Rivanna Chapter, NRHS - This Month in Railroad History

NATIONAL RAILWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Rivanna Chapter

Charlottesville, Virginia

This Month in Railroad History

* May *

MAY 1

1882 - First scheduled train operations on the C&O from Richmond to Newport News, VA.

1888 - Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad completes route from Chicago to California.

1888 - First trials for the first electric freight locomotive. It was build by the Pullman Car Company for the Ansonia, Derby & Birmingham Electric Line.

1890 - DP&AN formed

1891 - C&O shops in Clifton Forge, VA, opened.

1903 - Columbia Railway & Navigation Co. (CR&N) begins daily freight service

1905 - Regular service begins on the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake's line from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City.

1908 - Hepburn Law, which bars railroads from handling products in which they hold an interest, goes into effect.

1911 - C.F. Gray becomes fourth President (SP&S Ry.)

1942 - Last pre-war lightweight train, the Panama Limited, goes into service on the Illinois Central.

1960 - Southern Pacific Railroad abandons the Keeler branch, its last narrow gauge operation.

1971 - Amtrak takes over most passenger service in the U.S.

1971 - Final ru for N&W Train No. 4, The Pocahontas N&W's last regularly scheduled passenger train.

MAY 2

1844 - Elijah McCoy, who received more than 50 patents for his inventions, is born It was from his inventions that we get the phrase, the real McCoy

1881 - Construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway begins.

1977 - Texas & Pacific 2-10-4 #610 joins Southern Railway stem program.

MAY 3

1865 - President Abraham Lincoln's funeral train arrives at its destination in Springfield IL.

1881 - Patent #241,112 is issued to Leonides Woolley for the first electric locomotive headlight.

1881 - "Norfolk & Western" formed after first stockholders meeting, when AM&O reorganizes as N&W Railroad.

1909 - Pasco, WA to Marshall, WA opened; through service begins Portland, OR to Spokane, WA (SP&S Ry.)

MAY 4

1845 - The first iron-truss bridge is completed on the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad.

1941 - Last train operated on the narrow gauge Colorado Central Railroad.

1989 - Canadian Pacific opens longest tunnel in Canada, the 9.1-mile Mt. McDonald Tunnel in Roger's Pass.

MAY 5

1865 - America's first recorded train robbery occurs when a group of unidentified men loot an overturned Ohio & Mississippi train at North Bend, Ohio, between St. Louis and Cincinnati.

MAY 6

1883 - C&O steamer service to Bermuda begun.

1960 - Last road steam operation on the Norfolk & Western Railway, as Y6b No. 2190 operates on Scioto Division out of Williamson, WV.

1983 - Last mixed train on the Georgia Railroad, #103 and #108 Atlanta-Augusta.

MAY 7

1959 - C&O inaugurates Railvan (later RoadRailer) service.

1960 - Steam era ends on N&W as fire is dropped from S1a No. 291 early in the morning in Williamson, WV.

1964 - Railroads begin eliminating fireman from locomotives.

1977 - Chessie System Chessie Steam Special begins operation to celebrate Baltimore & Ohio sesquicentennial.

MAY 8

1837 - First American type steam locomotive (4-4-0) completed in Philadelphia.

1863 - Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers founded.

1936 - First A Class No. 1200 emerges from Roanoke Shops on N&W.

1968 - ICC decides to drop Santa Fe Chief in favor of keeping the Grand Canyon.

MAY 9

1850 - The second rail connection to the Western Waters was made from Charleston to Chattanooga, on the Tennessee River.

1864 - GEN Sheridan burned Beaverdam Station, VA.

1901 - The panic of 1901 begins as a result of a fight for between J.J. Hill and Edward H. Harriman for control of the Northern Pacific Railroad.

MAY 10

1869 - Golden Spike Ceremony completes Transcontinental railroad at Promontory, Utah.

1893 - Empire State Express makes first 100 MPH run between Syracuse and Buffalo, New York.

1912 - J.H. Young becomes fifth President (SP&S Ry.)

1948 - All railroads in the United States are seized by the government in order to forestall a national strike.

MAY 11

1889 - First run of The Fast Flying Virginian on the C&O.

1892 - The first locomotive to owned by an industrial company, the Whitin Machine Works in Whitinsville, MA, is placed in service.

1893 - New York Central's engine number 999 sets world speed record of 112.5 MPH near Batavia, NY. The record holds for over twelve years.

1894 - Workers at the Pullman Palace Car Company go on strike to protest wage cuts.

1956 - Chicago & Northwestern dieselize Chicago commuter trains.

MAY 12

1936 - Maiden run of the Santa Fe Super Chief.

1955 - A crowd of about 850 ride on the last run of New York's longest operating elevated railroad, the 3rd Avenue El, which wad been in service for almost 80 years.

1968 - Last runs of The Fast Flying Virginian and The Sportsman on the C&O.

1989 - Last graffiti covered New York City subway car is retired.

MAY 13

1829 - The Stounebridge Lion arrived in New York from England for the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company.

1933 - Oregon Electriy Ry. (OE) Passenger service discontinued

1968 - Santa Fe Chief makes last run.

MAY 14

1851 - President Millard Fillmore is present for the opening of the first direct rail route from the Hudson River to Lake Erie on the New York & Erie RR connecting Piermont, NY, with Dunkirk, NY (on Lake Erie). It was built at 6-foot gauge, making it the both the broadest gauge in the US, and the longest mainline in the world.

1906 - Oregon Electric Railway (OE) incorporated

1909 - Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad completes line to Seattle.

1945 - First Alco road switcher, RS-1 #52 received (SP&S Ry.)

1994 - Former Southern Railway president (1967-1976) W. Graham Claytor dies.

MAY 15

1902 - Lake Erie and Huron Railway consolidated from three smaller companies.

1907 - Service over the entire length of the Yosemite Valley Railroad begins.

1907 - Yosemite Valley Railroad begins service from Merced to El Portal.

1932 - Southern Railways Nos. 17 & 18, The Birmingham Special, egins operating on N&W via Lynchburg and Bristol, Virginia.

1952 - Scribner Turn initiated, ending 10 year alternating switching between Hillyard and Yardley (SP&S Ry.)

1974 - Amtrak's Texas Chief is renamed to the Lone Star.

MAY 16

1853 - The Toronto, the first steam locomotive manufactured in Canada, makes its first run on the Ontario, Simcoe & Huron Union Railway.

1853 - First section of the Illinois Central Railroad completed from LaSalle to Bloomington, Illinois.

1883 - Denver & Rio Grande Western Railway reaches Ogden, Utah.

1956 - New York Central unveils lightweight Xplorer streamliner.

1988 - ICC approves purchase of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (Katy) by Union Pacific subsidiary, Missouri Pacific.

MAY 17

1853 - Ten railroad companies agree to form the nation's first important railroad merger, creating the New York Central Railroad System.

1895 - The Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railway, the first electric elevated railroad, opens in Chicago.

1945 - Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allocates radio frequencies for use by railroads.

1946 - U.S. Government seizes railroads to avert strike.

1961 - Last steam engine used in passenger terminal switching service, Dallas Union Terminal 0-6-0 #7 is replaced by a diesel.

1990 - Former Wheeling & Lake Erie property sold by Norfolk Southern to new W&LE.

MAY 18

1871 - aginaw Valley & St. Louis RR (Pere Marquette predecessor) incorporated.

1896 - In Plessy v. Ferguson, the U.S. Supreme Court upholds Louisiana's Jim Crow Law which required railroads to provide equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races. This separate, but equal doctrine remained in place for 58 years until reversed by the Court in Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka.

1901 - Striking railroad workers in Albany, New York are forced back on the job by state militia.

1959 - Last N&W steam double-header storms over Blue Ridge.

MAY 19

1851 - First train on the Erie Railroad to reach the railroad's terminus, Dunkirk, New York, at Lake Erie.

1909 - Puget Sound extension of Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific completed.

190 - Virginian Railway founder Henry H. Rodgers dies.

1918 - Government provides $1 billion to U.S. railroads for upkeep.

1955 - Noting that there were still 6500 coal burning steam locomotives in service, the National Coal Association protests that a planned ceremony by the Interstate Commerce Commission to commemorate the passing of steam locomotives from America's transportation scene is premature.

1974 - Amtrak's Super Chief is renamed to the Southwest Limited.

1990 - Alaska Railroad passenger service begins using new passenger equipment for daily express service between Anchorage and Fairbanks.

MAY 20

1830 - Baltimore & Ohio Railroad publishes first railroad timetable.

1880 - Southern Pacific reaches Tucson, Arizona.

1926 - Railway Labor Act becomes law.

1956 - Last run of E-1 #700 (SP&S Ry.)

MAY 21

1852 - First train to enter Chicago from the east (Northern Indiana Railroad).

1877 - At Altoona, Pennsylvania, Alexander Graham Bell's assistants begin tests which result in the permanent installation of telephones in the Pennsylvania Railroad shops.

1883 - Regular operations begin on extension of N&W line to Bluefield, WV.

1927 - The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific's Pioneer Limited becomes the first Pullman train to be completely equipped with roller bearings.

1932 - To promote ticket sales, the Missouri Pacific Railroad runs the first Mystery Excursion from St. Louis. Passengers purchased tickets without knowing their destination until they arrived, which turned out to be Arcadia, MO.

MAY 22

1868 - The Great Train Robbery. Seven members of the Reno gang hold up an Indianapolis bound Jefferson, Madison & Indianapolis train at Marshfield, Indiana. The gang makes off with $98,000 from a safe in the express car.

1881 - Frederick Kimball discovers the rich Pocahontas coal vein in Abbs Valley.

1909 - Georgia railroad workers strike against employment of Negroes.

1910 - First C&O 2-6-6-2 Mallet arrives at Clifton Forge, VA.

MAY 23

1870 - First train to go coast to coast, the Pullman Hotel Express departs Boston.

1887 - Canada's first transcontinental train arrives in Vancouver, BC.

1891 - First chapel car, the Evangel is dedicated in Cincinnati, Ohio. The car was fitted for religious services and used on the Northern Pacific Railroad.

1946 - Rail unions go on strike despite government seizure of the railroads.

1952 - Truman orders railroads returned back to owners after 21 months of control by the army.

1969 - Last runs of The Cavalier and The Powhatan Arrow on the N&W.

1989 - Amtrak begins Atlantic City service.

1995 - CSX C&O Business Unit headquarters dedicated at Huntington, WV.

MAY 24

1830 - Passenger and freight service opens on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad between Baltimore and Endicott's Mills, Maryland (13 miles).

1844 - Telegraph introduced on Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.

1931 - Baltimore & Ohio Railroad introduces first all air-conditioned passenger train, the Columbian, between New York and Washington, D.C.

1961 - Last run for the Milwaukee Road's Olympian Hiawatha.

MAY 25

1865 - First Bessemer steel rails manufactured in the U.S. at Chicago Rolling Mills. By the end of the century, steel rails had almost completely replaced iron.

1903 - In Scranton, PA, the Lackawanna & Wyoming Valley Railroad becomes the first railroad to be powered by an electrified third-rail system.

1910 - First C&O Mallet (H-1 #751) delivered.

1945 - The New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad becomes the first U.S. railroad to be completely equipped with diesel-electric locomotives.

MAY 26

1902 - C&O Greenbrier Branch completed to Durbin, WV.

1926 - Nicolas, Fayette & Greenbrier RR incorporated.

1934 - Burlington's Pioneer Zephyr, the first streamlined diesel-electric train, makes non-stop run from Denver to Chicago in 13 hours, 5 minutes. It is the first train to run over 1000 miles nonstop.

1941 - The first mainline freight diesel, EMC's FT, arrives on Southern Railway property. Southern would eventually purchase the 4 unit set, renumbering 103A as 6100. This unit was restored to its original demonstrator paint scheme and is currently displayed at Museum of Transportation in St. Louis.

1946 - U.S. government lifts control of the railroads after accord ends strike.

MAY 27

1794 - Cornelius Vanderbilt born.

1836 - Jay Gould, US railroad executive, financier born.

1895 - Supreme Court upholds the federal government's 1894 injunction against Eugene Debs.

1904 - Dining car service inaugurated on the N&W.

MAY 28

1869 - Cheyenne Indians destroy a section of the Union Pacific Railroad near Fossil Creek, Kansas.

1872 - Columbus & Toledo RR incorporated (Hocking Valley predecessor).

1946 - Robert H. Smith become N&W's 7th president.

1959 - No. 1214 ends Class A operations on the N&W.

MAY 29

1935 - Milwaukee Road begins Hiawatha service between Chicago and St. Paul. On the Chicago to Milwaukee section these trains averaged 100 MPH.

1955 - N&W commences dieselization with the purchase of eight Alco RS-3's.

1976 - Santa Fe discontinues Super C service.

MAY 30

1881 - Kansas City, St. Joseph & Burlington Railway chartered. In 1901 it became part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy.

1893 - The Walter Mains Circus train derails at Little Horseshoe Curve, near Tyrone, Pennsylvania. The derailment kills 6 people an 100 animals.

1911 - First Milwaukee Road Olympian arrives at Deer Lodge, Montana.

1953 - Cedar Rapids & Iowa City Railway discontinues passenger service and converts from electric to diesel power.

MAY 31

1872 - Heading of C&O's Big Bend Tunnel driven through.

1924 - C&O car ferry Pere Marquette 21 placed in service.

1947 - The Gulf, Mobile & Ohio stretches from the Gulf of Mexico to Chicago after it merges with the Alton lines.

1950 - Service ends on the Virginia & Trukee Railway.

1969 - Dallas becomes the largest U.S. city without Passenger Service with the last run of the Texas & Pacific Texas Eagle.

Select historical events courtesy of RailwayStation.com and are used with permission. Please visit their website at www.railwaystation.com

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