开云体育

June 28, 1832 The Detroit & St. Joseph Railroad (MI) is chartered. Although little is actually constructed, the proposed route will form the basis of the Central Railroad of Michigan [later MC/NYC/PC/CR/NS/AMT] charter. The proposed route closely follows the present State of Michigan/Amtrak line from Detroit to Kalamazoo. From Kalamazoo it was to go west through Paw Paw to St. Joseph, a route that was never constructed.

?

June 28, 1843 The South Eastern Railway opens, the first rail road between London and Folkestone.

?

June 28, 1861 The Central Pacific Railroad is incorporated in California to build eastward as part of a transcontinental line. Leland Stanford is President, Collis Huntington Vice-President, Mark Hopkins, Treasurer and Theodore Judah, Chief Engineer. Huntington, Stanford, Hopkins, and Charles Crocker will be known as “The Big Four”.

?

June 28, 1862 The Great Northern locomotive “William Crooks” makes its first run.

?

June 28, 1865 The Pennsylvania Railroad decides to ship oil in covered vats placed in boxcars and stock cars. The charges to the shipper will include fire insurance.

?

June 28, 1886 The first through Canadian Pacific passenger train leaves Montreal for Port Moody BC, 2940 miles away.

?

June 28, 1903 The Traverse City, Leelanaw & Manistique Railroad opens between Northport and Hatch's Crossing MI, with trackage rights over the Manistee & Northeastern between Hatch's Crossing and Traverse City. The TCL&M is operated by the Grand Rapids & Indiana without a formal agreement. Car ferry service between Northport and Manistique will prove unsuccessful and will be withdrawn later this year.

?

June 28, 1924 The Adrian MI streetcar system is abandoned.

?

June 28, 1930 Formal dedication ceremonies are held for the opening of Cleveland Union Terminal.

?

June 28, 1931 Passenger service is dropped by the Pennsylvania Railroad between Cadillac and Falmouth MI.

?

June 28, 1934 The "Crescent Limited" is downgraded with the loss of all-Pullman status and several on and off train amenities. The new service is known simply as "Train 37" and "Train 38".

?

June 28, 1940 The Baltimore & Ohio places a new, dieselized "National Limited" in service with a mix of lightweight and streamlined heavyweight cars styled by Otto Kuhler.

?

June 28, 1949 The Monon retires its last steam locomotive, 0-6-0 #95.

?

June 28, 1955 The Santa Fe and Pennsylvania railroads agree to joint control of the Toledo, Peoria & Western.

?

June 28, 2006 The Federal Railroad Administration issues the first-ever crash-worthiness standards for locomotives with the goal of protecting head-end crews.

?

June 28, 2007 China begins construction of a 20-mile intercity subway between Guangzhou and Foshan City. The line is the first intercity subway in China. The construction is part of a plan to connect cites along the Pearl River delta by 2020.

?
Mark Tomlonson

June 25, 1825 The first passenger carrying monorail opens: The Cheshunt Railway. Built to carry bricks, the line creates a sensation when spectators at the opening ceremonies hop in the cars for a ride.

?

June 25, 1844 The Central Railroad of Michigan reaches Albion from the east.

?

June 25, 1866 The Jackson, Lansing & Saginaw Railroad [later MC, NYC, PC, CR, NS, JAIL] completes its line from Jackson to Lansing via Mason.

?

June 25, 1867 The Lake Shore Railroad of West Michigan (later PM, C&O, CSX) is formed to build between St. Joseph and Muskegon MI.

?

June 25, 1894 The first strike by Eugene Debs' American Railway Union begins.

?

June 25, 1900 Grand Trunk's "International Limited" makes its first run from Montreal to Chicago. There will be no eastbound train with the same official name until World War I.

?

June 25, 1902 Michigan Central and Pere Marquette Railroads open Union Station in Lansing.

?

June 25, 1906 The James Bay Railway Company becomes the Canadian Northern Ontario Railway Company. (later Canadian National).

?

June 25, 1923 The brakes fail on a Michigan United Railways interurban coming into Parma MI. It derails on a curve, smashing into several buildings, including the jail. The motorman is the only fatality.

?

June 25, 1925 Baldwin Locomotive Works completes its first diesel. The locomotive, using Westinghouse electrical components, is rated at 1,000 hp and is slated to serve as a demonstrator.

?

June 25, 1927 The "Wabash", the last carferry built for the Ann Arbor Railroad and the only one with a name instead of a number, enters service.

?

June 25, 1928 The Pennsylvania Railroad's Juniata Shops completes the first Class A6 diesel switcher #3905, after delays in obtaining Bessemer Engine Company engines.

?

June 25, 1932 The United Suburban Railway (MI interurban, ex GRH&C) quits.

?

June 25, 1935 American Airlines signs an agreement with the Pennsylvania Railroad, allowing passengers whose planes have been grounded due to bad weather to use their tickets on the PRR.

?

June 25, 1946 The "Northern Arrow" is restored by the Pennsylvania Railroad after World War II as a summer-only train between Cincinnati and Mackinaw City MI.

?

June 25, 1950 The Korean War begins. The Pennsylvania Railroad will once again move troops through Camp Kilmer as it did during WWII.

?

June 25, 1950 The Great Northern equips its “Red River” with new, streamlined equipment.

?

June 25, 1951 The 724th Transportation Railway Operating Battalion, comprised mostly of Pennsylvania Railroad employees, arrives at Pusan, Korea.

?

June 25, 1953 The Canadian Pacific drops the name train "Imperial" from its timetables. Once the Vancouver to Montreal "Imperial Limited" and the pride of the fleet, today it becomes merely a numbered train with a Royal Mail contract.

?

June 25, 1957 The Pennsylvania Railroad Board approves the purchase of 200 diesel locomotives. They will replace the last of PRR's steam fleet.

?

June 25, 1959 The Maine Central and the Bangor & Aroostook jointly announce plans to discontinue all railroad passenger service. BAR will continue passenger service with a fleet of buses until the mid 1980’s, at a financial loss.

?

June 25, 2008 Michigan State University graduates its first students in their new Railway Management Program.

?

June 26, 1848 The Vermont Central Railroad opens between White River Junction and Bethel.

?

June 26, 1860 The first railroad in South Africa is dedicated.

?

June 26, 1878 In response to last year's labor riots, the Board of the Pennsylvania Railroad authorizes the creation of the PRR Police Department. One hundred officers will be on permanent duty and another 100 will be on stand-by.

?

June 26, 1898 The Dayton & Western Traction Company opens in Ohio.

?

June 26, 1900 The Pennsylvania Company Executive Board orders all Lines West passenger equipment to be lettered "Pennsylvania Lines".

?

June 26, 1904 The Detroit & Mackinac reaches Cheboygan MI.

?

June 26, 1904 The Grand Rapids & Indiana names its trains 2 and 3 the "Michigan Express". The trains are companions to the summer-only "Northland Limited" running between Cincinnati and Mackinaw City, introduced last year.

?

June 26, 1918 The USRA contracts with the American Railway Express, making it the sole U.S. express operator on U.S. railroads.

?

June 26, 1928 The Pennsylvania Railroad runs a test train between Altoona and Pittsburgh equipped with a Westinghouse radio communication system between locomotive and cabin car.

?

June 26, 1944 The Hudson & Manhattan Railroad begins using tokens instead of cash fares and tickets. Cash and tickets will still be used on trains passing over the Pennsylvania Railroad.

?

June 26, 1947 Streetcar service ends in Marion IN.

?

June 26, 1950 The Pennsylvania Railroad begins running special trains to the Boy Scout Jamboree in Betzwood PA, During the jamboree PRR will run 41 special trains and carry 23,000 scouts.

?

June 26, 1953 The Rutland Railroad becomes freight-only.

?

June 26, 1957 Disneyland adds two scale models of the “Aerotrains” to its park. The ride-on trains run through Fantasyland and Tomorrowland.

?

June 26, 1968 The Interstate Commerce Commission urges a study of the United States passenger rail network.

?

June 27, 1847 The first rail line in the lands now governed by Denmark begins operations.

?

June 27, 1859 An express train bound from Chicago wrecks between South Bend and Mishawaka on the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern. The train was passing over a fill that, because a culvert had plugged, was serving as an unintended dam. The saturated earth was not able to support a train. At least five of the crew were killed. Many passengers were swept downstream and drowned, as well as being killed in the wreck. There was an estimated 150 persons on the train, but a death toll has never been determined.

?

June 27, 1875 The Prospect Park & Coney Island Railroad extends service to Culver Depot at Coney Island. An amusement park is developed near the depot, including the world's first roller coaster. The “F” line follows that route today (2019).

?

June 27, 1890 The Iron Range & Huron Bay Railroad (MI) is incorporated. After constructing the right of way, it will be discovered that actual operation of the line is impractical. The first attempt at a through-run will derail partway through the trip and the line will never turn another wheel. The promoter of the line will never be seen in the U.S. again.

?

June 27, 1898 Electric streetcars begin service in Holland MI.

?

June 27, 1899 After an unsuccessful attempt 6 years ago, Fond du Lac WI gets electric streetcars, run by the Eastern Wisconsin Electric Company. The cars will run through 1931.

?

June 27, 1929 The Ford family sells the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton to Pennroad, a holding company.

?

June 27, 1936 Jackson MI loses trolley service.

?

June 27, 1937 First train over Michigan Central's Michigan Avenue viaduct in Kalamazoo. Auto traffic will not run under the bridge until October.

?

June 27, 1947 The Interstate Commerce Commission approves the Nickel Plate's purchase of the Wheeling & Lake Erie.

?

June 27, 1947 Streetcar service in Ft. Wayne IN draws to a close.

?

June 27, 1947 The New York Central launches a new weekend-only train running between Detroit and Mackinaw City called “The Michigan Timberliner”.

?

June 27, 1960 Demolition of the Grand Central Terminal office building begins to allow construction of the Pan Am Building.

?
Mark Tomlonson

June 24, 1845 Georges Nagelmackers, founder of Wagons-Lits and the Orient Express, is born.

?

June 24, 1851 Lawrence Myers of Philadelphia patents a railroad car that would carry grain or coal in large flanged drums or "wheels", which were both the storage compartments and wheels for the car. Only one example is known to have been built. It was not a success.

?

June 24, 1863 Troops under the command of Robert E. Lee try to capture Mount Union, PA to sever the Pennsylvania Railroad main line. They are turned back before they reach Mount Union by a force of 27 militiamen, who have managed to convince the attackers that they are part of a much larger force.

?

June 24, 1878 William H. Vanderbilt gains control of the Michigan Central.

?

June 24, 1884 Cable cars begin service in Kansas City MO over a 1.9 mile route that includes a wrought iron truss bridge over a railroad yard.

?

June 24, 1892 Janesville Traction begins streetcar service in Janesville WI.

?

June 24, 1893 Electric streetcars begin running in Kalamazoo MI.

?

June 24, 1901 Seven locomotive builders merge to form The American Locomotive Company, also known as "Alco" or "ALCo".

?

June 24, 1926 The Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee carries over 225,000 people to the XXVIII Eucharistic Conference of the Catholic Church, the largest special move ever made by an interurban.

?

June 24, 1928 The New York Central inaugurates Day Coach De Luxe No. 1 & 2 between New York and Buffalo on a 10 hour 20 minute schedule with 18 stops. It is the first luxury coach train.

?

June 24, 1934 The new Atlantic City (NJ) passenger terminal begins receiving trains. The tracks and platforms are complete, but the headhouse is unfinished.

?

June 24, 1935 The Baltimore & Ohio's "Royal Blue" is paced into service between New York and Washington DC, carded at 4 hours.

?

June 24, 1953 The Board of the Pennsylvania Railroad approves leasing air rights over the south approaches to Chicago Union Station.

?

June 24, 1956 The Pennsylvania Railroad begins its "Keystone" service between New York and Washington DC, using unique low-level cars from Budd. While the vestibules are at standard height, the seats are lower.

?

June 24, 1980 Grand Trunk Western gains control of the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton.

?

June 24, 2002 In the worst train disaster in African history, a passenger train near Igandu, Tanzania loses its brakes while stopped on a grade. The train rolls downhill into a freight train, killing 281 and injuring over 400.

?

June 24, 2008 Ionia MI loses rail service as the last cars are pulled off the former Grand Trunk Western line operated by Mid-Michigan Railroad. Abandonment of the 15.83 mile branch was approved last November.

?
Mark Tomlonson

June 23, 1831 The Boston & Worcester Railroad Corporation incorporates in Massachusetts to run between its namesake towns. It is the oldest element of the New York Central system in New England.

?

June 23, 1857 The Grand Rapids & Fort Wayne Railroad is incorporated in Indiana to build from Fort Wayne to the Michigan state line.

?

June 23, 1877 After a conference, the Wabash, Pennsylvania and Lake Shore & Michigan Southern all agree to drop their fast Chicago-New York trains that were placed in service last fall, citing the large costs of the service. Today is the last day for the PRR and LS&MS trains.

?

June 23, 1908 The Denver & Interurban begins operations using some electrified lines of the Union Pacific, Denver & Gulf. The UPD&G and the D&I are both owned by the Colorado & Southern.

?

June 23, 1911 A fire at the White Company Lumber Yard in Boyne City MI spreads to neighboring rail yards and destroys nearly all the rolling stock of the Boyne City, Gaylord & Alpena Railroad.

?

June 23, 1923 A Detroit, Jackson & Chicago interurban derails in Parma, MI. The derailed car causes severe damage to the village’s jail, which is considered a total loss and never rebuilt.

?

June 23, 1935 Streetcar service ends in Superior WI.

?

June 23, 1954 Robert Heller & Associates present the result of their passenger train study to representatives of the Pennsylvania, New York Central and Baltimore & Ohio railroads. The study finds that passengers are leaving trains for automobiles and airplanes and the railroads are unable to price their services by cost because so many of the rates are frozen by regulations. The railroads decline to follow any of the study's recommendations to consolidate long-distance trains. Most of the study’s recommendations will be made under Amtrak.

?

June 23, 1955 Nickel Plate's Brewster OH shops makes class repairs to its last steam locomotive. After this date Brewster will service only diesels.

?

June 23, 1957 Trolley service ends in Kansas City.

?

June 23, 2006 New high-speed trains are shown to the public in London. Called "Javelins", they will run between Ashford in Kent and King's Cross Station in 36 minutes, 40 minutes less than the previous time.

?
Mark Tomlonson

June 22, 1869 The Lake Shore & Michigan Southern takes over the Buffalo & Erie Railroad Company, extending the LS&MS line eastward to Buffalo.

?

June 22, 1869 The first transcontinental ticket (to San Francisco) is sold at Washington, D.C., for $176.

?

June 22, 1895 The Grand Haven Street Railway (MI) begins service between Grand Haven and Highland Park. The steam “dummy” line has one locomotive and two passenger cars.

?

June 22, 1902 The Pennsylvania Railroad begins two summer-only sleeper lines serving Michigan resorts. The first runs between Pittsburgh and Mackinaw City and the other between Indianapolis and Detroit via Logansport, LaOtto and Kalamazoo. The Indianapolis-Detroit cars are carried in regular trains but advertised as the "Detroit Express".

?

June 22, 1903 The great lakes carferry “”Grand Haven” is christened.

?

June 22, 1906 The Winona Interurban Railway begins operations between Warsaw and Goshen IN.

?

June 22, 1909 The Pennsylvania Railroad runs record coal train of 7,650 tons between Altoona and Enola PA at 17.5 mph, pulled by single H8b class 2-8-0.

?

June 22, 1915 The BRT subway begins operation in New York City.

?

June 22, 1918 In Hammond IN, a Michigan Central engineer taking an empty troop train from Kalamazoo to Chicago falls asleep at the throttle. A Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus train in front of him was not yet clear of the main. He plows into it at 60 mph. Eighty-six people are killed and 127 injured.

?

June 22, 1923 Lured by radio advertisements, the first of 200 college students from various technical schools arrive at Pennsylvania Railroad's Olean Shops to replace striking workers.

?

June 22, 1929 The New York Central holds dedication ceremonies for its new "Central Terminal" at Buffalo. The modified Art Deco style terminal includes seven platforms serving fourteen station tracks. Revenue operation will begin tomorrow.

?

June 22, 1946 Six double-end trolley cars purchased from Fort Wayne IN are put into service on Atlantic Avenue in Atlantic City. The cars are small and will be used only when demand is high.

?

June 22, 1951 A DD1 electric locomotive runs on the Long Island Railroad for the last time.

?

June 22, 1953 At the Annual AAR Railroad Show the first Fairbanks-Morse "Train Master" locomotives and "Airslide" covered hopper cars are displayed, but for the first time no steam locomotives.

?

June 22, 1958 Illinois Terminal ends passenger service at 12.30 a.m.

?

June 22, 1958 Chicago's new subway on the median strip of the Congress Street (now Eisenhower) Expressway opens.

?

June 22, 1969 A passing train sends sparks to the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland OH. Although the fire only burns for a short time and burning rivers are not rare, public outcry over the fire turns into the modern environmental movement in the US and the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.

?

June 22, 1972 The remnants of Hurricane Agnes hit the northeast with massive amounts of rain, washing out miles of railroad track. Storm damage will force Erie Lackawanna into bankruptcy, and will highlight the shaky financial condition of the recovering Penn Central. Congress will begin looking for a way to preserve railroading in the northeastern United States.

?

June 22, 1973 Amtrak begins using SDP40F's. Seen as a stopgap measure from their inception, the locomotives are withdrawn after they experience tracking problems on some railroads.

?

June 22, 1992 Virginia Railway Express (VRE) begins service between northern Virginia and Washington DC.

?

June 22, 2009 The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency places a newly built cable car on the Powell-Mason line. The car has been built from scratch at a cost of $823,000 ($975,000 in 2019).

?

June 22, 2009 In the deadliest accident in Washington Metro history, a track circuit failure near Fort Totten station sends a Red Line train into a standing train. Nine people are killed and more than 80 are injured.

?
Mark Tomlonson

June 21, 1831 The Boston & Providence Railroad (later OC, NYNH&H, PC, Amtrak) is chartered to build between its two namesake cities.

?

June 21, 1869 The last rail is laid on the second 20 miles of the Grand Rapids & Indiana between Cedar Springs and Morley, MI, beating the deadline imposed by the Michigan Legislature. It will open for revenue service by the fall, operated by Pennsylvania Railroad-controlled Continental Improvement Company.

?

June 21, 1878 The first passenger train on the Toledo & Ann Arbor arrives in Ann Arbor.

?

June 21, 1880 The Wabash Railroad contracts with General Jack Casement to build its new line between Butler IN and Detroit. Casement is famed as the builder of the Union Pacific transcontinental line.

?

June 21, 1903 Samuel Dunkley offers his first Sunday Kalamazoo to Chicago excursion. Passengers ride the Kalamazoo & South Haven Railroad to South Haven and then sail on the Dunkley & Williams Steamship Line to Chicago. The all-day excursions are half the cost of a comparable all-rail trip on the Michigan Central. They prove so popular that a Kalamazoo minister will preach a sermon against them two years from now, decrying their desecration of the Sabbath.

?

June 21, 1903 The "Northland Limited" is established on the Grand Rapids & Indiana as a summer-only train between Cincinnati and Mackinaw City, replacing the earlier "Northland Express". The train carries sleepers from Cincinnati, Louisville and Chicago. The Chicago sleepers are carried over the Michigan Central to Kalamazoo where they are added to the train.

?

June 21, 1905 The 20^th Century Limited hits an open switch in Mentor OH and derails, killing 19.

?

June 21, 1925 The Baltimore & Ohio begins the "Detroit-Washington Limited", its first train to Michigan using Pere Marquette trackage between Toledo and Detroit.

?

June 21, 1935 The Pennsylvania's Michigan resort train "Northland" is renamed "The Northern Arrow" and given air-conditioned equipment.

?

June 21, 1940 Wagon-Lits car No. 2419, in which Germany surrendered in 1918, is dragged out of its place in a museum by the Nazis to rest on the spot where it sat on November 11, 1918. After taking the French surrender, the Germans loot the Armistice Museum. Many of the museum articles will be returned after the war, but Wagon-Lits car 2419 will be destroyed.

?

June 21, 1941 The last sleeper runs between Chicago and Grand Rapids MI on a Pennsylvania Railroad/Michigan Central routing.

?

June 21 1942 Missouri Pacific's streamlined "Colorado Eagle" begins St. Louis to Denver service.

?

June 21, 1948 Alco delivers its last steam locomotive: Pittsburgh & Lake Erie 2-8-4 #9406.

?

June 21, 1951 The Pennsylvania Railroad reports that 79% of its passenger service is dieselized, along with 56% of its freight trains and 76% of its switching locomotives.

?

June 21, 1954 The AAR network radio program "The Railroad Hour" signs off for the last time.

?

June 21, 1958 Chicago PCC route 22 (Wentworth) converts to bus operation, ending on-street rail service in the Windy City.

?

June 21, 1959 The Erie runs its last train over the 301 foot tall, 2053 foot long Kinzua Viaduct. It will later become a State Park and carry tourist trains.

?

June 21, 1959 Soo Line #2719 closes out steam for that carrier as it hauls an excursion from Minneapolis MN and Ladysmith WI.

?

June 21, 1968 Flathead Tunnel on the Great Northern is holed through.

?

June 21, 1970 Penn Central declares bankruptcy, at the time the largest bankruptcy in U.S. corporate history.

?

June 21, 2001 The world's heaviest train, weighing 109,705 tons, runs 170 miles between BHP Iron's Mount Newman mining complex and Port Hedland in Western Australia. The train consists of 8 General Electric AC6000 locomotives distributed through the train and 682 cars. It is 4 1/2 miles long.

?

June 21, 2018 The Durango & Silverton resumes limited diesel operation following a total service suspension due to dry conditions and a wildfire 10 miles north of Durango.

?
Mark Tomlonson

June 18, 1831 The "John Bull" locomotive is constructed in England by Robert Stephenson & Company.

?

June 18, 1890 Indianapolis Street Railway begins operations.

?

June 18, 1893 Great Northern's first St. Paul MN to Seattle WA train departs St. Paul.

?

June 18, 1899 Canadian Pacific's "Imperial Limited" begins daily service through the summer between Vancouver and Montreal. It supplements the six days a week "Atlantic Express" (eastbound) and "Pacific Express" (westbound) at first, but will replace them in 1911.

?

June 18, 1903 The Grand Rapids, Grand Haven & Muskegon (MI Interurban) reaches its full length with the commencement of service between Grand Rapids and Grand Haven.

?

June 18, 1913 A northbound Lake Shore & Michigan Southern passenger train collides with a southbound work train on the north side of Kalamazoo. Two railroad employees are killed and 22 passengers, 3 rail employees and 2 mail clerks are injured.

?

June 18, 1936 The Union Pacific-Chicago & North Western streamliner "City of Denver", pulled by UP's M-10005, makes its debut. The first westbound train will arrive in Denver tomorrow.

?

June 18, 1947 General Motors' "Train of Tomorrow" enters Seattle-Portland service on the Union Pacific. Its uniqueness and its short length prevent a longer route, and the train's bedrooms are sold as parlor space.

?

June 18, 1950 The Great Northern re-equips its “International” with streamline equipment.

?

June 18, 1954 Last day of full operation on the Twin City Rapid Transit System in Minneapolis, the St. Paul lines having quit the previous November.

?

June 18, 1954 The Rock Island announces it has purchased a Talgo train set for use between Chicago and Peoria.

?

June 18, 1955 The Disneyland Railroad opens for business, using ex-D&RGW steam locomotives to bring in the tourists.

?

June 18, 1962 The New York Central announces it has purchased $1.5 million in electronic communication systems ($12.7 million in 2019 dollars). NYC claims this is the first application of railroads using automated data transmission.

?

June 18, 1964 The first true unit train - all cars owned by the shipper - is christened at Harrisburg PA. The train will carry coal from central Pennsylvania to power plants in Harrisburg and Martins Creek.

?

June 18, 1965 RPO service is dropped from the Long Island Railroad.

?

June 19, 1831 A Philadelphia merchant proposes to furnish the Camden & Amboy Railroad with railroad "rails" made of 9-foot lengths of 4-inch cast iron pipe, to be linked together with chains. The railroad is rightly skeptical.

?

June 19, 1878 The Michigan Lake Shore Railroad (later PM, C&O, CSX) is sold at auction, ending Pennsylvania Company involvement. (some sources say May 11 or September 17)

?

June 19, 1878 A national convention convenes in St. Louis to promote narrow gauge railroads.

?

June 19, 1911 Pennsylvania's Governor signs the Full Crew Act, regulating various operations and requiring strict separation of work by trade. The law will take effect July 22 over protests of the railroads. The law requires a flagman and two brakemen on all freight trains over 30 cars and a brakeman and flagman on all passenger trains over four cars in length.

?

June 19, 1954 Ceremonial end of operations of the Twin City Rapid Transit System (Minneapolis/St. Paul) as one last railfan trip is made over parts of the line that still have power.

?

June 20, 1849 The Vermont Central Railroad opens between Northfield and Montpelier.

?

June 20, 1863 West Virginia becomes the 35th State. The southern boundary is drawn in part to keep the Baltimore & Ohio out of Confederate control.

?

June 20, 1864 The Atlantic & Great Western Railway (later Erie) opens to Dayton, OH. The Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad lays a third rail permitting broad-gauge Erie and Atlantic & Great Western cars to operate between Dayton and Cincinnati and, with the Ohio & Mississippi, completing a 6'-0" gauge line between Jersey City and East St. Louis.

?

June 20, 1870 Building from the south, the Grand Rapids & Indiana reaches the town of Big Rapids, MI.

?

June 20, 1875 The New York Central & Hudson River Railroad opens the entire Fourth Avenue Improvement in New York City with two of the eventual four tracks in service. The project eliminates grade crossings between Grand Central Station and Harlem River.

?

June 20, 1887 Victoria Terminus, the busiest railway station in India, opens in Bombay.

?

June 20, 1891 Charles L. Henry, "Father of the Interurban" enters the scene by buying the Anderson IN mule line. Mr. Henry will credit himself with coining the word "interurban" after attending the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, but other evidence indicates the word was in use as early as 1890 for electric railways and 1886 for steam roads.

?

June 20, 1898 Madison IN begins streetcar service.

?

June 20, 1908 The Toledo, Fostoria & Findlay (Interurban) opens for business.

?

June 20, 1913 The New York Central & Hudson River Railroad begins using Harmon as its steam-to-electric transfer point.

?

June 20, 1928 The Pennsylvania Railroad begins containerized intermodal service between New York, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and Cleveland.

?

June 20, 1930 General Motors purchases Winton Engine, a major supplier of diesel prime movers.

?

June 20, 1937 Manhattan Transfer Station closes as the Hudson & Manhattan moves to Newark's Pennsylvania Station. Manhattan Transfer lost its position as an engine-change point with electrification four years earlier.

?

June 20, 1946 First use of a Public Address system on a passenger train for station announcements. The system is installed in a New York City subway car.

?

June 20, 1951 The ICC grants the abandonment request of the Winona Railway. Operations will continue for 11 months.

?

June 20, 2011 Denton County [TX] Transit Authority begins service between Denton and Carrollton using RDC cars leased from Trinity Rail Express. The line connects to DART trains at Carrollton.

?

June 20, 2016 CSX ends service on its Huntington Division, which served mainly Appalachian coalmines.

?
Mark Tomlonson

June 17, 1831 The first boiler explosion in the United States occurs when the engineer of the "Best Friend of Charleston" ties the steam pressure relief valve shut.

?

June 17, 1835 The locomotive "McNeill" begins service on the Paterson & Hudson Railroad. Built by Stephenson & Co. in England, it has been assembled by the machine shop of Rogers, Ketchum & Grosvenor, who will use the knowledge gained to design and build their own locomotives.

?

June 17, 1923 Philadelphia's Broad Street station is now serving 70% of the trains it did before last week's fire. A "last spike" ceremony is held to celebrate the rebuilding of all 16 tracks.

?

June 17, 1924 The Pennsylvania Railroad says it has drawn up plans for the electrification of its main line between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh as well as New York to Washington. No work can begin now due to lack of capital. PRR hopes to electrify Philadelphia to Pittsburgh first.

?

June 17, 1927 The Illinois Terminal ends its operation (freight-only) of the former Kankakee & Urbana, begun last year when the K&U ended operations.

?

June 17, 1933 As Federal Agents attempt to transport convicted killer Frank “Jelly” Nash back to Leavenworth Prison from which he had escaped, they are ambushed in Kansas City Union Station by a gang led by Vernon Miller. In the attempt to free Nash, both he and four Federal Agents are killed.

?

June 17, 1934 The Baltimore & Ohio begins using Cleveland Union Terminal.

?

June 17, 1939 Having proved unsatisfactory, Union Pacific returns its "Steamotive" to General Electric. It will be tested briefly on the Northern Pacific before returning to General Electric.

?

June 17, 1939 The Great Northern dedicates a statue of James J. Hill at St. Cloud MN.

?

June 17, 1953 Last official day of steam operations on the Southern Railway. 2-8-2 #6300 makes the last run. The Southern is the largest railroad to dieselize to this date.

?

June 17, 1994 A 7 ?" gauge live steam locomotive "Peggy" covers 167.7 actual miles in 24 hours and sets a world's record. The event takes place in Weston Park, England.

?

June 17, 2000 The second Kenosha Electric Railway begins operations on a two-mile route.

?

June 17, 2009 The Kansas City Southern reopens a moribund Southern Pacific line between Victoria and Rosenberg TX. The 87.5-mile line, nicknamed "The Macaroni Line" because of the large number of Italian immigrants who built it, will replace 161 miles of UP trackage rights.

?
Mark Tomlonson

June 16, 1893 The steam-electric locomotive "Fusee" (French for "rocket") is given its first stationary tests. Although never fully practical despite many miles of over the road testing, the "Fusee" foreshadows disc brakes in railroad equipment and many basic principles of modern diesel-electrics.

?

June 16, 1902 The New Haven, Boston & Maine, and the Maine Central begin the "Bar Harbor Express" between Grand Central and Mt. Desert Ferry.

?

June 16, 1910 Three wagons of the Frank A. Robbins's Circus fall off a Pennsylvania Railroad train near Gallitzin PA after striking a bridge girder. Ten people are injured and several wild animals escape, including four big cats, an elephant and a hyena.

?

June 16, 1915 The Cincinnati, Wabash & Michigan Railroad, running between Benton Harbor MI and Indianapolis IN, is taken over by the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis (the “Big Four”). The Fairland, Franklin & Martinsville is also brought into the Big Four on this date.

?

June 16, 1918 The Indianapolis & Frankfort opens between Ben Davis and Frankfort IN. The line is designed to move Indiana coal to Chicago, and will be operated by the PCC&St.L. It is the last new main line railroad to be built in Indiana.

?

June 16, 1926 A special train of seven red Pullman cars leaves Grand Central in New York City for Chicago. Dubbed "The Cardinals' Special", the train carries Roman Catholic dignitaries to the XXVIII Eucharistic Congress in Chicago, the first Congress in the U.S. The cars will be repainted Pullman green and returned to regular service next month.

?

June 16, 1926 The christening of Chicago, Burlington & Quincy's new "Denver Express" by Chicago Mayor William F. Dever is carried live on coast-to-coast radio.

?

June 16, 1938 The Pikes Peak Railway debuts motorcar #7, the first rack railcar in the world.

?

June 16, 1943 Baldwin tests a 2-D+D-2 diesel electric locomotive for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad that is designed for (but never equipped with) eight 750 hp V-8 prime movers. It's not a success, and the frame and trucks will end up under Seaboard Air Line's Baldwin Centipede #4500.

?

June 16, 1948 Alco ends steam locomotive production. The final order, seven 2-8-4’s for the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie, had their tenders built by Lima as Alco’s former tender shop is full of diesels under construction.

?

June 16, 1950 The Copper Range Railroad's coal dock at Houghton MI is razed.

?

June 16, 1953 The last steam powered through passenger train runs on the Canada Southern.

?

June 16, 1953 Steam ends on the former Michigan Central as 4-6-4 #5434 ends its run.

?

June 16, 1964 Negotiations begin for the inclusion of the New Haven in the Penn Central merger.

?

June 16, 1972 Two French passenger trains hit the debris from a collapsed tunnel near Soissons, France. One hundred eight passengers are killed.

?
Mark Tomlonson

June 15, 1869 The first parlor cars are placed in service between New York and Boston, running via Springfield.

?

June 15, 1883 The first train steams across the Marent Gulch trestle, a 222-foot tall wooden structure that may be the tallest wooden structure ever built. One hundred fifty people from nearby Missoula MT cheer as the Northern Pacific train makes it across. The wooden structure has been replaced by a steel bridge.

?

June 15, 1887 The Pennsylvania Railroad inaugurates "The Pennsylvania Limited" between New York and Chicago.

?

June 15, 1888 First train to Casper WY on the Chicago & North Western.

?

June 15, 1895 Harper's Weekly reports on the Avon Park Transportation Company, a logging railroad in Florida that uses Shay locomotives running on 4 x 6 inch timbers embedded in the sand. While the rails are joined end to end, there is no crosstie. The Harper's article claims the operation is a success.

?

June 15, 1901 The Dayton & Xenia Traction Company buys the Dayton & Xenia Rapid Transit.

?

June 15, 1902 Pennsylvania Railroad's "Pennsylvania Special" begins a 20-hour Jersey City to Chicago schedule. The previous fast time was 28 hours.

?

June 15, 1902 The New York Central & Hudson River Railroad's "20th Century Limited", "a train a century ahead of its time" according to contemporary accounts, begins operation. The average speed is 49 mph between New York and Chicago resulting in a 20-hour journey.

?

June 15, 1907 The first segment of the Chicago-New York Electric Air Line is opened, La Porte to South La Porte IN, a distance of 3 miles.

?

June 15, 1908 The first masonry is laid at Penn Station.

?

June 15, 1910 The Quincy & Western (later Quincy Railroad) begins operations.

?

June 15, 1924 Debut of the "Montrealer" and its twin, the "Washingtonian". Following a Canadian National/Central Vermont/Boston & Maine/New Haven/Pennsylvania routing, they will be favorites for diplomatic traffic between Ottawa and Washington. The "Washingtonian" will also be popular among rum-runners during Prohibition.

?

June 15, 1927 Charles Lindbergh's mother christens the renamed "St. Louisian/New Yorker" in honor of her son's plane, the "Spirit of St. Louis". The first ceremonies take place at Penn Station. Other ceremonies will be held at St. Louis.

?

June 15, 1928 The Kansas City Southern inaugurates "The Flying Crow" between Kansas City and Port Arthur TX.

?

June 15, 1928 The one-mile long Walloon Lake Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad (MI) is abandoned.

?

June 15, 1933 The 2-foot gauge Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington ends rail operations after one of its engines derails on the main line. WW&F will honor its mail contract by truck for about a month until the Post Office gets wind of the operation and ends the contract.

?

June 15, 1938 The "20th Century Limited" is equipped with new streamlined equipment and a new schedule that averages 60 mph.

?

June 15, 1938 The Broadway Limited begins regular service with its new "Fleet of Modernism" streamlined equipment.

?

June 15, 1940 Streetcar service ends in South Bend and Mishawaka IN.

?

June 15, 1942 J.G. White Engineering Company issues its report on the ailing Long Island Railroad. Among Long Island's problems: Fares frozen at a 1918 level and subsidized competition from transit and automobiles.

?

June 15, 1943 The last GG-1 electric locomotive built leaves Altoona.

?

June 15, 1945 The Pennsylvania Railroad extends the range of its 4-4-4-4 duplex locomotives from Chicago to Harrisburg PA. Until this time they were confined to the Ft. Wayne Division.

?

June 15, 1950 The Pennsylvania Railroad introduces a computerized ticketing system designed by a subsidiary company of IT&T.

?

June 15, 1953 The New York City Transit Authority is created, assuming the operation of nearly all subway, elevated and bus lines in New York City.

?

June 15, 1963 Cass Scenic Railroad makes its first official run.

?

June 15, 1967 The Pennsylvania begins shipping mail in COFC service. It has reserved 100 mail containers and 50 flat cars to meet demand.

?

June 15, 1973 The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad becomes part of the Chessie System.

?

June 15, 1974 The last Milwaukee Road electrically powered train makes its final run.

?

June 15, 2008 As workers in Bihar state, India, try to clear nesting crows from railway telephone poles the crows become so agitated their flapping wings short-circuit the power lines. Railway service in the area is interrupted for three hours, stalling at least a dozen passenger trains.

?
Mark Tomlonson

June 14, 1866 The Cincinnati & Martinsville (later Big Four, NYC) reaches its junction with the Indianapolis & Cincinnati Railroad.

?

June 14, 1880 The Pittsburg, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railroad (later PRR) begins a new fast livestock train between Indianapolis and Pittsburgh timed at 29 hours, six hours less than the previous schedule. The train connects with another fast train on the Vanderbilt lines, giving a St. Louis to Pittsburgh time of 45 hours, or an average 18 mph.

?

June 14, 1881 The New York, West Shore & Buffalo Railroad (later WS, NYC, PC, CR, CSX) is organized.

?

June 14, 1901 The Atlantic City Railroad (later PRSL) is formed from the merger of the Camden County Railroad, Ocean City Railroad and the Seacoast Railroad.

?

June 14, 1903 The Big Four Railroad (CCC&StL, later NYC) establishes the New York to St. Louis "Southwestern Limited", scheduled at 30 hours for the trip.

?

June 14, 1929 The New York Central inaugurates its transcontinental rail-air service to Los Angeles in conjunction with Universal Air Lines (predecessor of United Air Lines) and Santa Fe via Southwestern Limited. Air travel is between Cleveland and Garden City, KS using Fokker Trimotors. Four passengers make the first westbound trip. Also on board: a silver container of Atlantic Ocean water from New York’s mayor to be presented to the mayor of Los Angeles.

?

June 14, 1936 The Union Pacific-Southern Pacific-Chicago & North Western streamliner "City of San Francisco" makes its debut.

?

June 14, 1943 The Dining Car Department of the Pennsylvania Railroad begins testing "prefabricated" meals on trains 125-156 between New York and Washington. The idea, proposed by Raymond Loewy, is given a mostly favorable review.

?

June 14, 1946 The last steam locomotive built by the Pennsylvania Railroad, 4-4-4-4 T1 No. 5524, leaves the erecting shop at Altoona.

?

June 14, 1951 Pullman forms a company, Trailmobile, to begin manufacturing truck trailers.

?

June 14, 1954 The Interstate Commerce Commission orders all railroads to halt work on piggyback service, following a protest filed by trucking groups. The stay is set to expire January 15, 1955. The order comes two days before the Pennsylvania Railroad planned to begin service.

?

June 14, 1954 Robert R. Young officially gains control of the New York Central. Harold S. Vanderbilt is forced out, the last Vanderbilt to serve the New York Central. A.E. Perlman is named President, the last NYC president.

?

June 14, 1999 Amtrak's "Heartland Flyer" begins service between Oklahoma City and Ft. Worth TX.

?
Mark