December 23, 1851 Ground is broken in both Chicago and Cairo IL for the Illinois Central.
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December 23, 1852 The first train to run west of the Mississippi travels five miles from St. Louis to Cheltenham, a modest beginning on building plans that have aimed towards a transcontinental rail connection ever since gold was discovered in California in 1848.
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December 23, 1867 The first section of the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad opens between Grand Rapids and Cedar Springs, MI, meeting the deadline set by the State of Michigan for the land grant. The GR&I is operated by a contractor with cars provided by the Pittsburgh, Ft. Wayne & Chicago. This small amount of construction has exhausted all of the GR&I's available funds.
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December 23, 1873 The First section of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe opens, between Topeka and the Colorado/Kansas border.
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December 23, 1877 The Indianapolis Belt Line handles a record 108-car train.
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December 23, 1907 The first all-steel passenger car is unveiled, built by the Pennsylvania Railroad.
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December 23, 1926 The Pennsylvania Railroad holds its second annual system-wide Christmas party, held simultaneously across the system at 8:00 PM EST. The party is broadcast on WJZ New York, KDKA Pittsburgh and other stations. At Philadelphia, PRR President Atterbury greets employees at the Metropolitan Opera House.
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December 23, 1926 Atlantic Coast Line inaugurates new Pullman lounges on the "Havana Special", equipped with two shower baths and a soda fountain-buffet. Also offered: afternoon tea with “Filipino” (i.e. non-Union) attendants.
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December 23, 1930 The Detroit-Toledo Railroad merges with the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton. Detroit-Toledo has been a DT&I subsidiary for the last 15 years.
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December 23, 1944 Washington Union Station is temporarily closed when 100,000 customers fill the concourse, which has been designed for 25,000. Some passengers are unable to get to their trains before departure and many trains leave the station with empty space.
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December 23, 1946 8,872,244 people ride the New York City subways, the current one-day record.
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December 23, 1968 Canadian National Railways begin using Turbos in revenue service.
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December 23, 2001 A faulty brake application on a CSX local switching in Kodak Park, Charlotte NY causes the train to run away and derail 5 miles later. Several homes and businesses in the area are destroyed.
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Mark Tomlonson
