February 27, 1832 Baltimore coachbuilder Richard Imlay displays three railroad passenger cars in Monument Square, including one that will seat 50.
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February 27, 1837 Illinois passes an "Internal Improvements" Act.
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February 27, 1847 The Alton & Sangamon Railroad (later C&A, GM&O, ICG, UP) is chartered in Illinois to connect the towns of Alton and Springfield.
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February 27, 1860 The Central Railroad of New Jersey displays two new Woodruff sleepers designed for New York-Pittsburgh service.
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February 27, 1865 The Pennsylvania Legislature establishes a railroad police force. While railroads have employed security personnel previously, this is the first time they are given official police powers.
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February 27, 1886 The New Jersey Junction Railroad (later NYC&HR, NYC) is incorporated.
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February 27, 1912 The Pacific Great Eastern Railway (later BCR, CN) is incorporated to build a line from Vancouver north to a connection with the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway at Prince George BC.
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February 27, 1917 The Milwaukee Railroad completes the electrification of its line from Harlowton, Montana, to Avery, Idaho, 440 miles.
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February 27, 1917 The Pennsylvania-Detroit Railroad Company is incorporated to extend the PRR into Detroit. This will let PRR tap the growing finished automobile market.
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February 27, 1921 The Pennsylvania Railroad creates a private telephone system on its Paoli Line to keep station agents informed of train delays, etc. The information is then posted at the station.
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February 27, 1921 Michigan Central and New York Central passenger trains collide at Porter IN when the engineer of the Michigan Central train misunderstands the fireman’s call of the home signal indication. The engineer’s view of the signal was obscured by the smoke of a standing freight train. Thirty-seven are killed.
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February 27, 1942 The Pennsylvania Railroad's Altoona Shops complete an experimental troop sleeper based on an X38 automobile box car.
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February 27, 1965 The Buffalo Creek & Gauley shuts down after 61 years of operation in West Virginia, having never operated a diesel locomotive. It will run again for a short time in the 1970's with diesels.
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February 27, 2000 Two Santa Fe Alco PA diesels arrive in Oregon from Mexico for restoration. The units are little more than hulks.
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February 27, 2002 In Godhra, northwest India, a train carrying mostly Hindus catches fire. Sixty people are killed. Although the cause of the fire is eventually traced to a fault in a coach, early reports say the fire was caused by radical Muslims dousing the train with gasoline and lighting it. This false allegation triggers religious riots in which nearly 1,000 people are killed.
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February 27, 2023 The Long Island Railroad begins running trains into Grand Central Madison, their new station located under Grand Central Terminal. Up to 24 trains per hour are scheduled into the station.
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Mark Tomlonson
