October 7, 1826 The Granite Railway (later Old Colony, NYNH&H), the first operating railroad in the U.S. begins service. The five-foot gauge line runs between Quincy and Milton MA. The wood and iron rails are set on stones in a bed of crushed stone. Cables and horses are the motive power.
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October 7, 1871 The first Grand Central Depot opens in New York City at 42nd St. and Park Ave. for New York & Harlem Railroad trains, which vacate 27th Street Station. The building is patterned after St. Pancras Station (1865) in London. Its 12-track train shed (900' x 275') is billed as the "largest room in North America". (Some sources say October 9)
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October 7, 1940 The New York Central takes delivery of its first L-3 class dual-service 4-8-2 "Mohawk" locomotive.
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October 7, 1965 Great Northern donates steam locomotive #2523 to the city of Willmar MN
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October 7, 1979 After Congressional cuts, Amtrak's "Floridian" makes its final run. The Midwest-Florida trained had been plagued by an ever-increasing travel time and several route changes, both the result of poor track in the Midwest.
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October 7, 1984 The Union Pacific runs its first ¡°caboose-less¡± train, out of Salt Lake City UT.
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October 7, 1988 The National Park Service acquires Steamtown.
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October 7, 1994 Mona Tippens of Arkansas begins her record-setting 79,841 miles of unduplicated train travel. She will complete her travels 28 months later.
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October 7, 2011 Boston Commuters are transferred from trains to buses when an unfamiliar device is found plugged into a MBTA power outlet. The bomb squad determines the device is a porcelain coffee maker.
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October 7, 2022 Los Angeles Metro opens its new ¡°K¡± Line, serving Inglewood. Plans are in place to extend to LAX airport in the future.
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October 7, 2022 An Amtrak ¡°Wolverine¡± service train takes 19 hours to go from Pontiac to Chicago. HVAC and toilets failed on the train, causing many passengers to leave the train and seek other transportation. The incident will cause Amtrak to announce new policies for disabled trains on October 27.
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Mark Tomlonson
