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May 23, 1832 The Festinog Railway Company is created by an Act of Parliament. The Welsh Railway is the oldest surviving railway in the world, and operates at a gauge of 1’ 11 ?”.

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May 23, 1860 The Sheriff of Dauphin County PA attaches a number of Pennsylvania Railroad locomotives for $300,000 (2024: $11.4 million) in back taxes. The PRR posts bond and redeems its equipment.

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May 23, 1880 The Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha (“The Omaha Road”, later C&NW) is incorporated.

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May 23, 1887 First transcontinental train enters Vancouver, BC.

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May 23, 1890 Salem OH gains streetcar service.

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May 23, 1920 The Pennsylvania Railroad begins passenger service from Toledo to Fort Street Union Depot in Detroit via trackage rights over the Ann Arbor, Pere Marquette and Wabash. The New York Central begins two daily round trips between Detroit and Pittsburgh to compete with the new PRR service.

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May 23, 1920 New York Central extends the New York-Buffalo "Mohawk" to Chicago via the Michigan Central.

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May 23, 1958 Nickel Plate shops its last steam locomotive: 2-8-4 #759 at Conneaut OH. Two other steamers in for class repairs, 754 & 756, will be scrapped in place when Conneaut closes.

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May 23, 2000 EMD delivers 5 SD70M locomotives to the Union Pacific, the first deliveries in a 1,000 locomotive order. This is the largest order for locomotives placed by a single railroad.

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May 23, 2022 CSX makes its last run from Holland to Hamilton MI. Operations will be taken over by the Hamilton Northwestern Railroad Co.

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May 23, 2023 The reason for a delay in the completion of a highway bridge over CSX tracks in Halethorpe MY is announced: the bridge is 1 ? inches too low to meet railroad clearance standards. The bridge, already months behind schedule, is not expected to be corrected and open to traffic until next year.

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May 24, 1830 The first regular steam passenger rail service in the U.S. begins: Baltimore to Ellicotts Mill MD. (some sources say May 22).

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May 24, 1841 The Western Railroad (later B&A) is completed from West Springfield to Chester MA.

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May 24, 1844 Samuel F.B. Morse sends the first telegraph message from the basement of the Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C. to the Baltimore & Ohio's Mt. Clare Depot. The message "What God hath wrought" was transmitted across overhead wires following the B&O's Washington Branch. For the first time in the history of mankind, two persons communicate instantly over a distance of 40 miles.

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May 24, 1867 The Boston & Albany receives a new charter, adding the Boston & Worcester and Western railroads.

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May 24, 1874 The Grand Rapids & Indiana opens for revenue service on its trackage between Walton Junction and Petoskey, MI operating three times a week. The branch was completed in November 1873 but has sat unused this past winter.

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May 24, 1883 The Brooklyn Bridge opens. It carries both cable cars and trolleys. Later it will carry Long Island Railroad trains for a time.

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May 24, 1905 The Board of the Pennsylvania Railroad authorizes spending $356,300 (2023: $12.2 million) to equip freight cars with air brakes.

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May 24, 1916 The Pennsylvania Railroad Board authorizes converting 267 MP54 MU cars for branch line passenger service.

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May 24, 1919 An Union Traction Company (IN) car loses its brakes as it comes into the Noblesville town square, overturns, and crushes 10 automobiles. A small boy in one of the autos is killed, 23 are injured.

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May 24, 1931 The first air-conditioned passenger train goes into service on the Baltimore & Ohio, the all-parlor "Colombian". Individual cars had been air conditioned for several years previous, with the first ice-cooling experiment in 1884.

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May 24, 1933 The Union Pacific announces it is developing what would be the first lightweight, streamlined passenger train in the United States.

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May 24, 1938 The Michigan Railroad Club has its first railfan excursion: a trip over the Michigan Central to tour the shops and other facilities at Jackson MI.

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May 24, 1954 Cleveland Union Terminals Company approves the sale of their electric locomotives to the New York Central for use in New York City.

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May 24, 1958 The Pennsylvania Railroad’s “Blue Grass Special”, running between Chicago and Louisville, is cut back to an Indianapolis-Louisville train connecting with the New York Central’s “James Whitcomb Riley” in Indianapolis for Chicago.

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May 24, 1961 The Milwaukee Road’s premier passenger train, the “Olympian Hiawatha”, completes it final runs at Chicago and Seattle/Tacoma.

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May 24, 1967 The Pennsylvania Railroad tests a 156-mph train, a forerunner of the Metroliners. The four cars in the test train have been built by Budd especially for this test, conducted by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The cars' design is based on the "Silverliner" and "Arrow" commuter cars.

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May 24, 2007 General Electric debuts its Hybrid Locomotive at Los Angeles Union Station. The technology uses the energy formerly given off as heat during dynamic braking to charge batteries, which then in turn supplement the energy produced by the prime mover.

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May 24, 2022 Amtrak’s new “Venture” cars make their first full Chicago-Pontiac-Chicago revenue run.

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May 25, 1857 The New York Central and the Hudson River Railroads begin operating a "Lightning Train" between New York City and Buffalo in 15 hours, or an average of 40 MPH.

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May 25, 1865 The first steel rails are rolled at a foundry in Chicago from steel made in blast furnaces in Wyandotte MI.

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May 25, 1873 The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad opens its 'Metropolitan Branch" from Washington to Point of Rocks MD.

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May 25, 1882 The Burlington & Missouri River Railroad (later CB&Q) reaches Denver.

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May 25, 1902 A double-track truss bridge over the Raritan River at New Brunswick MD is shifted 15 feet to allow the construction of a new stone arch bridge.

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May 25, 1903 The Lackawanna & Wyoming Valley becomes the first railroad in the United States to use an electrified third rail to power its locomotives.

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May 25, 1907 Workers constructing Penn Station set off a blast, which sends shock waves into nearby neighborhoods and showers the area with rock fragments. Twelve people are injured.

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May 25, 1919 The “Broadway Limited” is reinstated by the Pennsylvania Railroad over the objections of the USRA.

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May 25, 1938 Last day for streetcars in Sandusky OH.

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May 25, 1949 The Pennsylvania Railroad Board hears a report that 1.25 million annual passenger train miles have been cut since the first of the year.

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May 25, 1950 Thirty-three people are killed when a Chicago Surface Lines streetcar crashes into a fuel truck.

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May 25, 1982 The Venice-Simplon Orient Express, a reconstructed version of the Orient Express, begins excursion service between London and Vienna.

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May 25, 1996 Juraj Barbaric pulls a train weighing 396.8 tons a distance of 25 feet three inches along a track in Kosice, Slovakia, setting the current world's record.

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May 25, 2002 Iowa Pacific acquires its first two shortlines: Texas New Mexico Railway and Lubbock Railway. The two had been previously owned by Rail America.

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May 26, 1851 The Schenectady Locomotive Works is formed.

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May 26, 1870 The Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway is incorporated in Minnesota.

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May 26, 1898 The Elkhart IN newspaper reports that the Elkhart & Western has been purchased by the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern.

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May 26, 1922 The Baldwin Locomotive Works, delivering 20 2-10-2's to the Southern Pacific Railroad, runs them all in a single train dubbed "The Prosperity Special". Four pushers will be required to boost the train over the Allegheny Mountains.

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May 26, 1931 The Pennsylvania Railroad begins experimental "demoutable truck body" container service between Baltimore and points on the Delmarva Peninsula. The 20-foot containers can be carried on a truck chassis or railroad car.

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May 26, 1934 The Chicago Burlington & Quincy's "Pioneer Zephyr" makes its "Dawn to Dusk" Denver to Chicago non-stop run. The trip's average speed is 77.5 miles per hour; the top just above 112. Eighty-four people and a mule named "Zeph" are aboard the train. When asked about the mule, CB&Q President Ralph Budd responds "Why not? One more jackass on this trip won't make a difference."

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May 26, 1942 The second Pennsylvania Railroad class T1 4-4-4-4 duplex is placed in service, dubbed the "Buck Rogers".

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May 26, 1947 General Motors "Train of Tomorrow" begins a two-day press excursion to French Lick IN from Chicago. The train will travel over the Monon.

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May 26, 1960 The Pioneer Zephyr is donated to Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry.

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May 26, 1985 A major fire at the Hesston Steam Museum near La Porte IN damages four of their 2 and 3 foot gauge locomotives.

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May 26, 1992 Milan Tower (MI) is torn down.

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Mark Tomlonson

May 22, 1851 The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania bans the use of four-wheel cars in passenger trains. One four-wheel baggage car per train is allowed.

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May 22, 1852 First through passenger train, Toledo to Chicago, over the tracks of the Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana railroads. The final rail segment was laid between LaPorte IN and Bailey Town.

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May 22, 1854 The Pittsburgh & Connellsville Railroad lets a contract for Sand Patch Tunnel on its extension to reach the Baltimore & Ohio at Cumberland, MD. The P&C plans to offer the B&O direct access to Pittsburgh.

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May 22, 1868 The "Great Train Robbery" takes place in Marshfield, IN, near Seymour. Seven members of the Reno gang are credited with making off with $96,000 in loot from the safes of the Adams Express Company.

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May 22, 1871 The Detroit & Bay City Railroad (later MC, NYC) is formed. (Some sources say May 6)

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May 22, 1878 A refrigerated carload of beef arrives in Philadelphia 64 hours after leaving Chicago. It has been routed on the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, New York Central & Hudson River, Lehigh Valley and Reading Railroads.

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May 22, 1915 The worst train wreck in Great Britain's history: Four trains collide at a manual junction when the operator gives a false clear to one train and fails to warn two others. The death toll is estimated at 227, most of them soldiers bound for the front.

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May 22, 1930 The Pere Marquette carferry "City of Flint 32" is placed into Lake Michigan service.

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May 22, 1932 The Indiana Railroad (interurban) discontinues service between Peru and Lafayette.

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May 22, 1956 Eleven days after the official end of steam, a Chicago & North Western steam locomotive is pressed into service one last time for a Chicago commuter train.

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May 22, 1956 First test of the Pennsylvania's "Keystone" cars, low-level tubular cars built by Budd.

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May 22, 1961 Milwaukee's "Olympian Hiawatha" departs Chicago and Seattle for the last time.

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May 22, 1972 Henry Ford II identifies a 32-acre waterfront site that will be the site of the new Renaissance Center. Among the buildings to be torn down: Grand Trunk Western’s Brush Street depot.

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May 22, 1993 On the Escanaba & Lake Superior, the wooden trestle over the Ontonagon River is set on fire. Rail traffic is suspended until June 19.

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May 22, 2008 TTX Corporation announces the first of 55 "Uni-level" cars is placed in service. The 85-foot long, enclosed cars are intended to carry Class 5-8 trucks, recreational vehicles, busses, military equipment, fire trucks and other large wheeled vehicles not able to be carried in conventional enclosed racks. The new cars carry a "TTUX" reporting mark.

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May 22, 2009 The Disney Corporation launches a five-car train to promote its new movie, "A Christmas Carol" due to open in November. The tour will cover 16,000 miles in 36 states and 40 cities.

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May 22, 2015 Police in Ft. Lauderdale FL are called out to rescue a naked man sitting on top of an open Florida East Coast Railroad drawbridge. Police believe the man had been swimming in the Tarpon River and had sat on the bridge to rest when it began to open. The open bridge is 80 feet tall.

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Mark Tomlonson

May 21, 1836 The Troy & Schenectady Railroad (later NYC) is incorporated. Construction will begin in 1841. (Some sources list this company as the Schenectady & Troy Railroad)

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May 21, 1852 The Michigan Central runs its first train from Detroit to Chicago.

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May 21, 1876 The Cincinnati, Wabash & Michigan Railroad (later Big 4, NYC, PC, CR, NS) opens its 111-mile line between Goshen and Anderson IN.

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May 21, 1877 At Altoona, Pennsylvania, tests begin which result in the permanent installation of telephones in the Pennsylvania Railroad shops, the first trial and use of the telephone for railroad purposes.

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May 21, 1884 The Wheeling & Lake Erie opens new ore docks at Huron OH.

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May 21, 1905 First revenue run, South Bend to St. Joseph on the Southern Michigan Railway (interurban)

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May 21, 1920 Canadian National is assigned the management of the Grand Trunk.

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May 21, 1927 The Chicago South Shore & South Bend formally opens a new station in Michigan City IN.

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May 21, 1930 Streetcar service ends in Oshkosh WI.

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May 21, 1932 The Houghton County Street Railway (MI) calls it quits.

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May 21, 1966 The last trolley runs in St. Louis.

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May 21, 2014 French railway and government officials confirm that the platforms and track spacing on nearly 1,300 French stations is too narrow to accommodate new equipment scheduled for delivery through 2016. The French weekly La Canard Enchaine reports that it will take $68 million (2023: $87 million) to fix the problem.

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May 21, 2017 Ringling Brothers/Barnum & Bailey Circus closes and with it the last circus train, a railroad tradition that goes back to 1872.

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May 21, 2024 Plans are announced in Kalamazoo MI to turn the former Lawrence & Chapin Ironworks building into 82 apartments and a restaurant. The building has also been used for offices, a furniture store, and the terminal for Michigan United Railways. With the completion of this plan, two former MUR stations in Kalamazoo will have been converted into living space.

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May 21, 2024 Amtrak begins its “Borealis”, conventional equipment running on a Chicago – Milwaukee – Minneapolis/St. Paul route.

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Mark Tomlonson

May 20, 1830 The first railroad timetable published in a newspaper appears in the Baltimore American.

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May 20, 1852 The Michigan Central is completed to Calumet (Kensington) south of Chicago, forming an unbroken line from Detroit. It enters the city over the Illinois Central from Calumet to 22nd Street after Illinois refuses to grant the MC an Illinois charter. (Some sources say 5/21, others say 5/22)

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May 20, 1873 The Westinghouse air brake is demonstrated on the Pennsylvania Railroad.

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May 20, 1876 The Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad begins operating through Pullman sleeping cars between Grand Rapids MI and Centennial Station in Philadelphia.

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May 20, 1877 In response to last week's announcement of a new fast train bypassing Chicago, the Pennsylvania Railroad breaks an agreement with the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern and Michigan Central to begin a new fast passenger train between Chicago and New York, scheduled for 29 hours.

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May 20, 1892 The last Broad-gauge (7 feet, 1/4 inch) train runs on the Great Western Railway, out of London's Paddington Station.

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May 20, 1908 Gary Railways begins streetcar service in Gary IN.

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May 20, 1924 A head-on collision between two interurban cars in Roanoke IN kills 5. The two cars “telescope”, with one car overriding the floor of the other. The death toll includes a woman who had come to view the wreckage and died at the scene of a heart attack.

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May 20, 1926 The Railway Labor Act becomes law.

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May 20, 1936 The first locomotive rolls out of Electro-Motive Corporation's (later EMD) LaGrange plant in McCook IL: a 100-ton, 600-horsepower switcher built for the Santa Fe.

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May 20, 1940 Sixty-six railroads in the United States, in cooperation with the Travelers' Credit Corporation, begin selling railroad tickets, Pullman accommodations and all-expense tours on an installment basis, known as the Travel Credit Plan. Purchases over $50 [2025: $1,146] could be charged.

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May 20, 1962 On the floor of the U.S. Senate, Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island, in talking about railroads, calls for a "Public Authority that would carry passengers while existing companies would continue their more profitable function of hauling freight".

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May 20, 1963 The Rutland Railroad ceases operations after failing to come to terms with its operating unions over a proposed operations center move from Rutland to Burlington VT.

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May 20, 1964 The presidents of the Pennsylvania and New York Central Railroads sign an agreement in anticipation of the Penn Central merger that will provide job protection in the new company for Union employees. In turn the unions drop their opposition to the merger.

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May 20, 1976 The first locomotive painted in “Conrail Blue”, GP-40 #3091, rolls out of the Collinwood Diesel Shop in Cleveland OH.

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May 20, 1983 Canadian National abandons its Haliburton Sub.

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May 20, 1984 Metrorail opens in Miami FL.

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May 20, 2008 The trailer of a semi-truck carrying an 80-ton locomotive (ex-Timken #7948) breaks free, hitting three bridge supports under I-74. The bridge deck comes to rest on top of the locomotive. Officials expect the repair of the bridge to take up to three months.

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Mark Tomlonson

May 19, 1835 The York & Maryland Line Railroad (later Maryland & Pennsylvania) is organized at Baltimore.

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May 19, 1845 Sir John Franklin launches an expedition to find the North-West Passage. His two ships have been modified to navigate through the ice, and include propellers driven by steam locomotives from which the wheels have been removed. The locomotives formerly served the London & Greenwich Railway. The mission will ultimately fail with all hands lost.

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May 19, 1846 The New York & New Haven Railroad is organized at Hartford CT.

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May 19, 1847 The "Fall River Line Steamboat Express" enters service between Boston and Fall River. Arthur D. Dubin considered it the first express train in the U.S.

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May 19, 1857 Cornelius Vanderbilt, already a multi-millionaire steamboat operator, becomes a director of the New York & Harlem Railroad.

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May 19, 1862 The Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac is opened to Falmouth, opposite Fredericksburg. The quickly constructed bridge over Potomac Creek will cause President Lincoln to quip it was built from "beanpoles and cornstalks".

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May 19, 1869 The City of Logansport, IN signs an agreement with the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railway to subscribe $50,000 [2025: $1.2 million] to build shops on east side of town.

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May 19, 1869 The Boston & Albany buys the East Boston Freight Railroad.

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May 19, 1871 The Woodruff Sleeping & Parlor Coach Company is incorporated in Pennsylvania.

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May 19, 1881 The Southern Pacific, building from Los Angeles, reaches El Paso.

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May 19, 1906 The Simplon Railroad Tunnel between Italy and Switzerland, the world's longest until 1979, opens to traffic.

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May 19, 1909 The Milwaukee Road completes its route to the west coast with a "Golden Spike" at Garrison MT.

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May 19, 1925 The Wabash Railroad gains control of the Ann Arbor through purchase of stock.

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May 19, 1937 The Baltimore & Ohio receive the first streamlined EMC diesels: EA/EB models.

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May 19, 1950 An explosion of munitions at the Pennsylvania Railroad piers at South Amboy NJ kills 30, puts PRR coal docks out of action and scatters land mines and other explosives throughout South Amboy.

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May 19, 1954 Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton ships a coal turbine locomotive to the Norfolk & Western. The locomotive, numbered 2300 and nicknamed "Jawn Henry" will prove to be very powerful and very expensive to operate.

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May 19, 1968 Last run of Illinois Central's "Green Diamond".

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May 19, 1980 The Grand Trunk Company merges into CN Rail.

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May 19, 1984 Amtrak and CSX partner to run the “Tulip Train” from the Chicago Area to Holland MI’s Tulip Festival. Both Amtrak and CSX display railroad equipment such as TOFC flats and wedge plows in Holland.

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May 19, 1997 CSX announces it will spend $222 million [2025: $445 million] to restore double track on the former Baltimore & Ohio mainline through Indiana and Ohio. CSX plans to use the added capacity after it acquires its share of Conrail.

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May 19, 2014 The Dutch Railway signs an agreement to power their electric trains entirely with electricity from wind turbines.

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Mark Tomlonson

May 16, 1831 The first shipment of 36-pound T-rail rolled by Dowlais Iron Works of Wales for the Camden & Amboy railroad arrives at Philadelphia on board the "Charlemagne". In addition, the railroad has ordered two-foot square stone sleepers from Sing Sing State Prison in New York.

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May 16, 1853 The first railroad to operate in Ontario, the Ontario. Simcoe & Huron Union Railway (later OS&H, Northern, GT, CN) runs a passenger train from Toronto north to Mitchell’s Corners (later known as Aurora), a distance of roughly 50 km (31 miles). Much of the line is still in use.

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May 16, 1878 The Toledo & Ann Arbor Railroad reaches Ann Arbor from the south.

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May 16, 1881 The world's first electric trolley to receive a large public viewing is demonstrated at a trade fair in Lichterfelder, Germany (near Berlin).

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May 16, 1896 The East Chicago Belt Railroad (later IHB) is incorporated. (Some sources say May 15)

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May 16, 1905 Baldwin-Westinghouse demonstrates an experimental electric locomotive used for switching at the Westinghouse plant. The twin unit C+C boxcab uses 6,600 volts AC, the largest single-phase locomotive in the world. It is the first to use a diamond pantograph instead of a trolley pole.

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May 16, 1907 The Ohio Electric Railway is organized.

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May 16, 1925 The Headhouse, Concourse, and Baggage rooms of the new Chicago Union Station open.

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May 16, 1929 In speech to a luncheon meeting of the Bond Club in New York, Pennsylvania Railroad President Atterbury restates his vision of railroads as integrated transportation companies. The Pennsylvania, through Pennroad Holding Company, is already moving into container, truck, bus and air services.

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May 16, 1952 "Denver and Rio Grande", a movie telling a romanticized version of the building of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad makes its debut.

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May 16, 1953 Fairbanks-Morse ships the first H24-66 "Train Master" locomotives: demonstrators headed for a trade fair in Atlantic City.

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May 16, 1955 The New York Central announces it will convert its four-track main line between Buffalo and Cleveland to a two-track main controlled by CTC.

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May 16, 1956 The New York Central christens its "Train X" "The Explorer" in ceremonies at Cleveland. It is then run to Columbus for the press. NYC has deleted a Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Diesel-Hydraulic locomotive that was to have been at the end of the train. This increases the train's instability and makes it more expensive to turn at the end of a run.

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May 16, 1961 The Board of the Mackinac Transportation Company authorizes selling the car ferry "Sainte Marie" for scrap.

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May 16, 2005 The last Canadian National revenue train pulls off the Kinghorn Sub at Current Junction.

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May 16, 2014 Amtrak takes delivery of its first Viewliner II car, a baggage car. It is the first of over 100 cars ordered.

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May 17, 1851 Railway service starts in Peru.

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May 17, 1853 The Mohawk Valley Railroad merges with 9 other railroads to create the New York Central. Erastus Corning has managed the merger.

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May 17, 1853 In the wake of the Rancocas Creek wreck, the Camden & Amboy Railroad adopts new running regulations. All conductors, engineers, switchmen and bridge tenders are furnished with watches at company expense. The conductor and engineer are to compare those watches with each other and with a standard clock at the beginning of each run and turn them in at the end. Express trains are limited to 45 MPH and way trains to 30 MPH. Two brakemen are to be always on duty, one on the gig-top and one on the front platform of the rear car. No smoking or drinking is allowed while on duty. Standard bell and whistle signals are adopted, as well as rules governing meets and late running.

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May 17, 1908 The last steam engine passes through the St. Clair Tunnel as operations become fully electric.

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May 17, 1909 Firemen on the Georgia Railroad strike to protest the hiring of African-Americans.

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May 17, 1915 Michigan Railway service (interurban) between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids begins. Service also begins Battle Creek to Grand Rapids, with the two routes joining at Monteith Junction, south of Martin.

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May 17, 1919 The USRA Director General denies the Pennsylvania Railroad's request to re-instate the Broadway Limited, citing lack of money to operate the train. However it does allow the second section of the 20th Century Limited to continue. A protest will be filed by the PRR later today.

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May 17, 1922 The Westinghouse Radio Network, consisting of stations in Pittsburgh, Chicago, Newark and Springfield MA broadcasts a safety message prepared by the Pennsylvania Railroad Insurance Department.

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May 17, 1936 Illinois Central's streamliner "Green Diamond" makes its debut.

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May 17, 1937 The Santa Fe's new eight-car Budd "Super Chief" makes a record run from Los Angeles to Chicago in 36 hours 49 minutes as a demonstration for the press. It will enter regular service tomorrow.

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May 17, 1945 The Federal Communications Commission allocates radio channels for exclusive railroad use.

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May 17, 1946 President Truman seizes control of the railroads in the hopes of preventing a nationwide strike.? The action delays, but does not prevent the strike

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May 17, 1957 Canadian National Railways opens a 40-mile diversion of its Cornwall Subdivision due to the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway. This subdivision will later be merged with the Gananoque and Oshawa Subdivisions to form the Kingston Subdivision.

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May 17, 1958 Steam ends on the Baltimore & Ohio as 2-8-2 #421 makes its last run, an excursion sponsored by the Cleveland Railroad Club.

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May 17, 1959 The Philadelphia Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society names the Pennsylvania GG-1 a "Classic" locomotive.

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May 17, 1965 Canadian National Railways opens "Toronto Yard", later known as "MacMillan Yard".

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May 17, 2007 Trains cross the border between North and South Korea for the first time in over 50 years. The cooperation will prove to be temporary.

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May 18, 1836 The Central Railroad of Michigan (later MC, NYC, PC, CR, NS) begins construction at King's Corner (SE corner of Woodward & Jefferson), Detroit.

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May 18, 1875 The Waynesburg & Washington Railroad is incorporated in Pennsylvania to build a narrow gauge railroad between those points.

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May 18, 1896 The Lehigh Valley's signature train, the "Black Diamond" makes its first run. The train gets its name from a Toledo man who won $25 (2023: $903) in a contest.

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May 18, 1917 Nickel Plate draftsmen design a "Nickel Plate Road" logo to be applied to all freight cars. Before this time only small lettering and reporting marks had been applied. The basic logo would remain until the merger with the Norfolk & Western.

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May 18, 1922 The New York Central Railroad gains control of the Chicago Stockyards District by the purchase of the Chicago River & Indiana Railroad and the Lease of the Chicago Junction Railway.

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May 18, 1942 The experimental class Q1 4-6-4-4 duplex locomotive is completed at Altoona for the Pennsylvania Railroad. It is assigned to service between Columbus and Chicago.

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May 18, 1952 A pickup truck hits the side of a Chesapeake & Ohio freight train at an unsignaled crossing just outside of Sawyer MI. Thirty of the 107 cars in the train derail, destroying the Sawyer depot, a warehouse and a grocery store. The driver of the pickup will pass away from his injuries 10 days later.

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May 18, 1958 The Nickel Plate runs its last steam-powered passenger train, a roundtrip excursion from Buffalo to Cleveland.

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May 18, 1979 The State of Michigan purchases the Grand Trunk Western car ferry "City of Milwaukee".

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May 18, 1990 France's TGV train hits a speed of 515.3 km/h (320.2 mph) in a test of TGV equipment and track structure. This sets a record (later broken) for the fastest speed obtained by conventional equipment on conventional track, although both the TGV trainset and track have been modified for the tests.

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May 18, 2020 Norfolk Southern closes its Roanoke shops, founded in 1881.

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May 18, 2022 A short line owned by the Genesee & Wyoming, GC Railway, christens a new car ferry, the “Cherokee” for service between Mobile AL and Coatzacoalcos, Mexico. The boat, which can hold 135 80-foot rail cars, entered service in September and joined her sister ship the “Mayan” which entered service earlier this year.

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Mark Tomlonson

May 15, 1851 The New York & Erie Railroad (later Erie) is completed and opened from New York City to Dunkirk, New York, on Lake Erie. This forms the first trunk line railroad linking an Atlantic port with the Great Lakes. The event is widely celebrated; President Millard Fillmore, Daniel Webster, Stephan A. Douglas and others deliver speeches; a procession marches through New York City "amid such a din of cannon and tin horns as the city did not again hear until the Civil War." The six-foot gauge NY&E becomes the longest railroad in the world.

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May 15, 1865 Horsecar service begins in Grand Rapids MI, run by the Grand Rapids Street Railway Company.

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May 15, 1867 The Erie & North East and Buffalo & State Line railroads consolidate into the Buffalo & Erie Railroad. (later LS&MS, NYC)

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May 15, 1869 Passenger service begins on the new Union Pacific/Central Pacific transcontinental railroad. Fares for the Omaha to Sacramento journey are $111 for First Class [2025: $2,592] $80 for Second Class [$1,869] and $40 for Third Class [$934].

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May 15, 1879 An account is published in a Pittsburgh newspaper of the Pennsylvania Railroad's new "observation" cars: coaches with the area between the belt line and the roof opened to the air for use by tourists on Horseshoe Curve. Next month the railroad will construct a park at the curve for sightseers.

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May 15, 1882 The Ann Arbor Railroad acquires the Frankfort & Southeastern Railway.

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May 15, 1893 The Hammond, Whiting & East Chicago Railway begins streetcar service in East Chicago and Hammond IN. The line will be featured in Jean Shepherd’s story “Daphne Bigelow and the Tinfoil Noose”.

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May 15, 1893 The 1? mile Tivoli Hollow Railroad (later NYC&HR, NYC) is chartered in Albany NY.

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May 15, 1894 Streetcars begin operation in Elkhart IN.

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May 15, 1899 Chicago’s Lake Street “L” is extended into Oak Park.

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May 15, 1906 The Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad begins using Englewood Station in Chicago.

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May 15, 1915 The Interstate Commerce Commission orders the Pennsylvania, Northern Central, Lehigh Valley, New York Central, Rutland, Erie, Grand Trunk and Lackawanna railroads to divest themselves of their Great Lakes steamship lines by December 1. The Great Lakes car ferrries are not affected.

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May 15, 1919 The U.S. Post Office establishes an Air Mail route between Cleveland and Chicago as the first link in a transcontinental service.

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May 15, 1922 The City of Detroit takes over operations of the city's street railway routes from the privately owned DUR (Detroit United Railway). As a result, the city's municipally owned Department of Street Railways (DSR) is formed.

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May 15, 1923 Due to operational problems in the United States, the American lines of the former Grand Trunk Railway of Canada in New England are reorganized as the "Grand Trunk".

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May 15, 1925 The Lake Erie, Bowling Green & Napoleon (OH interurban) between Pemberville and Bowling Green is abandoned.

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May 15, 1927 Union Pacific and the Chicago & North Western begin the Chicago to Denver "Columbine".

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May 15, 1930 Coach Porters are withdrawn from east and Midwest corridor trains on the Pennsylvania Railroad.

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May 15, 1935 The Moscow Metro opens for service.

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May 15, 1936 The Union Pacific-Chicago & North Western "City of Los Angeles" streamliner makes its first run. It uses a trainset pulled by UP M-10002, UP's first separable diesel locomotive.

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May 15, 1942 Motorists in the eastern United States are hit with gas rationing. The normal limit is three gallons per week. Transit and rail systems will see a marked increase in passengers as a result.

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May 15, 1963 Mid-Continent Railway Museum buys Chicago & North Western’s “Rattlesnake Line” in Wisconsin.

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May 15, 1968 A tornado destroys much of the overhead wire on the Charles City Division of the Iowa Terminal Railroad, ending operations on the branch.

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May 15, 1992 The SS "Badger" is rededicated and begins a new career as a non-railroad car ferry.

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May 15, 2001 A runaway CSX freight train rolls 70 miles through Ohio with no one aboard. The train is brought to a stop after an employee of the railroad jumps onto the moving locomotive. The incident will later form the basis of a movie plot.

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May 15, 2007 An electric Indian commuter train stalls in a "neutral zone" (a short section without overhead wire) when a passenger pulls the emergency brake cord. Unable to get power to the train, the engineer asks the passengers to get out and push. Over 100 people over the course of 30 minutes push the train 12 feet to where it can contact electric power and be on its way.

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May 15, 2008 The Utah Transit Authority places an order for 77 new light rail vehicles with an option for 180 more. This is the largest order to date for the German-owned Siemens Company, which will build the cars at its Sacramento CA plant.

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Mark Tomlonson

May 14, 1845 The Troy & Greenbush Railroad (later HRRR, NYC) the last link in an all-rail route between Boston and Albany is incorporated.

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May 14, 1848 The Oswego & Syracuse Railroad (later DL&W) begins operations between its namesake cities (35.5 miles).

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May 14, 1877 The Toledo, Peoria & Warsaw, Wabash, and Canada Southern Railways establish a through passenger route from Burlington IA to New York, bypassing Chicago. Trains are scheduled to take 9 hours less than competing lines, even though the route is 100 miles longer.

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May 14, 1905 The Michigan Central launches the "Wolverine", eastbound between Chicago and Detroit. The train carries a library-buffet car through to New York City.

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May 14, 1934 The Chicago & Illinois Valley (interurban) ends service.

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May 14, 1938 The Lake Shore Electric is abandoned between Cleveland and Toledo.

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May 14, 1939 The Cincinnati & Lake Erie (interurban) ends long distance passenger routes. Some freight and suburban service continues.

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May 14, 1948 The Bangor & Aroostook inaugurates its first diesel-powered passenger train.

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May 14, 1951 The first trains run on the preserved Talyllyn Railway in Wales, marking the first time that volunteers have operated a railroad.

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May 14, 1955 Canadian National Railways opens a causeway on its Hopewell Subdivision, ending the use of carferries in that location.

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May 14, 2003 The Huron & Eastern and Saginaw Valley Railroads merge, and the Saginaw Valley becomes a fallen flag.

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May 14, 2003 Canadian National officially drops the "Illinois Central" name. All United States operations are now under the CN name.

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May 14, 2008 BNSF adds a fourth track to 21 miles of its Powder River Basin line, shared with Union Pacific. The additional track raises capacity from 150 trains per day to nearly 200.

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May 14, 2017 An Amtrak train between New York and Washington is held up by mechanical delays. Frustrated by the wait, a passenger orders two pizzas from a local shop. They are delivered to the train amid applause and cheering.

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Mark Tomlonson

May 13, 1829 The "Stourbridge Lion", the second locomotive imported into the United States and the first in service, arrives in New York.

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May 13, 1830 The Baltimore & Ohio operates its first test trip between Baltimore and Ellicotts Mills, the full length of the railroad.

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May 13, 1836 The 78-mile long Auburn & Rochester Railroad (later R&S, NYC) is chartered.

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May 13, 1842 The Northern Cross Railroad (later Wabash) completes its 23.5-mile line. It is the only state railroad project completed in Illinois.

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May 13, 1861 Members of the Michigan Infantry move by rail over the Michigan Central from Kalamazoo to Michigan City. It’s the first time a Michigan train carries troops.

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May 13, 1861 First railroad in what is now Pakistan, running from Karachi to Kotri.

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May 13, 1870 The Grand Rapids & Indiana, Fort Wayne, Muncie & Cincinnati and Fort Wayne, Jackson & Saginaw Railroads contract for connecting their tracks in Fort Wayne IN.

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May 13, 1880 Thomas Edison makes his first test run of an electric locomotive. The 1,400-foot test track is energized through the running rails that are insulated from each other. Edison proposes a 500-horsepower locomotive to run at 60 mph on the Pennsylvania Railroad, however the PRR feels the locomotive would be impractical.

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May 13, 1903 The Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley (later C&NW) begins passenger train service to Casper WY.

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May 13, 1923 First run of Baltimore & Ohio's "Capitol Limited". Introduced to compete with the Pennsylvania Railroad's "Washington Broadway Limited" its luxury amenities and 19 hour running time will eventually allow it to dominate the Washington/Baltimore to Chicago market.

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May 13, 1939 The Lima (OH) City Street Railway is abandoned, and the single-truck "Birney" cars are sold for scrap. The line was owned by the interurban Cincinnati & Lake Erie, which today also abandons its Hamilton to Dayton Division.

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May 13, 1949 Lima ships Nickel Plate 2-8-4 #779, Lima's last steam locomotive.

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May 13, 1954 President Eisenhower signs the St. Lawrence Seaway Bill providing for joint U.S. - Canadian construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway. The bill is bitterly opposed by the railroads, who see it as a threat to their freight business.

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May 13, 1959 Two paintings by Henri Toulouse-Lautrec survive a derailment and subsequent collision on the Northeast Corridor at Frazier. TV sets and cans of baked beans are not so lucky.

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May 13, 1971 The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers agrees to end the "Divisional Rule", which defined 100 miles as 1 day's work. Many engineers were being paid a full day's wage for 150 minutes of train operation.

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May 13, 1994 Frank Martin of Iowa begins a record-setting Amtrak trip that will cover 22,857 unduplicated miles and take one month to complete.

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Mark Tomlonson

May 12, 1846 The Hudson River Railroad is incorporated with the goal of building a line from New York City to Albany.

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May 12, 1847 The New York State Legislature passes a law giving railroads financial incentives to replace strap rail with T-rail. Those who don't convert in three years are threatened with the loss of their charters.

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May 12, 1858 The Michigan Central Railroad contracts with J.D. Morton to operate Woodruff sleeping cars.

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May 12, 1874 The Union Depot Company of St. Louis is incorporated in Missouri.

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May 12, 1881 Built by Siemens, the first electric trolley line in Europe opens between Berlin and Lichterfelde, Germany.

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May 12, 1890 Cable car operation commences in Washington DC.

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May 12, 1900 The American Bridge Company, which will build many of the nation's railroad bridges, is formed from the merger of 24 smaller companies.

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May 12, 1902 An explosion and fire from a leaking oil car kills 23 near Pittsburgh on the Pennsylvania Railroad.

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May 12, 1910 To promote immigration into western Canada, Canadian Northern Railway's subsidiary "Canadian Northern Steamships" begins sailing between England and Canada. The service will end at the start of World War I as the two ships are commandeered for troop transport.

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May 12, 1936 The AT&SF "Super Chief" begins weekly Chicago-Los Angeles service behind diesels 1 and 1A.

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May 12, 1949 Lima-Hamilton completes its first diesel-electric locomotive: a 1,000 hp switcher.

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May 12, 1953 Union Pacific opens its Sherman Hill relocation project.

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May 12, 1955 Manhattan's last elevated line becomes history as the NYCTA cuts back the Third Avenue El from Chatham Square in Lower Manhattan to 149th Street, Bronx.

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May 12, 1970 Three young bandits board a freight train as it enters Detroit, hold a conductor at gunpoint, and break into two freight cars. The robbery, which was believed to be Detroit's first train robbery, netted the thieves baby strollers, bassinets and rattles.

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May 12, 2017 Detroit’s “Q-Line” light rail begins regular service along 3.3 miles of track on Woodward Ave.

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May 12, 2020 Crews in Ann Arbor MI install tunnels under the former Michigan Central line (now owned by M-DOT and used by Amtrak). The tunnels are to allow residents to safely cross the right-of-way on their way to riverside recreation areas.

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May 12, 2022 At the Pennsylvania Railroad Historical & Technical Society meeting in Harrisburg PA, the T! Trust shows the progress on its attempt to build another 4-4-4-4 T1 class duplex locomotive. The cab, boiler shell, and streamlined prow are displayed at the show. The T1 Trust also reports that four of the 80” drivers have been cast. Estimated completion of the project is set for 2030.

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Mark Tomlonson