, 1815 George Stephenson receives a Patent for his second steam locomotive, an improved version of the principles worked out in the "Blusher" last July.

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February 28, 1827 The Baltimore & Ohio, America's first passenger railroad is chartered.

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February 28, 1847 Maine Governor Joshua L. Chamberlain signs the charter of the Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railroad. Despite never getting as far as Moosehead Lake, the 33-mile railroad will remain in continuous operation through 2009.

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February 28, 1852 Because of a gap in the Pennsylvania Railroad, over 440 passengers stay each night at the Hollidaysburg Inn. Five hundred wagons and 2,600 horses are used to ferry passengers and freight across the gap.

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February 28, 1866 The Canada Southern Railway is incorporated in Canada from the Erie & Niagara Extension Railway.

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February 28, 1871 The Chicago & Michigan Lake Shore Railroad (later PM, C&O, CSX) reaches Grand Junction MI.

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February 28, 1903 President Theodore Roosevelt signs legislation authorizing a single, Union Station in Washington DC rather than two stations, for the Baltimore & Ohio and Pennsylvania Railroads.

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February 28, 1906 A gas-electric railcar built by Strang, the "Ogerita", leaves Weehawken Terminal bound for San Francisco. The car, which includes a back-up battery and can make 48 mph, has been testing on various Pennsylvania Railroad branch lines.

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February 28, 1908 First test run through Grand Trunk's St. Clair tunnel using electric locomotives.

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February 28, 1920 The Transportation Act is passed, allowing the ICC to set intrastate rates in some cases and forming the Railway Labor Board. It also sets a date for the end of USRA control.

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February 28, 1931 The Cleveland Southwestern & Columbus Railway (interurban) quits.

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February 28, 1931 The Detroit, Toledo & Ironton is sold to Pennroad Corporation (PRR subsidiary) and the Wabash Railroad.

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February 28, 1947 The Illinois Central withdraws the “Green Diamond” trainset from service between Chicago and St. Louis.

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February 28, 1979 Last day for a freight agent on the Wabash Railroad at Topeka IN.

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February 28, 1986 The last official move is made at Canadian National's Spadina Roundhouse in Toronto. The facility will later be demolished to make room for the Skydome.

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February 28, 2022 The last passenger-carrying South Shore train runs on 11^th Street in Michigan City IN. The new alignment has no street running and is double-tracked.

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March 1, 1833 A meeting of cab owners and drivers is held at Tammany Hall to protest the occupation of streets by the New York & Harlem Railroad. At the end of the meeting the crowd spills out of the hall and tears up a piece of track.

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March 1, 1837 The Long Island Railroad opens between Jamaica and Hicksville NY.

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March 1, 1852 The Buffalo & State Line Railroad (later NYC) is completed between Buffalo and the PA/OH state line. Because of Pennsylvania Law, it is built to a 56.5" gauge between Buffalo and the NY/PA state line, 60" between the state line and Erie, and 58" between Erie and the Ohio line. (Some sources say Feb. 22.)

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March 1, 1869 First train into Grand Rapids MI on the Kalamazoo, Allegan & Grand Rapids Railroad (later LS&MS, NYC, PC).

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March 1, 1876 The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe reaches Pueblo CO.

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March 1, 1877 The U.S. Supreme Court upholds the regulation of railroads.

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March 1, 1881 A passenger train wrecks near Macon MO on the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad (later CB&Q, BNSF) killing 40. Nine more persons are killed when the wreck train crashes on its way to the accident.

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March 1, 1884 The Norwood & Montreal Railroad (later RW&O, NYC, PC, CR, CSX) is organized.

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March 1, 1888 The Lartigue Railway Construction Company opens a 14.5-kilometer steel-railed monorail. It links the town of Ballybunion, on the west coast of Ireland, with the market town of Listowel. The only passenger-carrying monorail in the British Isles for many years, it will run until 1924 when operational costs and road transport will force it out of business.

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March 1, 1893 The New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad leases the Old Colony Railroad.

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March 1, 1898 The "Maritime Express" between Montreal and Halifax begins service on the Intercolonial Railway. Later, Canadian National will operate the train.

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March 1, 1901 The Elberfeld-Barmen Suspension Railway, also known as the Wuppertal Schwebebahn, a monorail system with the cars suspended below the rail, opens in Elberfeld Germany.

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March 1, 1899 The St. Joseph, South Bend & Southern Railroad (later MC) begins operations on the former tracks of the Indiana & Lake Michigan in southwest lower Michigan and north-central Indiana.

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March 1, 1907 The Terre Haute, Indianapolis & Eastern, one of the largest but ultimately one of weakest interurbans in the Midwest, is formed from several predecessor companies.

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March 1, 1907 Sometime this month (date undetermined) the Pennsylvania Railroad will issue a rule that all passenger stations must be equipped with cats for rodent control.

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March 1, 1909 The Pennsylvania Railroad names its new New York Terminal "Pennsylvania Station".

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March 1, 1910 An avalanche sweeps away 2 Great Northern passenger trains that have been snow-bound near Wellington WA since February 23. Ninety-six people are killed, the last body not recovered until July. It's the worst snowslide accident in U.S. history and the worst natural disaster in Washington State.

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March 1, 1911 Grand Trunk begins operating the Oshawa Railway in Oshawa ON. Next year it will purchase the line.

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March 1, 1912 The Pennsylvania Company assumes control of the 3-foot gauge Ohio River & Western.

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March 1, 1913 The Federal Valuation Act takes effect, authorizing the Interstate Commerce Commission to set a value on the nation's railroads for rate-making purposes. In future years these Valuation Reports will be excellent tools for railroad historians.

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March 1, 1914 The Grand Rapids & Indiana ends its operation of the Traverse City, Leelanau & Manistique Railroad between Traverse City and Northport MI.

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March 1, 1920 USRA control of railroads ends.

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March 1, 1920 The Pennsylvania Railroad ends its Lines East/Lines West structure and forms instead four regions. It also takes this opportunity to restructure most of the corporation.

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March 1, 1924 The Pennsylvania & Ohio Electric Railway (Conneaut to Ashtabula, 14 miles) quits.

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March 1, 1925 The Chesapeake & Ohio moves from Dearborn Station to Central Station in Chicago.

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March 1, 1929 Sixty-nine railroads buy the American Railway Express Company and rename it Railway Express Agency.

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March 1, 1933 The Pennsylvania Railroad imposes an unpaid furlough of six days per month to spread work among its remaining employees. In addition, the PRR cancels some long-distance trains due to lack of business following the closing of many banks throughout the Midwest.

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March 1, 1934 The former Mansfield (OH) Railway Light & Power Company's interurban route is abandoned by the Ohio Public Service Company. The city lines will soldier on for another three years.

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March 1, 1938 In this month’s issue, Railroad magazine reports that two retired Terre Haute, Indianapolis & Eastern interurban cars are being used as part of a dance hall in Alexandria IN.

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March 1, 1948 The Pennsylvania Railroad places their take on a recreation car on display. Designed by Raymond Loewy, the car includes a children's playroom, newsreel theatre, pinball game, and a lounge with zebra-hide chairs.

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March 1, 1951 The USO Lounge at Chicago Union Station, which has been closed since 1947, reopens for Korean War traffic.

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March 1, 1955 Peter Zars earns the distinction of being the first person born aboard the California Zephyr.

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March 1, 1955 The Pennsylvania Railroad builds a new TOFC facility at Cincinnati. The new yard will handle Chicago-Cincinnati and New York-Cincinnati traffic.

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March 1, 1977 Turboliners take over the full run of Amtrak's "Adirondack" ending the service of the rebuilt Alco PA-4's and dome cars.

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March 1, 2005 A new international freight train departs Hohhot, China. It will arrive in Duisburg, Germany near Frankfurt, having traveled over 8,000 miles across 6 countries in 15 days: China, Mongolia, Russia, Belarus, Poland and Germany. The train will operate twice monthly.

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March 1, 2011 The first Metro-North M-8 cars enter service.

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March 2, 1831 An Act of Congress authorizes the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad to extend a branch into the District of Columbia.

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March 2, 1836 In the earliest "cornfield meet" for a which a full date was recorded, a passenger and freight on the Camden & Amboy Railroad meet head on near Burlington NJ. The engines crews leap to safety and no one is injured.

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March 2, 1863 Congress adopts a track gauge of 4' 8 ?" for the Union Pacific Railroad over the objections of ex-Illinois Central attorney and President Abraham Lincoln. President Lincoln had lobbied for a 5' gauge, but the narrower, "Stephenson" gauge is adopted to make the railroad less useful to the 5' gauge railroads of the Confederacy. This action will lead indirectly to the gauge being adopted as standard throughout North America.

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March 2, 1866 The Hudson River Railroad and the New York & Harlem Railroad begin operating into Albany.

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March 2, 1893 The United States Safety Appliance Act is signed into law, mandating that all cars in interchange service be equipped with air brakes, automatic couplers and grab irons.

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March 2, 1902 The first segment of the James Bay RR (later Canadian Northern, Canadian National) is opened between Parry Sound ON and Canada Atlantic Junction, 3.7 miles.

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March 2, 1902 The Pennsylvania Railroad begins overnight sleeper service between Chicago and Muncie, IN.

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March 2, 1913 The New York Central’s electrification project reaches Croton, NY.

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March 2, 1925 To aid automobile and truck drivers, the Joint Board of State & Federal Highway Officials establishes a numbering system for Federally-supported highways.

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March 2, 1931 The Chesapeake & Ohio opens a new Greenbrier Hotel at White Sulphur Springs WV.

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March 2, 1936 Pennsylvania Railroad K-4s #3768 receives a streamlined tender to match its Raymond Loewy designed shroud applied a week and a half earlier. The locomotive, nicknamed "The Torpedo" by crews, begins an exhibition tour.

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March 2, 1939 The Great Northern receives its first EMD diesel.

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March 2, 1950 The Nickel Plate runs its first diesel-powered mainline freight, as two yard switchers are pressed into service to handle a train from Peru to Michigan City IN.

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March 2, 1958 The last local trolley line to operate in the state of Wisconsin, Milwaukee's #10 (Wells) line, is converted to diesel bus operation.

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March 2, 1958 The Baltimore & Ohio Introduces Budd "Slumbercoaches" on its Baltimore-Chicago "Columbian".

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March 2, 1970 Great Northern, Northern Pacific, and Spokane, Portland & Seattle merge to form the Burlington Northern. (later BNSF) (Some sources say March 3)

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March 2, 2024 A Norfolk Southern trains derails in Lower Saucon Township PA in the Lehigh Valley. The first train is subsequently struck by two other NS trains. There were no injuries and no chemical spills.

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Mark Tomlonson

February 27, 1832 Baltimore coachbuilder Richard Imlay displays three railroad passenger cars in Monument Square, including one that will seat 50.

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February 27, 1837 Illinois passes an "Internal Improvements" Act.

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February 27, 1847 The Alton & Sangamon Railroad (later C&A, GM&O, ICG, UP) is chartered in Illinois to connect the towns of Alton and Springfield.

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February 27, 1860 The Central Railroad of New Jersey displays two new Woodruff sleepers designed for New York-Pittsburgh service.

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February 27, 1865 The Pennsylvania Legislature establishes a railroad police force. While railroads have employed security personnel previously, this is the first time they are given official police powers.

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February 27, 1886 The New Jersey Junction Railroad (later NYC&HR, NYC) is incorporated.

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February 27, 1912 The Pacific Great Eastern Railway (later BCR, CN) is incorporated to build a line from Vancouver north to a connection with the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway at Prince George BC.

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February 27, 1917 The Milwaukee Railroad completes the electrification of its line from Harlowton, Montana, to Avery, Idaho, 440 miles.

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February 27, 1917 The Pennsylvania-Detroit Railroad Company is incorporated to extend the PRR into Detroit. This will let PRR tap the growing finished automobile market.

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February 27, 1921 The Pennsylvania Railroad creates a private telephone system on its Paoli Line to keep station agents informed of train delays, etc. The information is then posted at the station.

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February 27, 1921 Michigan Central and New York Central passenger trains collide at Porter IN when the engineer of the Michigan Central train misunderstands the fireman’s call of the home signal indication. The engineer’s view of the signal was obscured by the smoke of a standing freight train. Thirty-seven are killed.

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February 27, 1942 The Pennsylvania Railroad's Altoona Shops complete an experimental troop sleeper based on an X38 automobile box car.

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February 27, 1965 The Buffalo Creek & Gauley shuts down after 61 years of operation in West Virginia, having never operated a diesel locomotive. It will run again for a short time in the 1970's with diesels.

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February 27, 2000 Two Santa Fe Alco PA diesels arrive in Oregon from Mexico for restoration. The units are little more than hulks.

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February 27, 2002 In Godhra, northwest India, a train carrying mostly Hindus catches fire. Sixty people are killed. Although the cause of the fire is eventually traced to a fault in a coach, early reports say the fire was caused by radical Muslims dousing the train with gasoline and lighting it. This false allegation triggers religious riots in which nearly 1,000 people are killed.

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February 27, 2023 The Long Island Railroad begins running trains into Grand Central Madison, their new station located under Grand Central Terminal. Up to 24 trains per hour are scheduled into the station.

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Mark Tomlonson

February 26, 1951 It was the Richmond Hill trolley line that was converted to bus operation, ending trolley service in Queens. Now the Q-55 bus.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? February 26, 1953 The Pennsylvania Railroad's Chinese Wall on Market Street west of 15th in Philadelphia was demolished. The Broad Street Station came down 2 months later.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? February 26, 1956 North Philadelphia trolley routes 8 and 39, the 2 Dauphin Street and Susquehanna Avenue routes each with a branch east of Front Street, were converted to bus operation, ending trolley service between Girard and Allegheny Avenues west of 18th Street and east of 5th Street. Both routes returned to Allegheny Depot, ending the short restoration of Ridge Depot as an active car barn with the plain 8000-seeies from both routes and also route 3 were left there and the barn was partially boarded up with the scrap tracks at Southern Depot being converted to house buses.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? February 26, 1976 To replace NYCTA R-1/9 subway cars on the BMT Eastern Division which were out of service, cars 1372-1409 were transferred from the IND Queens Boulevard lines to the BMT Eastern Division.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Dennis M Linsky

February 26, 1851 The first Milwaukee Road predecessor, the Milwaukee & Mississippi Railroad runs its first train: from Milwaukee to Waukesha, WI. (some sources say February 25).

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February 26, 1870 The experimental air-driven Beach Pneumatic Transit opens for public demonstrations over a one-block route in New York City. The next subway will not open for another 34 years as the city builds elevated railroads for mass transit.

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February 26, 1908 The Hudson & Manhattan "Tubes" open for service between 19th Street and Hoboken.

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February 26, 1928 Moffat Tunnel opens.

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February 26, 1950 The new streamlined Wabash "Blue Bird" is christened.

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February 26, 1951 Trolley service ends in Queens, NY.

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February 26, 1956 Pennsylvania Railroad's Aerotrain is placed in demonstration service between New York and Pittsburgh. Its seven hour, 30 minute schedule is the fastest ever between the two cities.

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February 26, 1973 The Chessie System Inc. Is formed from the Baltimore & Ohio, Chesapeake & Ohio and Western Maryland railroads.

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February 26, 1979 Amtrak "Superliner" cars begin operation.

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February 26, 2005 Charlotte NC breaks ground for a new light-rail line.

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February 26, 2017 Dolton Tower (IL) is closed. It was the last ex-Pennsylvania Railroad tower still active in the Chicago area.

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February 26, 2021 A filing by CSX to take over Pan Am Railways is made public. The proposed takeover would create a new company, CSX will own half of the company, Genessee & Wyoming the other half to preserve Norfolk Southern’s existing trackage rights in New England.

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Mark Tomlonson

February 25, 1834 Formation date of the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac.

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February 25, 1848 Future railroad magnate E.H. Harriman is born.

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February 25, 1848 Incorporation papers are filed for the Bellefontaine & Indianapolis Railroad. (later NYC)

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February 25, 1854 Grand Junction Railroad & Depot Company is merged the Union Railroad (later B&A).

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February 25, 1876 The Board of the six-foot gauge Erie Railroad ratifies a contract to lay a third rail on its line between Waverly NY and Buffalo/Suspension Bridge for the use of the standard-gauge Lehigh Valley Railroad.

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February 25, 1880 The Terminal Railroad of St. Louis is incorporated.

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February 25, 1893 Horsecar service ends in Kalamazoo MI. Streetcars will begin running in June.

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February 25, 1902 The 2-mile long Fulton Chain Railroad, notable for its initial operation with wooden rails, is reorganized as the Fulton Chain Railway, operated by the New York Central.

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February 25, 1941 Baltimore & Ohio EA #56 and EB #56X complete 365 trips on the "Capitol Limited", running over 280,000 miles with 100% availability.

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February 25, 1947 A passenger train on the Hachiko line in Japan enters a curve at excessive speed. The derailment kills 184 and injures 495.

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February 25, 1951 Service begins on the Chicago El’s Milwaukee-Dearborn Subway.

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February 25, 2003 CSX announces it is moving its headquarters from Richmond VA to Jacksonville FL.

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February 25, 2016 Following a 4.2 million Pound (2025: $7.31 million) makeover, the “Flying Scotsman” locomotive returns under steam to its home in York at the National Railway Museum.

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Mark Tomlonson

February 24, 1957 Baltimore bus route 9 (Ellicott City), which was a scenic trolley route until 1955, was abandoned.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? February 24, 1957 Philadelphia bus route R (Frankford-Roxborough) was transferred from Luzerne to Frankford Depot in preparation for the anticipated closure of the Cumberland garage. If and when Cumberland closes, route C will be divided between Luzerne and Southern Depots, routes 7 and 54 will relocate to Allegheny Depot, and bus routes H and XH will relocate from Allegheny to Germantown Depot.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Dennis M Linsky

February 24, 1812 John Stevens issues the first publication in the United States to advocate steam rail roads. He suggests a rail road built on posts three to six feet off the ground over a canal.

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February 24, 1846 Congress is asked to fund a land grant to build a rail road from Lake Michigan to Oregon.

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February 24, 1853 Missouri passes a law requiring all railroads in the state to use a gauge of 5 feet 3 inches.

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February 24, 1865 The Jackson, Lansing & Saginaw Railroad (later MC, NYC, PC, CR, NS, A&B) receives its charter.

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February 24, 1875 The Pennsylvania Railroad YMCA is organized at Altoona. Railroad YMCA's will provide cheap and safe accommodations for crew layovers across the United States.

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February 24, 1879 The Pittsburgh & Lake Erie opens for passenger service between Pittsburgh and Youngstown.

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February 24, 1888 The Grand Trunk Railway acquires the Northern & Northwestern Railway.

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February 24, 1893 The Lake Superior & Ishpeming is formed.

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February 24, 1900 The Cincinnati & Miami Valley Traction Company is consolidated into Southern Ohio Traction

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February 24, 1910 The Cleveland Short Line Railway, a subsidiary of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, opens its first section of track between Rockport and Marcy OH.

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February 24, 1916 The Pennsylvania Railroad makes its first payout under Pennsylvania's new Worker Compensation Law. The widow of a man killed by a locomotive on his way to work will receive $100 in funeral expenses plus $21.48 per month until November 1921. [$2,966.00 and $637.00 respectively in 2024]

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February 24, 1930 The Standard Steel Car Co. is incorporated as a Pullman subsidiary.

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February 24, 1933 The Kankakee & Seneca Railroad, running 42 miles between Kankakee and Seneca IL, is abandoned. It was built as a link between the Rock Island and Big Four railroads.

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February 24, 1955 The Pennsylvania Railroad announces it has purchased a "tubular" train from Budd. It will be known as the "Keystone".

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February 24, 2021 Amtrak tests 110 mph operation between Kalamazoo and Battle Creek MI.

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Mark Tomlonson

February 21, 1804 Richard Trevithick, on a bet, mounts a stationary steam engine on wheels and pulls 10 tons of iron (the amount in the bet) plus 5 wagons and 70 men 16 km (9.75 miles) at an average speed of 5 mph. The engine was heavy enough to break some of the iron plates in the tramway it was running over. Trevithick collected 500 Guineas (2024: $79,000) on the bet. The demonstration also proves that smooth wheels on a smooth iron rail could do useful work, although there were issues with traction. (Some sources put this event on February 13)

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February 21, 1843 Michigan authorizes an extension of the Central (later MC, NYC, PC, CR, NS) and Southern (later MS, MS&NI, LS&MS, NYC, PC, CR, NS) Railroads and the Clinton & Kalamazoo Canal in anticipation of proceeds from an 1841 land grant.

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February 21, 1851 The first train runs between Cleveland and Columbus on the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati Railway. (later CCC&StL, NYC)

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February 21, 1879 The Senate Commerce Committee passes a bill on transporting livestock, sponsored by Senator John R. McPherson. The Bill reads that livestock must not be carried in railroad cars more than 28 hours at a time, but may be carried for 60 hours if fed and watered in cars. (Senator McPherson and his friends have recently obtained patents for devices that allow this.)

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February 21, 1880 The Pennsylvania Railroad begins posting the 1:00 a.m. weather report from the U.S. Signal Office in principal railroad stations.

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February 21, 1883 Five convicts escape form Sing Sing prison using a New York Central & Hudson River Railroad switch engine.

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February 21, 1900 The Chicago Junction, Chicago Rock Island & Pacific, Michigan Central, and Pennsylvania railroads agree to joint operation of the Calumet Western Railroad in Calumet IL.

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February 21, 1900 The City of New York awards Subway Contract No. 1 to build a line from City Hall up 4th Avenue, 42nd Street and Broadway.

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February 21, 1935 The New Haven receives the last of its 50 new lightweight air-conditioned coaches. The new cars have been purchased through the Federal Emergency Administrator of Public Works.

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February 21, 1936 Streamline shrouding designed by Raymond Loewy is applied to Pennsylvania Railroad K-4s Pacific #3768.

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February 21, 1947 General Electric releases its final report on its coal-burning turboelectric locomotive. The units are more expensive to build and operate than comparable diesel-electric locomotives. General Electric scraps its project.

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February 21, 1951 Pullman's experimental "Train X" receives its first over-the-road test. A prototype car is evaluated on tracks between the Pullman-Standard plant in Hammond IN and nearby Griffith.

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February 21, 1954 An SNCF electric train hits 151 mph in tests, setting a world's record.

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February 21, 1954 Since Mississippi does not require advance notice, Gulf Mobile & Ohio terminates the Mississippi portion of their "Little Rebel" trains in mid-run. Passengers are taken by bus and car to their destinations.

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February 21, 1967 The last horse used in Great Britain to switch railroad cars is retired in Newmarket, Suffolk.

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February 21, 1968 The last "Golden State" arrives in Chicago on the Rock Island, on time.

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February 21, 1981 MBTA discontinues passenger service to Rhode Island

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February 21, 1985 The Soo Line acquires the Milwaukee Road. They will operate the line as a subsidiary.

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February 22, 1850 The Columbus & Xenia Railroad (later Little Miami, PCC&StL, PRR, PC, Conrail) is completed between its namesake Ohio cities. It is the first railroad in Ohio to be built with T-Rail (as opposed to strap rail) in its original construction. (Some sources say Feb 21.)

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February 22, 1851 The Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati RR (later Big Four) is completed and service begins between Cleveland and Columbus.

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February 22, 1852 The Buffalo & State Line Railroad (later LS&MS) opens between Buffalo and the NY/PA state line near Erie.

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February 22, 1854 The Chicago & Rock Island Railroad completes its line between Chicago and Rock Island, IL. It is the first railroad to reach the upper Mississippi River.

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February 22, 1855 The first common carrier railroad in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the Iron Mountain Railroad (later DSS&A, SOO, CN, GDLK) is charted.

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February 22, 1856 The first railroad in California, the Sacramento Valley (later Southern Pacific) is opened between Sacramento and Folsom.

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February 22, 1863 Construction begins on the Central Pacific Railroad.

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February 22, 1866 The first railroad bridge over the Hudson between Albany and Greenbush opens, linking the New York Central and the Hudson River Railroads. NYC will begin running through trains between New York and Buffalo, but in summer will still deliver most freight to the river steamers.

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February 22, 1867 The Pullman Palace Car Company is incorporated in Illinois.

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February 22, 1881 The Kankakee & Seneca Railroad is incorporated. Running 49 miles between its two namesake Illinois towns, it is intended to be a link between the Rock Island and CCC&StL railroads? It will run until 1933.

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February 22, 1890 The Peoria & Eastern Railroad is chartered (some sources say February 21). The Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis takes control.

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February 22, 1910 The Interstate Commerce Commission denies a petition filed by several railroads to allow them to increase their shipping rates to cover recent wage increases.

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February 22, 1919 The Pennsylvania Railroad halts work on a new freight yard in West Philadelphia. Laid out in 1914, it is now deemed too short for the longer freights trains created by heavier steam locomotives. Expanding the yard is deemed too difficult.

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February 22, 1920 The Milwaukee Road stages a pushing match (no drawbar could withstand a tug-of-war) between 2-6-6-2 Mallet 9520 and brand new bi-polar electric 10254. The bi-polar wins. A similar contest between two steam engines will be staged in 1930 for the movie "Danger Lights" starring Jean Arthur.

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February 22, 1938 Santa Fe's "El Capitan", offering coaches and “Lunch Counter” food service cars begins weekly Chicago-Los Angeles service.

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February 22, 1960 Canadian Pacific runs its last steam locomotive in regular service as 4-6-2 #76 arrives in Montreal.

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February 22, 2002 A gas cylinder on a stove explodes on a train running between Cairo and Luxor Egypt, killing 383.

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February 22, 2015 The London Daily Mail publishes a story on the “Wonderful World of Trains and Planes” model railroad exhibition in Birmingham, England. One scene in the display includes a train at a German WWII concentration camp. Reaction to the model is mixed, ranging from “a concentration camp is not entertainment” to “history needs to be out where it can be seen”.

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February 23, 1852 The Potsdam & Watertown Railroad (later RW&O, NYC) is chartered.

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February 23, 1855 The Hudson & Boston Railroad (later B&A) acquires the Hudson & Berkshire Railroad at foreclosure sale.

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February 23, 1861 President-elect Lincoln arrives in Washington for his inaugural on the Baltimore & Ohio.

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February 23, 1864 The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania authorizes the Pennsylvania Railroad to tunnel under a house of worship without consent, clearing the way for construction of Grants Hill Tunnel in Pittsburgh.

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February 23, 1892 The Cincinnati, Jackson & Mackinaw becomes the Michigan & Mackinaw Railroad.

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February 23, 1893 Rudolph Diesel receives a patent for his new engine design.

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February 23, 1926 The Pennsylvania Railroad announces it has let a contract for six 2-D-2, 3,730 HP electric passenger locomotives to Westinghouse. The car bodies are to be built at Altoona. The locomotives will see service between Penn Station and Manhattan Transfer.

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February 23, 1938 Opera Star Lily Pons christens the Reading's "Crusader" streamliner. The 5-car train has been in service for several months without a name. "Crusader" was chosen in a contest.

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February 23, 1944 The 100-foot turntable at the Pennsylvania Railroad's Conway Yard is replaced by a 110-foot turntable. The new turntable will accommodate PRR's Duplex locomotives.

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February 23, 1945 The Treuchtlingen railway station in Bavaria is hit by Allied bombers. Over 600 are killed and 1500 injured, Germany’s worst railway disaster.

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February 23, 1947 Great Northern's "Empire Builder" is given new, streamlined equipment.

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February 23, 1956 The Board of the Pennsylvania Railroad authorizes building a new line to serve the Olin-Mathieson aluminum plant in Hannnibal OH. The branch, built on the grade of the unfinished Marietta & Ohio of 100 years earlier, is the last major line built by PRR.

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February 23, 2000 Conrail's Milwaukee Jct. Tower in Detroit is closed.

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February 23, 2024 Kloosterboer International Forwarding and Alaska Reefer Management are fined $9.5 million for violating the Jones Act. Their scheme involved the “Bayside Canadian Railway”. BCR has 100 feet of track and one flatcar and was used to move shipments of fish from Canada to Maine to take advantage of a loophole in the Act.

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Mark Tomlonson

February 20, 1852 The Michigan Southern Railroad via the Northern Indiana & Chicago (later MS&NI, LS&MS, NYC, PC, CR, NS) reaches Chicago. The rush to beat the Michigan Central into Chicago has left a break in Michigan Southern's line between La Porte and Michigan City. Michigan Southern travelers are forced to take a stagecoach between those two cities.

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February 20, 1873 The last rail is laid on the Canada Southern Railway, completing the line from St. Thomas to Ft. Erie, Ont.

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February 20, 1904 Streetcars begin running between Indiana Harbor and East Chicago IN.

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February 20, 1915 The Panama-Pacific Exhibition opens in San Francisco. The Pennsylvania Railroad wins the Grand Prize for the best railroad display. They have brought scale models of Penn Station. Washington Union Station and a 2 miles=1 inch map of the entire PRR system. They are also showing promotional films in two P70 coaches spliced together. Westinghouse contributes to the display with a DD1 locomotive.

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February 20, 1917 The Pennsylvania Company obtains trackage rights over the Wabash at Detroit.

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February 20, 1921 A blizzard hitting the east coast causes transmission lines to fail, halting or delaying electric-powered rail service. Some stranded passengers one-half mile east of Manhattan Transfer burn newspapers, advertising cards and car seats in an attempt to stay warm until help arrives.

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February 20, 1927 The Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railway begins deluxe limited parlor and dining car service between Chicago and South Bend. Fare in the parlor cars is an extra 50 cents, dinner in the diner averages $1.25. ($8.86 and $22.16, respectively in 2024)

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February 20, 1939 The Lehigh Valley introduces its "Asa Packer", a rebuilt heavyweight train that has been "streamstyled". It is in service between Jersey City NJ and Mauch Chunk PA.

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February 20, 1946 Pullman Standard claims (incorrectly) delivery of the first passenger car built after World War II.

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February 20, 1998 The Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern files an application with the Surface Transportation board to build a new line to haul coal in the Powder River Basin.

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February 20, 2002 An overcrowded train en route from Cairo to the southern Egyptian city of Luxor bursts into flames. At least 360 are killed.

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February 20, 2006 The Chicago Transit Authority opens infrastructure improvements on its Brown line, designed to update and increase capacity.

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February 20, 2014 While filming the movie “Midnight Rider” just outside Doctortown GA, a camera assistant is killed while on CSX’s Altamaha River bridge. The movie crew had permission to shoot in the area, but did not have permission to be on CSX tracks.

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February 20, 2023 The head of Renfe, the Spanish rail network, resigns after the discovery that the 31 new passenger trains he ordered at a cost of $275 million do not fit through several tunnels. The trains were slated for the mountainous northern region of Spain between Asturias and Cantabria.

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Mark Tomlonson

February 19, 1918 The Committee on Standard Locomotive and Cars reports to the USRA that its proposed standards of last week will delay construction of equipment due to material shortages. USRA Director William McAdoo ignores the advice and proceeds with standard designs.

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February 19, 1931 The 1927 application to unify the Great Northern, Northern Pacific and the Spokane, Portland & Seattle is withdrawn.

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February 19, 1935 New York Central 4-6-4 #5344 enters service as the first streamlined Hudson.

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February 19, 1978 The musical "On the 20th Century" with Book & Lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and Music by Cy Coleman opens on Broadway. It features sets based on the 1938 Dreyfus-styled New York Central train.

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February 19, 1982 The Chessie System abandons trackage between Manistee and Petoskey via Traverse City, the former Manistee & Northeastern.

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February 19, 1983 Pere Marquette 2-8-4 1225 is moved from the Michigan State University campus to Owosso MI.

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February 19, 2009 The San Joaquin Valley Railroad (CA) is forced to shut down operations when high winds cause dry cow manure to drift across the tracks. The three-foot drifts will later be cleared away by the rancher.

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Mark Tomlonson

February 18, 1947 Philadelphia Transportation Company raised its trolley, trolleybus, and rapid transit fares to 10 cents cash; bus fares remained at 10 cents.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? February 18, 1951 Pittsburgh Railways raised its fares on all vehicles to 15 cents cash.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? February 18, 1951 Chicago trolley route 40 (Lincoln-Wells) was converted to bus operation but route 3 (Lincoln-Indiana) remained rail until March 11 when the Lincoln Avenue portion went bus.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Dennis M Linsky

February 18, 1848 The Cleveland, Painesville & Ashtabula Railroad (later LS, LS&MS) is chartered. It will not begin operations until 1852.

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February 18, 1857 The Galena & Illinois River Railroad (later PCC&StL) is incorporated in Illinois.

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February 18, 1868 The Erie Railway board approves an agreement to obtain a broad-gauge route to Chicago by building a new railroad between Akron and Toledo and having the Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana (later LS&MS, NYC, PC, CR, NS) lay a third rail between Toledo and Chicago.

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February 18, 1871 The Mahoning Coal Railroad (later LS&MS, NYC, PC) is chartered.

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February 18, 1925 The Pennsylvania Railroad announces it has replaced over 1,500 handcars with motorized track cars.

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February 18, 1927 President Coolidge pushes a button activating 124 shots of dynamite, clearing the last rock wall in the construction of Moffat Tunnel.

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February 18, 1930 The Pullman Company buys the Osgood-Bradley Car Company, which has been making trolleys and other transit cars since 1833.

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February 18, 1947 The Pennsylvania Railroad announces its first operating loss, for the year 1946.

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February 18, 1947 The "Red Arrow" derails at Bennington Curve, just west of Horseshoe Curve. Twenty-four are killed as the cars roll down the mountain.

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February 18, 2003 A Korean man, despondent over his failing health, sets fire to a commuter train in Daegu, South Korea. The blaze spreads to a second train arriving at the station. At least 198 people are killed and 147 suffer injuries.

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February 18, 2004 Runaway freight cars carrying fuel and industrial chemicals derail, setting off explosions that destroy five villages in Neyshabur, Iran. Up to 320 people are killed, up to 200 of those being rescue workers.

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Mark Tomlonson

February 17, 1848 The Indianapolis & Bellefontaine Railroad (later NYC) is chartered.

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February 17, 1870 The Pullman Palace Car Company leases Central Transportation Company, retroactive to January 1, 1870 and absorbs its sleeping car fleet. This gives Pullman, formerly confined to some Midwestern roads, an additional 6,000 route-miles.

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February 17, 1871 William J. Pamer announces that the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad will be built to 3-foot gauge.

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February 17, 1872 The President of the Peninsular Railway (later GTW, CNR) writes to the Pennsylvania Company noting that his road is laid from Lansing MI to a point 12 miles west of South Bend. He proposes joining the Pittsburgh, Ft. Wayne & Chicago (later PRR) at Valparaiso for a route to Chicago in exchange for Bonds and a favorable freight rate. His proposal will be declined.

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February 17, 1881 The first train operates between Norwood and Lebanon OH on the Cincinnati Northern Railway (later NYC).

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February 17, 1885 The Southern Pacific Railroad and the Central Pacific Railroad are consolidated into the Southern Pacific Company, a Kentucky corporation.

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February 17, 1911 The Locomotive and Boiler Inspection Act sets regular and mandatory boiler inspections, to be performed by the ICC.

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February 17, 1912 The eastbound “Pennsylvania Limited” wrecks near Ft. Wayne. Four are killed and 10 injured.

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February 17, 1929 The Central Railroad of New Jersey debuts its new “Blue Comet” passenger train at a special showing.

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February 17, 1950 A head-on collision between two Long Island commuter trains at Rockville Center results in 32 deaths.

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February 17, 1961 An application to create the Burlington Northern Railroad is filed with the ICC.

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February 17, 2003 Heavy snow causes the roof of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum in Baltimore to collapse, damaging several exhibits.

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Mark Tomlonson

February 14, 1963 Philadelphia Transportation Company raised its cash fares to 25 cents; transfers were free.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? February 14, 1964 A huge dynamite explosion wrecked a 96-car freight train in Florida.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? February 15, 1953 As a result of the closure of trolley service in Kansas City, Kansas, the 5th and Richmond car barn was converted to a bus garage.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? February 16, 1957 Chicago PCC route 36 (Broadway) was converted to bus operation, ending trolley service on State Street and leaving route 22 (Clark-Wentworth) as Chicago's only remaining trolley route.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Dennis M Linsky?

February 14, 1834 King Ludwig I of Bavaria approves the first railroad in Germany.

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February 14, 1842 Author Charles Dickens arrives in New York, after traveling from Boston via railroad and steamship.

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February 14, 1857 The State of Michigan awards a federal land grant between Grand Rapids and Little Traverse Bay to the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad.

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February 14, 1867 The first car of flour shipped using the new Blue Line, a cooperative traffic agreement among several railroads, arrives in Boston from St. Louis via the New York Central, Great Western of Canada, Michigan Central and Chicago & North Western. The line also operates over the Illinois Central, St. Louis, Alton & Chicago, Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, Hudson River Railroad, Boston & Albany, Housatonic, Worcester & Nashua, and Providence & Worcester railroads.

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February 14, 1886 California orange groves ship the first trainload of fruit to the east.

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February 14, 1891 The last spike in the construction of the Great Northern is driven at Blaine WA.

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February 14, 1896 The Northern Pacific Railway opens Portland (OR) Union Station.

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February 14, 1897 Railroad reformer Robert R. Young is born. Chairman of the Board of Chesapeake & Ohio, Erie, Missouri Pacific, Nickel Plate, Pere Marquette, Wheeling & Lake Erie and finally New York Central, he is well known for his advertising campaign: "A hog can cross the country without changing trains but you can't".

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February 14, 1905 Workers tunneling for the Pennsylvania Railroad blast a hole under the Erie Railroad's Weehawken NJ yard. A number of freight cars are swallowed up by the hole, but no one is injured.

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February 14, 1915 The first position-light signals are placed in service between Overbrook and Bryn Mawr PA. Designed to increase signal visibility in electrified areas, they will eventually become a Pennsylvania Railroad standard.

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February 14, 1923 Great Lakes carferry "Ann Arbor #4" encounters a gale soon after leaving Frankfort MI. She turns around and heads back, but her load of freight cars break loose and careen about the deck. A huge wave hits her and swamps her. She founders against the Frankfort breakwater. No hands are lost, but some of the crew are injured.

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February 14, 1927 The first New York Central "J-1" Hudson locomotive is outshopped by Alco.

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February 14, 1932 The Kenosha Electric Railway ends operations. Streetcars will return to Kenosha in 2000.

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February 14, 1937 The first of 3 “buoy” trains moves on the Great Western Railway from Chepstow to Newport, England. The 24 navigation buoys in each train move on drop-center flat cars. The buoys are so wide they are placed on their sides and traffic on the adjacent track is diverted.

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February 14, 1998 In Yaounde, Cameroon, an oil train collides with another freight train. After the wreck, a person trying to scavenge some of the waste oil tosses a lit cigarette and sets off an explosion that kills 120.

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February 14, 2004 Tower 17 closes in Texas, the last in the state and the next to the last west of the Mississippi.

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February 14, 2007 A TGV train sets a new world speed record for conventional flanged-wheel-on-rail trains of 553 km/h (343.6 mph) breaking the 513.5 km/h record set in May 1990. The record will be broken again when preparations are made for an all-out attempt in April 2007.

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February 14, 2024 Following a rally celebrating the Kansas City Chief’s Super Bowl victory at Kansas City Union Station, gunfire erupts. One person, a local radio personality, is killed. Twenty-three others, including 9 children, are hurt.

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February 15, 1833 The Western Railroad of Massachusetts (later B&A) is chartered to build between Worchester MA and the New York state line.

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February 15, 1854 The Pennsylvania Railroad opens its Pittsburgh to Harrisburg main line, including Horseshoe curve.

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February 15, 1855 The Joliet & Chicago Railroad (later C&M, StlA&C, C&A, GM&O, ICG, CN) is chartered. It will be completed next year.

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February 15, 1857 The Michigan legislature ratifies the land grant awarded last June for the Flint & Pere Marquette (later PM, C&O, CSX) railroad.

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February 15, 1870 Ground is broken for the Northern Pacific Railroad near Duluth MN.

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February 15, 1872 The Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St Louis Railway (later PRR) grants the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway and the Northern Railway of Illinois (later C&NW) use of its tracks between Canal Street and its Chicago passenger station.

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February 15, 1873 George M. Pullman meets with Midland Railway officials to establish Pullman service in Great Britain. The first attempt is not a success as passengers refuse to pay the extra Pullman fare.

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February 15, 1904 Passenger service on the Grand Rapids & Indiana ends between Milton Junction and Luther MI.

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February 15, 1916 The Ft. Wayne & Springfield (Interurban) is sold. It will re-emerge as the Ft. Wayne & Decatur.

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February 15, 1918 The Pennsylvania Railroad signs a permanent agreement with the New Haven giving NH access to Penn Station.

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February 15, 1926 Canadian National begins service between Kamloops and Kewlowna BC.

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February 15, 1937 The Indiana Service Corporation abandons passenger service on the former Toledo & Chicago north of Ft. Wayne to Waterloo, Garrett and Kendallville. Freight service will continue through May, 1945.

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February 15, 1946 Sleeping cars return to Great Northern trains with 351-450 mile runs.

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February 15, 1950 The Pennsylvania Railroad says 90% of all of its passenger trains are now pulled by diesel locomotives, as well as 65% of its freight trains.

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February 15, 1953 Kansas City Public Service ends trolley service in Kansas. Trolleys remain for a time in Kansas City MO.

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February 15, 1955 The Mechanical Research Committee, made up of representatives from six roads says four of its members will order new lightweight equipment. The Pennsylvania Railroad will order a "tubular" train from Budd, New York Central and New Haven will look into "Train X" or something similar and the Santa Fe is looking at high-level cars for its "El Capitan". Baltimore & Ohio and Chesapeake & Ohio do not weigh in.

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February 15, 1957 The New York Central runs its last train between Ottawa ON and the U.S. border at Cornwall.

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February 15, 1997 The former Detroit, Toledo & Ironton lines making up Grand Trunk's Flatrock Subdivision south of Diann become part of the Indiana & Ohio Railway. Grand Trunk retains rights north of Diann.

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February 15, 2005 Phoenix breaks ground for its new light-rail system.

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February 15, 2012 Amtrak begins 110 mph operation on its line between Kalamazoo MI and Porter IN. This is the first Amtrak line outside of the Northeast Corridor to operate at those speeds.

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February 15, 2016 The first train arrives in Tehran, Iran from China. The rail journey is 30 days shorter than one made by sea. The monthly freight train is part of a planned “One Belt One Road” program to use existing rails to connect China and Europe.

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February 16. 1847 The State of Illinois sells a portion of the Northern Cross Railroad (later Wabash) between Springfield and Meredosia. It is the only portion of the state railroad, chartered in 1837, to be completed. The new owners find the line worn out and revert to horse or ox power for the trains. (Some sources say April 27)

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February 16, 1865 The Cairo & St. Louis Railroad (later M&O, GM&O, IC, CN) is chartered.

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February 16, 1869 The Michigan Lake Shore Railroad (later C&WM, PM, C&O, CSX) is incorporated in Michigan to build from Ferrysburg through Grand Haven to Holland.

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February 16, 1881 The Canadian Pacific Railway is formed. James Stephen is its first President and James J. Hill is on the board. Hill will leave CP when a route change takes it out of the United States. He will then build the Great Northern.

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February 16, 1897 The "Pere Marquette", first all-steel carferry on the Great Lakes, makes its maiden voyage from Ludington MI to Manitowoc WI.

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February 16, 1907 The New York Central's "Brewster Express" pulled by two S-1 electric locomotives derails at 205th Street in the Bronx, killing 21 and injuring 150. (Some sources list the casualties as 24 killed and 140 injured.) The wreck is blamed on the engines’ lateral force shearing spikes and causing the rails to spread. The electric locomotives will be rebuilt from 1-D-1 to 2-D-2 configuration and limited to 35 mph on curves.

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February 16, 1911 Due to claims resulting from the Kingsland Wreck last September, the stockholders of the Ft. Wayne & Wabash Valley agree to reorganize as the Ft. Wayne & Northern Indiana Traction Company.

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February 16, 1925 The Michigan Central opens a new bridge over Niagara Falls, replacing the previous span built in 1855.

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February 16, 1929 The Toledo, Peoria & Western drops all mail contracts, as well as rider cars on freight trains. Caboose passengers will continue to be carried for a short time.

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February 16, 1996 An Amtrak train and a MARC commuter train collide in Silver Spring, MD. Eleven people are killed. The crash, along with a crash on New Jersey Transit one week earlier that killed three, leads to a broader usage of the "Delay in Block" rule, revised standards for cab-end construction and larger windows in passenger equipment for easier evacuation.

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February 16, 2004 Jervis Langdon dies. Mr. Langdon was appointed a trustee of Penn Central following its bankruptcy and later served as its President. He was one of the movers and shakers behind the Chesapeake & Ohio's purchase of the Baltimore & Ohio, although he left the new company shortly thereafter to join the reorganized Rock Island.

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February 16, 2010 A perfume manufacturer announces what it calls "the first perfume dedicated to a rail line". The manufacturer claims to have captured the essence of Manhattan's former New York Central High Line, now a park.

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February 16, 2013 Amtrak takes operational control of the State-owned former New York Central line between Kalamazoo and Dearborn MI.

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Mark Tomlonson

February 13, 1973 After a freight train derailment at Ludlow blocked all 4 tracks on the Penn Central Railroad's Hudson Division, all trains were terminated at Yonkers with shuttle buses running from there to the 242nd Street IRT terminal. Amtrak trains were terminated at Croton-Harmon with shuttle buses running from there to Grand Central. The Penn Central Railroad added service on the Harlem Division.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Dennis M Linsky

February 13, 1849 The Vermont Central Railway opens from White River Junction south to Windsor VT.

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February 13, 1855 The Detroit & Milwaukee Railroad (later GTW) is formed by the merger of the Detroit & Pontiac and Oakland & Ottawa Railroad. This will create a continuous line from Detroit to Lake Michigan. (Some sources say February 12)

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February 13, 1859 The Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad (later CB&Q) completes construction between its two namesake cities.

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February 13, 1907 The New York Central & Hudson River Railroad uses an electric locomotive for the first time to pull a passenger train out of Grand Central Terminal. Earlier electric passenger trains used MU equipment.

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February 13, 1910 The Pennsylvania Railroad announces it has 324 all-steel passenger cars in service: 245 coaches, 21 combines, 10 diners, 29 baggage cars, 18 postal cars and one office car. This represents about 25% of the entire fleet.

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February 13, 1935 Madison, Wisconsin streetcar service ends as damage from an ice storm hastens the already-planned conversion to buses.

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February 13, 1954 Construction is completed on the Quebec, North Shore & Labrador, running 414 km (257 mi) from northeastern Quebec to Labrador.

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February 13, 1970 The Interstate Commerce Commission approves discontinuance of the “California Zephyr”.

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Mark Tomlonson

February 12, 1827 Two dozen Baltimore merchants, concerned over loss of trade to New York and Philadelphia, hold their first meeting to discuss a rail road to the West, to be built along the line of the National Road.

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February 12, 1849 The Aurora Branch Railroad is chartered, the first segment in what will be the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy.

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February 12, 1855 Michigan passes a law requiring crews on passenger trains and depot personnel to wear badges on their hats or caps indicating their job title.

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February 12, 1868 The Columbus, Chicago & Indiana Central Railway (later PCC&StL, PRR) is incorporated by the merger of the Columbus & Indiana Central Railway and Chicago & Great Eastern Railway The CC&IC operates between Columbus and Chicago via Logansport and between Columbus and Indianapolis, with a branch from Logansport to Effner.

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February 12, 1871 Equipment owned by the New York City Fire Department is shipped by flatcar to assist in fighting a blaze in Baltimore.

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February 12, 1879 The Board of the Pennsylvania Railroad gives the Altoona (PA) Library Association $500 (2025: $15,596) and the use of a room at the Altoona Shops to create a library for the use of PRR employees.

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February 12, 1880 The Tawas & Bay County Railroad (MI, later D&M)) purchases the Lake Huron & Southwestern Railway.

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February 12, 1900 The Pennsylvania Railroad Lines West Executive Committee authorizes the further expansion of Conway Yard, including a lengthened turntable for Class H4 and H6 locomotives.

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February 12, 1900 The Escanaba & Lake Superior Railway is reorganized as part of bankruptcy and becomes the Escanaba & Lake Superior Railroad

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February 12, 1901 In two separate acts, Congress requires the Baltimore & Ohio and the Pennsylvania Railroads to eliminate grade crossings within the District of Columbia and to build new passenger stations.

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February 12, 1929 The Vatican Railroad is authorized by a treaty with the Italian government.

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February 12, 1930 The Columbia City and Logansport (IN) RPO is discontinued.

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February 12, 1933 The last passenger train runs between Niles and Benton Harbor on the New York Central.

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February 12, 1934 In Chicago, Union Pacific takes delivery of M-10000, later known as the "City of Salina". It begins a nationwide tour of 12,625 miles. Some of that mileage will be run at 111 mph.

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February 12, 1953 The New York Central sells 28 acres of its old coach yard in Boston. The land will be developed as the Prudential Center.

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February 12, 1964 Over 10,000 fans swarm Penn Station in New York to see “The Beatles”, who have arrived on a train from Washington DC. They will play two shows at Carnegie Hall later tonight.

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February 12, 2008 Arthur Lewis passes away at the age of 89. Mr. Lewis was an investment banker who oversaw both the creation of Amtrak and the creation of Conrail. He also worked for a bus-lobbying group and headed several airlines.

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February 12, 2012 Berkshire Hathaway acquires the BNSF Railway for $44 billion ($61 billion in 2025).

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Mark Tomlonson