Today In Railroad History

Jimklag

Lt. Colonel
Joined
Mar 3, 2017
Location
Chicagoland
On November 3, 1911 the following was reported in the Lincoln Nebraska Evening News.

TRAIN HITS BROKEN RAIL; THREE DEAD

ATLANTA, Ga., Nov. 3.-Three persons were killed and four injured when fast mail train No. 15, on the Southern Railway, running from Cincinnati to Jacksonville, Fla., was wrecked at Chattahoochee, near hear, about midnight. The train was going at a high rate of speed when it struck a broken rail in a deep cut.

20yr75CL.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
November 06, 1855

68 engineers from 13 states and 45 railroads met in Baltimore to organize the National Protective Organization of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers of the United States, forming the country's first railroad union.


November 06, 1868

The Bureau of Indian Affairs convened another council at Fort Laramie. This time the army was more prepared to listen to Chief Red Cloud. After only a few days of talking, a new agreement was struck. Under the new plan, the Sioux and Cheyennes would permit the construction of the Northern Pacific Railroad across North Dakota, Montana and Idaho. In exchange for that concession, the army agreed to abandone Fort Phil Kearney and to stay out of the Powder River Basin. The agreement was formally signed on November 06, 1868.


November 06, 1871

In the state of Michigan, the Flint & Pere Marquette opened their line from Northville to Holly.


November 06, 1960

The last steam locomotive to operate officially on the Canadian Pacific pulled a special train to St. Lin from Montreal. The locomotiove itself was a class A-1-e, #29, a 4-4-0 built in 1887.


November 06, 1968

101-day strike by the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen against the Belt Railway of Chicago ended
 
NOVEMBER 07 1835
Construction begins on the Erie Railroad.

NOVEMBER 07 1885
The Canadian Pacific Railway completes first transcontinental route across Canada. The last spike was driven at Craigellachie, British Columbia.

NOVEMBER 07 1909
24 hour train service between New York and St. Louis begins.

NOVEMBER 07 1970
The second longest tunnel in the U.S., the 7 mile 1327 yard flathead tunnel opens on the Great Northern.
 
November 08, 1871
In the state of Michigan, the Detroit, Lansing & Lake Michigan opened their line from Gowan to Howard City. The first train ran at 30 mph, even though the route had not been ballasted.


November 08, 1905

Union Pacific's Chicago to San Francisco Overland Limited got electric lighting.


November 08, 1969
The last passenger train to leave Chicago's Grand Central Station was Chessapeake & Ohio's #8, which left for Grand Rapids.
 
November 09, 1833

Twelve passengers on the Camden & Amboy Railroad were injured in the first passenger train accident in the United States.

November 09, 1867

In the state of Michigan, the Paw Paw Railroad, with the help of the MCRR (Michigan Central ?), reaches from Paw Paw to Lawton.

November 09, 1933

Canadian National opened a line to Lynn Lake, Manitoba.

November 09, 1953

Canadian National opened it's line between Lynne lake and Sherridon, Manitoba.

November 09, 1998

St. Thomas and Eastern Railway, a division of Trillium Rail, commences operation over the former CN Cayuga Spur between St. Thomas and Delhi, Ontario
 
November 10, 1852


The Grand Trunk Railway Act received Royal Assent.


November 10, 1887


Canada Atlantic Railway commenced heating passenger cars with steam from the locomotive, thus eliminating the danger of fire from stoves. This was the first such use in Canada. The railway completed the conversion of it's entire passenger car fleet in October 1891 thus becoming the first railway in Canada to use steam exclusively to heat it's rolling stock.


November 10, 1905


Willamette Valley Traction was incorporated on this date.


November 10, 1952


The Supreme Court upheld a deciscion barring segregation on interstate reailroads.


November 10, 1979


CP Rail No. 54 suffered a hot axle box and derailed 24 cars containing dangerous commodities, in Mississaugua, Ontario. Almost a quarter of a million people were evacuated for periods of up to five days. The Grange Commission report on the accident was published in December of 1980.
 
November 11, 1934


The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy's Pioneer Zephyr made it's first run in scheduled passenger service between Lincoln, Nebraska and Kansas City, Missouri.


November 11, 1957


Demolition began on San Francisco's cable car barn at California & Hyde streets.


November 11, 1957


The Pennsylvania Railroad ran steam power for the final time.
 
November 12, 1831


The John Bull, the oldest operable steam locomotive in the United States, is placed in regular service on the Camden & Amboy RR.


November 12, 1939


In the state of Michigan, The New York Central's "The Mercury", perhaps the most luxurious passenger train to serve Michigan, began service between Chicago and Detroit.


November 12, 1965


The heaviest single piece of freight ever carried by rail, was a 549.2 ton hydrocracker reactor hauled from Birmingham, Alabama to Toledo, Ohio.
 
November 13, 1873


In the state of Michigan, the Chicago and Canada Southern Railway opened a line from Slocum Junction (Trenton) to Blissfield.


November 13, 1882


In the state of Michigan, the Cincinnati, Wabash and Michigan Railway completed it's line from Benton Harbor to Goshen, Indiana.


November 13, 1906


New York Central's New York electrification began
 
November 14, 1832


The world's first streetcar system opened in New York City with horse drawn cars on tracks on Fourth Avenue between Prince and 14th Streets.


November 14, 1945


In the Washington, D.C., area, the Sheperd's Landing Bridge was withdrawn from service. During 3 years of service it required 1 train per day to maintain safety. It averaged 3 to 7 trains daily with a maximum of 184 trains reached in the entire month of October, 1944. The Bridge was demolished in early 1947.
 
November 15, 1863

A connection was made between the Chicago, Burlington and Iowa Railroad and the Hanibal and St. Joseph Railroad. These two roads would eventually become part of the CB&Q, or Burlington Route.


November 15, 1889

In the state of Michigan, the Flint & Pere Marquette line between Yale and East Saginaw was widened to standard guage.


November 15, 1889

The Flint & Pere Marquette built a new standard guage line between Yale and Port Huron, and between Brown City and Deanville (their quarry spur).


November 15, 1896

The Flint & Pere Marquette completed a line from Monroe to Alexis, Ohio (Toledo).


November 15, 1908

Oregon Electric's Forest Grove branch was opened.


November 15, 1910

Penn Station opened in New York City.


November 15, 1920

W. F. Turner became President of the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway.


November 15, 1928

The first rail detector car to be placed in commercial service began operation on the Wabash Railroad.


November 15, 1948

The Union Pacific Railroad began track tests of a gas-turbine-electric locomotive.


November 15, 1957

The longest and heaviest train (500 coal cars, 4 miles long, 42,000 tons) was hauled by the Norfolk & Western between Iager, West Virginia and Portsmouth, Ohio.
 
November 16, 1952


Northern Pacific's North Coast Limited began interchange of coaches and sleepers with trains 1 & 2 of the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway at Pasco, Washington.


November 16, 1963


The Norfolk & Western operated it's last mixed train on it's Abingdon Branch.


November 16, 1967


Canadian Pacific began testing Canada's first remote-controlled mid-train diesel locomotives in regular freight service, using a new "Robot" radio-command system.


November 16, 1972


GE introduced it's E60C electric locomotive.
 
November 17, 1837


The Sandusky, believed to be the first locomotive equipped with a steam whistle in the United States, arrives on the Mad River & Lake Erie at Sandusky, Ohio.


November 17, 1855


The Grand Trunk Railway was opened between Montreal and Brockville, Ontario.


November 17, 1889


In the state of Michigan, the Toledo, Ann Arbor and Lake Michigan Ry opened a line from Cadillac to Beecher.


November 17, 1889


The first daily railroad service to the Pacific Coast, without change was between Chicago and Portland, Oregon and between Chicago and San Francisco, California on the Union Pacific Railroad.


November 17, 1897

In Michigan, the Lake Shore closed their White Pigeon roundhouse.


November 17, 1907

In Washington, D.C., the first Pennsylvania Railroad train operated in and out of Union Station. Other rail lines from the south also commenced usage of the same depot.


November 17, 1908

Service begins between Vancouver, Washington and Portland, Oregon on the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway.


November 17, 1938

Today marks the 79th birthday of the well known Canadian folk artist & composer, Gordon Lightfoot. I mention this because he had written a lot of good railroad songs, including "Canadian Railroad Trillogy" and "Steel Rail Blues."
 
Back
Top