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.
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April 3, 1853 The Pennsylvania Railroad's new shops at Altoona complete its first repairs to a locomotive, the "Greene".
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April 3, 1855 The Detroit, Monroe & Toledo Railroad (later LS&NI, LS&MS, NYC) is organized.
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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.
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April 3, 1875 General Superintendents of several railroads meet at St. Louis, making arrangements to run their trains over Eads Bridge into Union Station.
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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.)
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April 3, 1890 Streetcars begin running in Milwaukee WI.
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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.
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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.
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April 3, 1955 A passenger train plunges into a canyon in Guadalajara, Mexico. Three hundred passengers and crew are killed.
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April 3, 1958 The Baltimore & Ohio completes its dieselization project.
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April 3, 1959 Construction begins on Japan National Railway's "Tokiado" bullet train between Osaka and Tokyo.
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April 3, 1961 The Boston & Albany, Ware River, Pittsfield & North Adams and Beech Creek Extension railroad companies all disappear into parent New York Central.
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April 3, 1968 Demolition begins on Milwaukee’s lakefront depot.
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April 3, 1987 The Budd Corporation ships its last railcar.
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April 3, 1987 The Soo Line sells its Lake States Transportation Division to the newly-formed "Wisconsin Central Ltd."
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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.
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Mark Tomlonson
