/g/DailyRRHist

April 8 in RR History

tomlonson@... (Mark Tomlonson) — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 04:14:45 -0700

April 8, 1867 A special excursion train departs Chicago on the first through run to New York over the new Michigan Central-Great Western of Canada-New York Central route. The train is ferried across the Detroit River. The route is uniform standard gauge. A through Pullman Palace hotel car is established between Chicago and Albany.

April 8, 1870 A Pullman Palace Drawing Room Car intended for the Pennsylvania Railroad makes a demonstration run between West Philadelphia and Trenton. The car features 12 sections and 2 compartments, with 6-wheel trucks for a quiet ride.

April 8, 1880 The Miami Valley Narrow Gauge Railway (OH) is sold under foreclosure. It will be reorganized as the Cincinnati Northern (later NYC)

April 8, 1907 The Pennsylvania Railroad issues orders that trainmen are not to assist women dressed in white up and down steps unless requested. The order follows complaints of trainmen soiling women's clothes.

April 8, 1908 The Chicago Elevated opens a branch to Union Stockyards.

April 8, 1921 Canadian National closes the Henderson Avenue station in Ottawa, originally built by the Canadian Northern. Canadian National trains begin using Ottawa Union Station instead.

April 8, 1932 Eau Claire WI loses its streetcars.

April 8, 1936 The Pennsylvania Railroad declines an offer from Budd for streamlined passenger diesels, citing high costs for new support infrastructure.

April 8, 1943 President Roosevelt, as one of several moves today to reduce inflation, bans common carriers such as railroads from increasing their rates.

April 8, 1956 Detroit's Woodward Avenue PCC line is changed to bus, ending rail service. A parade of 24 PCC's have closed the line. All but 3 of the PCC's will go to Mexico City.

April 8, 1960 Seventy feet of New York Central track on the south shore of Lake Ontario in New York State is destroyed by a rockslide.

April 8, 1961 New York Governor Rockefeller signs a bill allowing the Port Authority to take over the operation of the Hudson Tubes and to construct a World Trade Center.

April 8, 1961 The Ford Motor Company reveals plans for its "Levacar", an air cushioned tracked vehicle Ford claims will make 500 mph using a large fan for propulsion. The Pennsylvania, New York Central and Santa Fe express interest.

April 8, 1968 Last run of the Rock Island/Southern Pacific “Golden State��.

April 8, 1997 CSX and Norfolk Southern agree on a plan to buy Conrail. 58% of Conrail will go to Norfolk Southern, and 42% to CSX.

Mark Tomlonson

Re: April 7 in RR History

dennislinsky33@... (Dennis Linsky) — Mon, 07 Apr 2025 05:40:32 -0700

April 7, 1957 It was the Queensboro Bridge trolley that was the last to run in New York State. Dennis M Linsky

April 7 in RR History

tomlonson@... (Mark Tomlonson) — Mon, 07 Apr 2025 05:31:06 -0700

April 7, 1832 The Liggitt’s Gap Railroad (later DL&W) is chartered in Pennsylvania.

April 7, 1870 The Kalamazoo & South Haven (later NYC, PC) reaches Bloomingdale from Kendall on its way west to South Haven MI.

April 7, 1871 The Illinois Railroad Act establishes state regulation of railroads and intrastate rates. It is the first of the so-called "Granger Laws".

April 7, 1872 The Spuyten Duyvil & Port Morris Railroad (later NYC) begins operations.

April 7, 1874 The Pennsylvania Company signs memos of agreement with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, Michigan Central, Chicago & Alton, and Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroads covering the construction of a Union Passenger Depot between Van Buren and Madison Streets in Chicago. They also grant the Michigan Central trackage rights over the Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne & Chicago from the Calumet River.

April 7, 1903 The roundhouse of the Cincinnati Northern (later CCC&StL, NYC) at Van Wert OH is destroyed when locomotive #108 suffers a boiler explosion. The locomotive was being serviced inside the roundhouse at the time. No one was killed. The locomotive will be rebuilt and returned to service.

April 7, 1914 The last spike is driven on the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (later CN) at Fort Fraser BC, 150 km (93 mile) west of Prince George. This completes the line between Winnipeg and Prince Rupert.

April 7, 1928 The Grand Rapids, Grand Haven & Muskegon (MI Interurban) ends operations.

April 7, 1930 The New York Central opens a new, Art Deco-styled ticket office on Michigan Avenue in Chicago.

April 7, 1934 The purchase of the first "American Flyer"-style passenger cars, the first streamliners to run in New England, is announced by the New Haven Railroad in Railway Age magazine.

April 7, 1936 A mine placed on or near the tracks 50 miles from Vera Cruz Mexico is detonated as the "Vera Cruz Express" passes over. The explosion and the resulting fire in the wooden cars kills at least 90.

April 7, 1957 New York City trolleys run for the last time, the last trolleys in New York State.

April 7, 2008 Chris Guenzler becomes the first regular passenger documented to have ever traveled 1,000,000 miles over all the routes in the Amtrak system since the founding of Amtrak in 1971.

Mark Tomlonson

Re: This Weekend in RR History

dennislinsky33@... (Dennis Linsky) — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 08:04:53 -0700

April 5, 1953 Philadelphia trolley route 65 on Old York Road and 6th and 7th Streets was abandoned without replacement in the first move to eliminate duplication of service by other routes. The route 65 abandonment permitted the city to clear 6th and 7th Streets to vehicular traffic to and from the Delaware River/Benjamin Franklin bridge. Trolley route 20 was extended north on Old York Road from 11th and Erie to Broad and Olney and trolley route 50 was extended south on 6th and 7th Streets from Snyder to Oregon. April 5, 1968 Pittsburgh's remaining PCC car routes and Chicago's rapid transit routes survived the riots after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. April 6, 1952 Detroit's Baker trolley route, the last to operate entirety with Peter Witt cars, was converted to bus operation. Dennis M Linsky

This Weekend in RR History

tomlonson@... (Mark Tomlonson) — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 05:01:58 -0700

April 4, 1839 Alarmed by the fact that steamboats and railroads provide quick and superior escape routes for runaway slaves, the Maryland Legislature prohibits any slave from traveling on a steamboat or train unless in company of a master or with a signed pass.

April 4, 1875 Following the North Carolina Railroad's change to 60" gauge despite a state prohibition, Pullman establishes a through sleeper on the Piedmont Air Line between Richmond and New Orleans.

April 4, 1892 The 5/8-mile long Ellwood Connecting Railroad (later P&LE, NYC) is chartered.

April 4, 1902 The Grand Rapids & Indiana agrees to operate the Traverse City, Leelanau & Manistique Railroad.

April 4, 1909 The Kensington & Eastern Railroad, built and owned by the Illinois Central is leased to the Chicago, Lake Shore & South Bend (interurban) which today extends its service from Hammond IN through to Kensington IL and then into Chicago over the IC.

April 4, 1910 An amendment to the Safety Appliance Act requires freight cars to be equipped with ladders, handholds and running boards.

April 4, 1927 The first 14-single-room sleepers are placed into service, on the Pennsylvania Railroad. The cars, running between New York and Washington, offer greater privacy than the traditional berths.

April 4, 1935 The Pennsylvania Railroad tests EMC's new "NC" 900-horsepower switcher. PRR declines to purchase any, saying the locomotive is "too light".

April 4, 1936 Electric streetcar service ends in Flint MI.

April 4, 1942 The Nickel Plate's "Commercial Traveler" quits, ending passenger service on the road's "East End".

April 4, 1953 The Pennsylvania Railroad tests a Lima LS-25m on Madison Hill. The engine is equipped with dynamic brakes and a pressure-maintaining valve.

April 4, 1960 The New Jersey State Legislature authorizes a $6 million subsidy [2025: $64.9 million] for commuter service.

April 4, 1976 The first F40PH, number 200, begins service on Amtrak. At the end of its service life the locomotive will be rebuilt into a cab-control car.

April 4, 2005 Greenbriar Equity Group LLC and Berkshire Partners LLC announce the completion of the acquisition of Electro-Motive Division from General Motors. The company is officially renamed Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc. (EMD).

April 4, 2005 Tokyo introduces women-only cars in crowded rush hour trains in a bid to prevent groping by male passengers using the cover of the crowd.

April 5, 1862 The Jamestown & Franklin Railroad (OH, PA - later CP&A, LS&MS, NYC&HR, NYC) is chartered.

April 5, 1877 The Boston & Maine acquires the Vermont Railroad.

April 5, 1903 The Pennsylvania Railroad closes four stations in Philadelphia due to a drop in the short-haul market that has been taken over by trolleys.

April 5, 1910 By some accounts, the French Legislature passes a law banning kissing in railway stations. The purpose of the law was to keep parting couples from delaying the trains. In 2009, however, it was reported that this "law" may actually be an urban legend.

April 5, 1920 A Pere Marquette ferry becomes stuck in the ice off Pt. Sauble after leaving Ludington and eleven passengers try to walk to shore. Suddenly the ice flow breaks up, and the winds carry the piece holding the group out into Lake Michigan. Hundreds of spectators line the shore and watch as the Coast Guard, with great difficulty, rescues the group.

April 5, 1920 St. Paul (MN) Union Station is opened.

April 5, 1964 The first driverless trains run on the London Underground.

April 5, 1965 Police begin riding New York's subway system from 8:00 P.M. to 4:00 A.M. due to fears of rising subway crimes. The program ends ten years later, on April 5, 1975, due to the city's fiscal crisis.

April 5, 1982 Michigan Interstate ends operation of the former Ann Arbor north of the city of Ann Arbor. Operation will briefly resume at a later date.

April 5, 1995 CN North America opens the new St. Clair Tunnel. Improvements made in the design of the new tunnel allow double-stack trains to cross under the St. Clair river for the first time.

April 5, 2016 San Francisco television station KCBS reports that BART is relying heavily on e-bay to source electrical and computer components to keep its aging equipment in service. New equipment is expected to arrive in the fall.

April 6, 1858 The Galena & Chicago Union (later C&NW) signs a contract for the first sleeping cars to operate west of Chicago.

April 6, 1869 The Lake Shore & Michigan Southern is formed by the combination of the Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana Railroad and the Lake Shore Railway.

April 6, 1930 Streetcars end in Appleton WI.

April 6, 1942 "The Jacksonian", operated jointly by the Pennsylvania, Louisville & Nashville, Atlantic Coast Line and Florida East Coast railroads, leaves Miami for Chicago on its last trip of the season. It is also the last all-Pullman train between the Midwest and Florida.

April 6, 1956 The East Broad Top Railroad, a three-foot gauge carrier in Pennsylvania, quits after more than 100 years of service. It is the last narrow-gauge railroad east of the Mississippi.

April 6, 1962 The State of New York amends its constitution to allow the state to guarantee bonds for the purchase of new commuter equipment on the New York Central, Long Island and New Haven railroads.

Mark Tomlonson

Re April 3 in RR History

dennislinsky33@... (Dennis Linsky) — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 08:16:47 -0700

April 3, 1949 St. Louis converted its Manchester PCC routes to bus operation because of dangerous left hand operation on PRW. The routes were 53 (Maplewood), 54 (Webster), 55 (Clay and Adams), and 56 (Kirkwood). Dennis M Linsky

April 3 in RR History

tomlonson@... (Mark Tomlonson) — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 04:25:18 -0700

April 3, 1848 The Oakland & Ottawa (later D&M, GT) is chartered by the Michigan State Legislature to construct a railroad from Pontiac to Lake Michigan in Ottawa County.

April 3, 1853 The Pennsylvania Railroad's new shops at Altoona complete its first repairs to a locomotive, the "Greene".

April 3, 1855 The Detroit, Monroe & Toledo Railroad (later LS&NI, LS&MS, NYC) is organized.

April 3, 1860 The first Railway Post Office in the United States begins service between Hannibal & St. Joseph MO. Its primary purpose is to pre-sort mail for the Pony Express. The service will end in October next year as the Pony Express quits.

April 3, 1875 General Superintendents of several railroads meet at St. Louis, making arrangements to run their trains over Eads Bridge into Union Station.

April 3, 1883 The Arcadia & Betsey River Railway is incorporated. Built to 3-foot gauge, it was to run 20 miles from Arcadia MI, across the Betsie River. (Note that the river and the railroad have two different spellings.)

April 3, 1890 Streetcars begin running in Milwaukee WI.

April 3, 1923 The Pennsylvania Railroad's Car Service Department Glee Club gives a one hour and ten minute program over station WIP in Philadelphia. This is the first time a railroad musical group performance has been broadcast.

April 3, 1924 Prohibition agents find 22 cases of wine, whiskey and gin in the private railroad car of Pennsylvania Railroad Vice President. George LeBoutillier. The steward is arrested and the car seized.

April 3, 1955 A passenger train plunges into a canyon in Guadalajara, Mexico. Three hundred passengers and crew are killed.

April 3, 1958 The Baltimore & Ohio completes its dieselization project.

April 3, 1959 Construction begins on Japan National Railway's "Tokiado" bullet train between Osaka and Tokyo.

April 3, 1961 The Boston & Albany, Ware River, Pittsfield & North Adams and Beech Creek Extension railroad companies all disappear into parent New York Central.

April 3, 1968 Demolition begins on Milwaukee’s lakefront depot.

April 3, 1987 The Budd Corporation ships its last railcar.

April 3, 1987 The Soo Line sells its Lake States Transportation Division to the newly-formed "Wisconsin Central Ltd."

April 3, 2007 A modified TGV train sets a new speed record for conventional (non-MagLev) equipment of 574.73 km/h (357.2 mph). TGV manufacturer Alstrom is using the demonstration to test high-speed technical concepts. The test train, consisting of two electric locomotives and three double-deck cars, has larger than normal wheels on the engines and operates on 31,000 volts rather than the normal 25,000.

Mark Tomlonson

April 2 in RR History

tomlonson@... (Mark Tomlonson) — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 04:34:28 -0700

April 2, 1853 An Act of the New York State Legislature approves the merger creating the New York Central Railroad. The merger will be ratified by stockholders in June.

April 2, 1869 Incorporation papers for the Kalamazoo & South Haven Railroad [later MC, NYC, PC, CR] are signed.

April 2, 1888 To protect it from an oncoming storm, The Hotel Brighton, at the foot of what is now Coney Island Ave. in Brooklyn NY, is moved inland 520 feet. The move is accomplished by laying track, raising the building as a whole, and pulling it using six steam engines. The move begins on this date, and continues for nine more days. It is the largest building move of the 19th Century.

April 2, 1900 The Peoria & Pekin Traction begins operations between its two namesake Illinois towns.

April 2, 1918 New Haven's "Bay State Limited" becomes one of many trains eliminated by the USRA. It will not be reinstated after the war, although many are.

April 2, 1933 The Pennsylvania and Wabash Railroads inaugurate new fast, through passenger trains from Chicago to Detroit via Ft, Wayne, IN. The trains are given a running time of 4 hours, 45 minutes. The Wabash then drops its passenger service between Ft. Wayne and Chicago.

April 2, 1957 Alfred E. Perlman introduces "Flexi-Van". The cars reduce the dead weight and air drag of conventional TOFC service, but require special equipment.

April 2, 1962 The Roanoke Transportation Museum is chartered. Later it will be known as the Virginia Museum of Transportation.

April 2, 1975 Amtrak orders 235 bi-level "Superliner" cars for long-distance service from Pullman-Standard and an additional 200 Amfleet cars from Budd. Pullman-Standard, having sold its Michigan City Plant five years earlier, purchases the Allied Structural Steel Company plant at Hammond IN to build "Superliners".

April 2, 1976 CN Tower is completed. Built by Canadian National, it was the tallest tower and tallest free-standing structure in the world when built. It remains the tallest free-standing structure in the Western Hemisphere.

April 2, 1993 Amtrak's "Sunset Limited" becomes the first regularly scheduled transcontinental passenger train operated by one company in the United States as the eastbound section departs Los Angeles. The westbound will make its first departure on April 4.

Mark Tomlonson

Re: April 1 in RR History

dennislinsky33@... (Dennis Linsky) — Tue, 01 Apr 2025 07:42:53 -0700

April 1, 1951 Brooklyn's Nostrand Avenue trolley route was converted to bus operation and the Holy Cross Cemetery Shuttle was abandoned. April 1, 1951 Chicago trolley route 81 (Lawrence Avenue) was converted to trolleybus operation and trolley route 65 (Grand Avenue) was converted to bus operation but only temporarily. On December 16, route 65 was reconverted to trolleybus operation. April 1, 1956 Some route 50 PCC cars were rerouted in South Philadelphia to the 4th and Ritner Streets terminus where no service had been provided since route 9 demised on January 29. April 1, 1963 The Red Arrow purchased a decrepit and bankrupt New Jersey bus company, the Camden and Burlington Bus Company, and began service on bus route 54 from Philadelphia to Marlton and Medford Lakes, New Jersey. Later NJT route P, then route 406. Dennis M Linsky

April 1 in RR History

tomlonson@... (Mark Tomlonson) — Tue, 01 Apr 2025 05:41:39 -0700

April 1, 1832 The Baltimore & Ohio opens from Frederick Junction to Point of Rocks MD on the Potomac River, about 71 miles from Baltimore.

April 1, 1836 The Erie Railroad is incorporated.

April 1, 1861 A sleeping car designed and patented by Edward Knight is placed in service on the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore between Philadelphia and Baltimore. Knight had been elected a Pennsylvania Railroad director one month before.

April 1, 1865 Robert Pitcairn takes over as Superintendent of the Pennsylvania Railroad's Pittsburgh Division. Pitcairn will be the first on the PRR to devise a modern system of telegraphic train orders and will be the main sponsor of experiments with air brakes.

April 1, 1873 The first train crosses the Maumee River bridge into Toledo on the Toledo, Tiffin & Eastern Railroad (later PRR). Regular service will begin soon.

April 1, 1873 The New York & Harlem is leased to the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad.

April 1, 1880 The Reading Railroad tests Number 507, a 4-2-2 "Bicycle" locomotive with a pair of 78-inch drivers for passenger service. The locomotive's cab is perched on top of a large Wooten firebox.

April 1, 1885 The Southern Pacific takes over operation of the Central Pacific.

April 1, 1890 General Aaron Stiles patents a trolley pole.

April 1, 1893 The Grand Trunk Railway of Canada merges several rail companies it has owned into itself.

April 1, 1900 The Kansas City, Pittsburg & Gulf is reorganized as the Kansas City Southern.

April 1, 1903 President Theodore Roosevelt makes a grand circle tour from Washington DC to California. Roosevelt will ride in the cab of the locomotive taking his train around Horseshoe Curve.

April 1, 1906 The Manufacturers�� Junction, owned by Western Electric and running in Cicero IL, begins operations.

April 1, 1911 The Long Island Railroad begins using a battery car on its Bushwick Branch.

April 1, 1917 Hell Gate Bridge opens for passenger service.

April 1, 1923 Construction of the steelwork for Chicago Union Station's headhouse begins.

April 1, 1925 Last day of the last line (Cleveland & Chagrin Falls) of the Eastern Ohio Traction Company.

April 1, 1925 The Great Northern, Northern Pacific and the Union Pacific begin pooled passenger service between Seattle WA and Portland OR.

April 1, 1926 The Pullman Company assumes the operation of Long Island Railroad parlor car service. Nineteen LIRR parlor cars are converted to coaches.

April 1, 1930 The Pennsylvania Railroad opens a new station at Gary IN.

April 1, 1933 The Canadian National Radio Department and its network of stations, developed to entertain passengers on long distance runs, is turned over to the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission, and will eventually become the CBC.

April 1, 1933 The Wabash Railroad discontinues all passenger service on its Chicago-Montpelier OH line, known as its “Fourth District��.

April 1, 1935 Boston & Maine 6000 is christened "The Flying Yankee" and placed into service three days later.

April 1, 1937 The Pennsylvania Railroad rejects a proposal from Electro-Motive Corporation made last November for new EA/EB 1,800 HP passenger diesels for the "Blue Ribbon Trains" at $380,000 [2025: $8.5 million] for the twin units. The proposal would cut "Broadway Limited" running time to 15 hours and cut 45 minutes from the "Spirit of St. Louis". PRR rejects the units as too small and non coal-burning. It decides instead to go with General Electric's proposed coal-burning turboelectric locomotive.

April 1, 1939 General Electric delivers its "Steamotive" steam turbine electric locomotive to the Union Pacific. UP will place it on an exhibition tour promoting the new movie, "Union Pacific".

April 1, 1947 The Interstate Commerce Commission approves the Chesapeake & Ohio/Pere Marquette merger.

April 1, 1947 The 20^th Century Limited is carded at 15 ½ hours between Chicago and New York.

April 1, 1949 With the entry of Newfoundland into the Confederation of Canada, the Newfoundland Railway is transferred to Canadian National Railway.

April 1, 1949 This month’s issue of “Trains�� magazine reports that the Pennsylvania Railroad’s conversion of its Grand Rapids Division to all diesel power, a project began in mid-December 1948, may already be completed. Twenty-three diesels have replaced 37 steam locomotives.

April 1, 1952 Bulk mail traffic formerly handled by the Long Island Railroad is moved to trucks by the Post Office.

April 1, 1954 Lionel A.F. Marks, Inc. introduces a line of ride-on HO scale (1:87) electric trains. The venture supposedly fails when it is realized that the average electric motor used in an HO scale locomotive cannot pull the weight of the average model railroader, nor can model railroad layouts support him.

April 1, 1958 The last Union Ticket Office in New York City closes.

April 1, 1960 Class 1 railroads report a total of only 519 steam locomotives on their rosters.

April 1, 1963 SEPTA is created in Philadelphia after costly strikes against the PTC and the Red Arrow.

April 1, 1965 Chicago Great Western announces that due to operating losses of more than $300,000 per year ($3 million in 2025), it will be discontinuing its last two passenger trains on April 30. The two trains run between Minneapolis and Omaha.

April 1, 1966 A Federal ban on running boards goes into effect for box and similar house cars ordered after this date.

April 1, 1967 The United States Department of Transportation begins operation.

April 1, 1969 The first ore is loaded at Chicago & North Western’s new dock in Escanaba MI.

April 1, 1976 Conrail begins operations with the merging of Penn Central, Erie Lackawanna, Central of New Jersey, Lehigh Valley, Lehigh & Hudson River and Reading Railroads.

April 1, 1976 The Detroit & Mackinac assumes switching duties in Mackinaw City for the car ferry “Chief Wawatam��. It had been switched previously by Penn Central.

April 1, 1976 The Hillsdale County Railroad begins operations on former Penn Central lines in Hillsdale County MI, with branches to Quincy MI and Stubenville IN.

April 1, 1978 VIA Rail Canada becomes an independent company, emerging from CN Rail. They also acquire the Turbotrains.

April 1, 1980 The Rock Island ceases operations. The Chicago & North Western takes over operation of the “Spine Line�� and other ex-Rock Island trackage.

April 1, 2005 Kansas City Southern formally takes controlling interest in the Transportation Ferroviaria Mexicana Railway. This increases the KCS system to over 6,000 miles of line stretching across the Central U.S. and into Mexico.

Mark Tomlonson

Re: March 31 in RR History

dennislinsky33@... (Dennis Linsky) — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 07:20:34 -0700

March 31, 1977 The last NYCTA subway train of R-1/9 cars ran on the J (Jamaica-Nassau Street) line from 168th Street to Broad Street, then ran light via the express tracks of the Sea Beach like to Coney Island Yard. Dennis M Linsky

March 31 in RR History

tomlonson@... (Mark Tomlonson) — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 04:48:33 -0700

March 31, 1862 The "Oregon Pony" arrives in Portland OR, the first locomotive in the Pacific Northwest.

March 31, 1870 The southern branch of the Union Pacific becomes the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway, quickly dubbed "The Katy".

March 31, 1873 The White River bridge on the Cairo & Fulton Railroad (later CA&T, StLIM&S, MP, UP) opens, and trains run through between St. Louis and Little Rock.

March 31, 1901 Southern Pacific’s Coast Line between San Francisco and Los Angeles is completed.

March 31, 1909 The Hudson & Manhattan Railroad begins operating women-only cars during the rush hour as a three-month experiment. They will be withdrawn on July 1 after proving to not be popular and to be the subject of derisive comments from men, such as "Hen Cars" or "Old Maids' Retreat".

March 31, 1911 The Pennsylvania Railroad notes that during the past month, 92% of its Lines East passenger trains have been on time.

March 31, 1916 Three New York Central passenger trains, including the westbound 20^th Century Limited, collide in Amherst OH in heavy fog. Forty-eight die as a result of the collision. Movie star Mary Pickford, one of the passengers on the 20^th Century Limited, refuses to leave the scene until all the injured have been helped.

March 31, 1918 President Wilson signs a bill first establishing Daylight Saving Time. The railroads, however, will continue to print timetables in Standard Time.

March 31, 1925 The Troy & New England Interurban quits. The last car to run on the line was the same one that opened it 30 years earlier.

March 31, 1951 Passenger service on the Detroit & Mackinac ends.

March 31, 1952 The Pennsylvania Railroad's last ferryboat operation from Philadelphia to Camden, the Market Street Ferry, ends.

March 31, 1954 The New York Central drops passenger service on the former Ulster & Delaware.

March 31, 1960 Great Northern’s “International�� makes its last run.

March 31, 1963 PCC and trolleybus service ends in Los Angeles.

March 31, 1978 All high-carbon steel wheels are to be removed from cars carrying dangerous materials.

March 31, 1980 Last day of the Rock Island. At 7,500 miles it is the largest rail abandonment in United States history.

March 31, 1981 Conrail completes removal of #2 track between Altoona and Gallitzin PA, making the former Pennsylvania 4-track "Broad Way" 3 tracks through Horseshoe Curve.

March 31, 1986 The Huron & Eastern Railway (MI) begins operations over former Chesapeake & Ohio trackage.

March 31, 2010 The Union Pacific Railroad unveils locomotive 2010, painted to recognize the Boy Scouts in honor of the Boy Scouts of America's 100th Anniversary. It is only the 14th locomotive to receive special paint in the line's 150-year history.

March 31, 2020 A Port of Los Angeles railroad engineer, Eduardo Moreno, is arrested after trying to crash his train into the hospital ship USNS Mercy. The ship was in Los Angeles to assist in treating COVID-19 patients. Moreno feared that the ship was actually part of a government take-over.

Mark Tomlonson

Re: This Weekend in RR History

dennislinsky33@... (Dennis Linsky) — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 08:13:48 -0700

March 29, 1959 Philadelphia bus routes O from Logan to Huntingdon Valley and Y on Cottman Avenue were combined to form the present Y/70 bus route from the Fern Rock terminus of the Broad Street Subway to Torresdale and Cottman Avenues. The combined bus route connected with PCC cars on routes 47 and 56. The portion of bus route O north of Cottman Avenue was abandoned because it duplicated route N. The portion of bus route O south of Fern Rock was replaced by a short extension of bus route C (Somerville division). March 29, 1959 In order to give Callowhill Depot in West Philadelphia a full assignment of Westinghouse PCC cars, GE cars 2501-14 were transferred to Woodland and cars 2645-58 went to Callowhill which had cars 2645-80 on route 10 and all-electrics 2091-2115 and 2701-07 on route 15 which gets some of route 10's 2600s to fill out schedules. Dennis M Linsky

This Weekend in RR History

tomlonson@... (Mark Tomlonson) — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 05:23:41 -0700

March 28, 1836 Michigan Territory charters seven railroads in a single day.

March 28, 1846 The Central Rail Road of Michigan is sold by the state to a group of New York investors for $2 million [2025: $82.52 million] and becomes the Michigan Central.

March 28, 1857 The Memphis & Charleston Railroad (later L&N, CSX) opens between Memphis and Stevenson, AL, on the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad. This completes a continuous route of uniform gauge between Charleston, SC, and Memphis. It is the first trunk line between the Atlantic and Mississippi south of the Potomac and Ohio Rivers.

March 28, 1883 The defunct Black River & St. Lawrence Railway is reorganized as the Carthage & Adirondack Railway (later NYC).

March 28, 1885 First use of a Leslie snowplow.

March 28, 1888 San Francisco's Powell Street cable car line opens.

March 28, 1901 The Atlantic, Quebec & Western Railway (later CNR) is incorporated in Quebec.

March 28, 1905 The Paramaribo-Dam railway is opened in Suriname. It never sees a revenue train, and slowly returns to the jungle.

March 28, 1909 The Pennsylvania Railroad begins serving complimentary tea and coffee to parlor and sleeping car passengers at any time of the day.

March 28, 1909 Chicago Banker Frank Vanderlip hires a New York Central & Hudson River train to rush him to his dying Mother in New York. The trip takes 16 hours and 30 minutes. Regular schedules take around 24 hours.

March 28, 1955 A new rail speed record of 331 km/h (206 mph) is set by the French National Railways, but the track is severely damaged in the process. (Some sources say March 29)

March 28, 1958 A 2-4-4T narrow gauge locomotive, built by Baldwin in 1894 is christened the “Fred Gurley�� and begins service on the Disneyland Railroad in Anaheim CA. As of 2025, the locomotive is the oldest piece of operating railroad equipment in any Disney theme park.

March 28, 1959 Last revenue run of the last interurban in Canada: The Niagara, St. Catharines & Toronto.

March 28, 1961 Erie-Lackawanna begins New York to Chicago piggyback service.

March 28, 1977 The ICC approves the Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad’s petition to end all passenger service.

March 29, 1839 American Railway Express Agency (later Railway Express Agency) is founded.

March 29, 1869 The Kalamazoo, Allegan & Grand Rapids Railroad (later LS&MS, NYC, PC) is completed from Allegan to Grand Rapids MI. (Some sources say March 1.)

March 29, 1909 The Pennsylvania Railroad places an order for 24 examples of a new class of electric locomotive: the DD1.

March 29, 1919 A narrow-gauge Canadian National train reaches Alberton PE, after taking 10 days to travel the last 2 miles in the worst blizzard locals can remember. The train has a plow, locomotive and 4 coaches.

March 29, 1929 The Pennsylvania Railroad completes a program of painting town names in 10-foot high letters on railroad buildings to aid pilots of Transcontinental Air Transport. The lettering appears in 36 different cities.

March 29, 1931 Great Northern's "Oriental Limited" makes its last run, having been superseded by the "Empire Builder". The name will be used again by GN, and then dropped for good with the creation of the "Western Star".

March 29, 1936 10,000 people gather in Indianapolis to watch the 200-inch mirror blank for the Palomar observatory pass through on its cross-country trip aboard well-hole flat car NYC 499010.

March 29, 1957 The New York, Ontario & Western is abandoned, the first Class I railroad to quit and the first railroad to be abandoned in its entirety.

March 29, 1957 The Central Vermont dieselizes.

March 29, 1960 Revenue steam ends on the Grand Trunk Western as 2-8-2 4070 pulls a 50 car freight from Pontiac to Durand MI.

March 29, 2018 Florida’s “Brightline�� commuter rail makes its first test run into the unfinished Miami station.

March 30, 1847 The Pennsylvania Railroad is organized and a Board of Directors elected.

March 30, 1856 The Chicago Burlington & Quincy and the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad (later C&NW) begin using the Illinois Central Terminal in Chicago.

March 30, 1872 The Texas Pacific Railroad absorbs the Southern Trans-Continental Railway.

March 30, 1886 Executives from several southern railroads meet and agree to change their gauge from 5�� 0�� to 4�� 8 ½�� by June 1, 1886.

March 30, 1901 The Chicago Short Line Railway is incorporated.

March 30, 1909 The Queensboro Bridge opens between Manhattan and Long Island City. The top deck of the bridge carries two elevated railway lines, and the bottom deck carries two streetcar lines. A streetcar station in the middle of the bridge allows passengers to take an elevator or stairs to Welfare Island (later Roosevelt Island).

March 30, 1952 The last freight delivered by an Indiana Public Service Company freight motor is made to the company's Ft. Wayne power plant by motor 817. Future deliveries will be made by the New York Central.

March 30, 1954 The first segment of the Toronto Subway (Yonge Street) begins operation, replacing streetcars.

March 30, 1959 The New York Central agrees to pay the Illinois Central $5 million (2025: $55.2 million) for breaching its contract to have Michigan Central trains terminate at Central Station in Chicago. NYC has moved them to LaSalle Street station.

March 30, 1972 The Milwaukee Road discontinues its “Limburger Special��, running to New Glarus WI.

March 30, 1973 Toronto’s Yonge subway is extended to York Mills station.

March 30, 1982 Last day of Milwaukee Road operations in Montana.

March 30, 2021 CN and Watco announce an agreement for Watco to buy 900 miles of rail lines in Wisconsin, Michigan and Ontario owned by Wisconsin Central Railroad and Algoma Central.

March 30, 2024 A hydrogen-powered electric train beaks a world’s record by travelling 1,741 miles, nonstop. The train, operating at a Colorado test track is a Stadler FLIRT-H2, It has two passenger cars with a hydrogen power pack in the middle. California has ordered four of the trainsets.

Mark Tomlonson

March 27 in RR History

tomlonson@... (Mark Tomlonson) — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 05:22:44 -0700

March 27, 1835 A rotary steam locomotive built by Willam Avery of Syracuse NY is tested on the New Jersey Railroad & Transportation Company between Hackensack and Passaic Rivers. It is not powerful enough. Mr. Avery proposes to build a larger version, but nothing further is heard from him.

March 27, 1855 Secretary of War Jefferson Davis presents the report on surveys for the Pacific railroad to Congress. The surveys suggest five separate routes between the 32nd and 49th parallels.

March 27, 1874 Kalamazoo MI's first Grand Rapids & Indiana depot burns to the ground. A new one will be built on the same location.

March 27, 1879 The Pennsylvania Railroad locomotive "Modoc" pulls 138 loaded cars between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh.

March 27, 1902 A new Union Station for Washington DC is proposed. The proposal would remove the existing railroad stations from the National Mall.

March 27, 1918 The Pennsylvania Railroad grants a license to the Position-Light Signal Company to build and install position-light signals on the PRR. In return, the railroad will collect a $1 per light unit royalty (2025: $22.79).

March 27, 1935 General Motors' Electro-Motive Division breaks ground in McCook IL for their new locomotive factory.

March 27, 1953 For the second time in U.S. history, four trains are involved in a single wreck. Near Conneaut OH on the New York Central, an improperly secured 18-inch pipe slips off a gondola, damaging an adjacent track. The track damage and improper flagging will cause another freight train and 2 passenger trains to derail and collide. Twenty-one people are killed and forty-nine injured. The first 4-train wreck occurred in Connecticut in December, 1891.

March 27, 1954 The Sylvania Central (GA) quits.

March 27, 1960 The last regularly scheduled steam-powered passenger train on a major U.S. railroad runs from Durand to Detroit on the Grand Trunk Western.

March 27, 1960 Missouri Pacific's last day of passenger service on its Kansas City-Ft. Smith-Little Rock line.

March 27, 1961 Black demonstrators stage a "ride-in" on Charleston SC streetcars.

March 27, 1963 In a report that will come to be known as the “Beeching Axe��, Dr. Richard Beeching recommends huge cuts to the United Kingdom’s rail network.

March 27, 1964 Great Britain's "Great Train Robbers" are sentenced to a total of 307 years behind bars.

March 27, 1967 The Great Northern runs its first taconite unit train from Nashwauk MN to Allouez WI.

March 27, 1976 Washington D.C.'s "Metro" opens its first 4.6 miles.

March 27, 1976 Penn Central runs its last Grand Rapids �� Cadillac (MI) train. Michigan Northern will take over operations on April 1.

March 27, 1995 After a two-week strike by the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees, affecting Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, and VIA Rail, the Canadian Parliament creates arbitration panels to resolve the dispute.

Mark Tomlonson

Re: March 26 in RR History

dennislinsky33@... (Dennis Linsky) — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 07:31:09 -0700

March 26, 1950 Baltimore PCC route 30 (Fremont Street) was converted to trolleybus operation with surplus ACF-Brill TC-44 trolleybuses. The PCCs were then transferred to routes 4 and 14. Dennis M Linsky

March 26 in RR History

tomlonson@... (Mark Tomlonson) — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 05:06:21 -0700

March 26, 1860 The first freight car (loaded with lard) leaves St. Louis for New York via Buffalo and the New York Central. The trip will take five days. This is the first car to run through without breaking bulk. Terre Haute & Indianapolis Railroad, New York Central and other railroads will establish a line of freight cars with wide-tread wheels for through freight to points east of Buffalo and Pittsburgh without transshipment between Ohio and the standard gauges.

March 26, 1921 The Grand Rapids & Indiana is leased to the Pennsylvania Railroad for 999 years along with 11 other companies. The lease is retroactive to January 1.

March 26, 1926 The Kankakee & Urbana Traction ends passenger operations. Freight operations are sold to the Illinois Terminal. IT will serve the three grain elevators on the line until June next year.

March 26, 1930 After eight months of trying to make it as a freight only line, the Tyler Traction Company (WV) calls it quits.

March 26, 1936 The Rexall Drug train, pulled by New York Central “Mohawk�� #2873 begins its tour.

March 26, 1945 The Pennsylvania Railroad places its S2 6-8-6 steam turbine in service between Chicago and Crestline OH. Its normal assignments are "The Trail Blazer" eastbound and "The Admiral" westbound.

March 26, 1947 Streetcar service ends in Akron OH.

March 26, 1951 The Bangor & Aroostook and Pennsylvania railroads arrange to have PRR lease BAR diesel locomotives when they are not needed by BAR due to seasonal lulls in traffic.

March 26, 1962 Canadian National's eastbound "Ocean Limited" becomes the first train painted entirely in CN's new passenger paint scheme. A few engines and cars started appearing in the new scheme last year.

March 26, 2005 Fire destroys Deval Tower in Des Plaines IL, one of the last manual interlocking towers. Union Pacific has no plans to replace the tower.

March 26, 2013 Hartsdale Interlocking, between Canadian National’s former Elgin Joliet & Eastern and the former Pennsylvania Railroad Panhandle line in Indiana is closed and the diamond removed. CN begins service to the single customer, Midwest Pipe Coating, affected by the closing.

Mark Tomlonson

Re: March 25 in RR History

dennislinsky33@... (Dennis Linsky) — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 07:23:09 -0700

March 25, 1951 Cincinnati trolley routes 32 (Elberon-Price Hill), 35 (Warsaw-Price Hill), and 36 (Warsaw-Carson Street) were converted to bus operation with the latter 2 getting trolleybuses. All 3 routes used Peter Witt cars after the St. Louis PCC cars were sold and shipped to Toronto. Warsaw Avenue had the PCCs before their sale. March 25, 1956 Philadelphia trolley route 21 (Market Street and North 17th and 18th Streets) was converted to bus operation with postwar Mack buses obtained from route G (56th Street) which received new GMC TDH-5106 diesel buses. This was a logical move as no GMC buses were assigned to Luzerne Depot. The route 21 conversion was due to construction work on the new Penn Center projects. Also, lock-type fare boxes appeared on all PCC cars and buses assigned to Germantown Depot. Dennis M Linsky

March 25 in RR History

tomlonson@... (Mark Tomlonson) — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 06:00:28 -0700

March 25, 1807 The Swansea & Mumbles Railway begins the first railway passenger service in the world, using horse-drawn cars. The line had been built three years earlier to haul granite. It will remain in service until 1960, using horses, sail, steam, electric, gasoline and diesel to operate the trains.

March 25, 1887 The Michigan & Ohio Railroad becomes the Cincinnati, Jackson & Mackinaw Railroad.

March 25, 1936 The 200-inch mirror blank for the Palomar observatory begins its cross-country trip aboard a well-hole flat car [NYC 499010] which has had smaller diameter wheels fitted for added clearance. At the time the mirror is shipped it is the single most valuable item ever shipped by rail. The mirror has been encased in a steel shipping container to counter Creationists who have threatened to shoot the mirror in transit. They fear it will allow man to see God in the process of creation. As it travels in the well-hole flatcar, the mirror is only inches above the rails.

March 25, 1942 After testing a similar Chesapeake & Ohio locomotive, the Pennsylvania Railroad approves construction of 50 class J1 2-10-4 locomotives. The engines will not have the signature PRR Belpaire firebox to save weight. Also approved today: 10 additional GG1 electric locomotives.

March 25, 1945 The Virginian Railway takes delivery of its first 2-6-6-6 locomotive from Lima Locomotive Works. The locomotives are nearly identical to the Chesapeake & Ohio’s 2-6-6-6 “Allegheny�� locomotives.

March 25, 1955 The New York Central and New Haven railroads jointly announce the purchase of one "Train X" each from Pullman-Standard. The trains will be powered by a Baldwin-Lima Hamilton diesel.

March 25, 1956 Detroit's Gratiot trolley line converts to bus to permit the sale and shipment of the PCC cars to Mexico City. A fan trip a few days later uses a PCC in the Mexico City colors.

March 25, 1957 The New Haven's two lightweight trains, "Dan'l Webster" and "John Quincy Adams" enter service between New York and Boston.

March 25, 1986 Conrail makes its initial public offering of stock, at $26 per share. [2025: $76.25]

March 25, 2011 The Manufacturers' Railway petitions the Surface Transportation Board to cease operations on its "Brewery Line", serving the Anheuser-Busch Brewery as well as its First Street Line. Abandonment of the St. Louis MO line is not being sought, meaning the lines could be re-opened if traffic for them is found.

Mark Tomlonson

March 24 in RR History

tomlonson@... (Mark Tomlonson) — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 05:33:38 -0700

March 24, 1828 The Philadelphia & Columbia Railway (later PRR), the first to be owned by a state, is authorized.

March 24, 1849 The Pittsburg & Steubenville Railroad (later PCC&StL) is chartered in Pennsylvania.

March 24, 1852 Ohio passes a law permitting railroads to change gauge from 4'-10" (the former Ohio Standard gauge) in order to make roads of uniform gauge from end to end.

March 24, 1870 The Pennsylvania Railroad signs a 999-year lease of the Erie & Pittsburgh Railroad.

March 24, 1897 Construction begins on the Sierra Railway (later Railroad) between Oakdale and Jamestown CA.

March 24, 1900 The Mayor of New York, Robert A. Van Wyck turns the first shovel of dirt in groundbreaking ceremonies for the first New York subway.

March 24, 1904 The Delray Connecting Railroad (MI) is incorporated. Owned by US Steel (later Transtar) the line operates on Zug Island in the Detroit River.

March 24, 1925 Papers are filed by the Grand Rapids & Indiana to abandon its Jennings (MI) branch. The former flooring mill at Jennings shut down two years earlier and the population of the town has fallen to 75.

March 24, 1932 For the first time, a radio broadcast is made from a moving train in the U.S. as New York’s WABC broadcasts from a Baltimore & Ohio train operating in Maryland.

March 24, 1935 Pennsylvania Station in Newark NJ opens.

March 24, 1941 "Sun Valley Serenade" begins production. This movie, starring Sonja Henie and Milton Berle, will receive an Oscar nomination in 1942 for Best Song, thanks to the debut of "Chattanooga Choo Choo" by Glenn Miller.

March 24, 1959 Last sailing of the Weehawken ferry, connecting New York Central's West Shore line with Manhattan. The ferry will arrive just after midnight on the 25^th. [note corrected date]

March 24, 1970 The last California Zephyr operated by the Western Pacific arrives in Oakland CA.

March 24, 1976 Penn Central makes it last official run along the former Lake Shore & Michigan Southern from Otsego through Allegan and Hopkins to Dorr MI. This ends rail service to Allegan.

March 24, 1980 The Cotton Belt begins operations over former Rock Island trackage between Tucumcari and St. Louis. Cotton Belt agreed to buy the line two years ago.

March 24, 2007 The last Southern Pacific semaphore signals in service are retired. The Central Oregon & Pacific, operating the ex-SP Siskiyou line, bags the now inoperative Union Switch & Signal Style B semaphores.

Mark Tomlonson