1881 in rail transport
Encyclopedia
January events
- January 17 - Regular train service over the Prince of Wales BridgePrince of Wales BridgeThe Prince of Wales Bridge is a rail bridge across the Ottawa River joining Ottawa, Ontario to Gatineau, Quebec. It connected with the Canadian Pacific Railway line just west of Lebreton Flats, and crosses the south channel of the river to Lemieux Island; it then continues across the northern...
on the Québec, Montréal, Ottawa and Occidental Railway begins.
February events
- February 3 - The Seney SyndicateSeney SyndicateDuring 1879 and 1880, the Seney Syndicate linked together several short railroads in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois to form the Lake Erie and Western Railroad....
met at Seney's New York bank and organized the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railway Company (which would later become the Nickel Plate Road). - February 17 - The first train operates between Norwood, OhioNorwood, OhioNorwood is the second most populous city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. The city is an enclave of the larger city of Cincinnati. The population was 21,675 at the 2000 census. Originally settled as an early suburb of Cincinnati in the wooded countryside north of the city, the area is...
, and Lebanon, OhioLebanon, OhioThe population at the 2010 census was 20,033. As of the census of 2000, there were 16,962 people residing in the city. The population density was 1,440.6 people per square mile . There were 6,218 housing units at an average density of 528.1 per square mile...
, on the Cincinnati Northern Railway.
March events
- March 8 - The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, building southwestward from KansasKansasKansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, reaches Deming, New MexicoDeming, New MexicoDeming is a city in Luna County, New Mexico, United States, located 60 miles west of Las Cruces. The population was 14,116 at the 2000 census. Deming is the county seat and principal town of Luna County.-History:...
.
April events
- April 13 - The New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railway Company (later known as the Nickel Plate Road) purchases the Buffalo, Cleveland & Chicago Railway
- April 14 - The Oregon Short Line RailroadOregon Short Line RailroadThe Oregon Short Line Railroad was a railroad in the U.S. states of Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Montana and Oregon. The line was as organized the Oregon Short Line Railway in 1881 as a subsidiary of Union Pacific Railway. Union Pacific intended the line to be the shortest route from Wyoming to Oregon...
is established to build a rail connection between Granger, WyomingGranger, WyomingGranger is a town in Sweetwater County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 146 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Granger is located at ....
, and Huntington, OregonHuntington, OregonHuntington is a city in Baker County, on the eastern border of Oregon, United States. It is located on the Snake River and along Interstate 84 and U.S. Route 30. The population was 515 at the 2000 census.- History:...
.
May events
- May 16 - The Gross-Lichterfelde TramwayGross-Lichterfelde TramwayThe Gross Lichterfelde Tramway was the world's first electric tramway. It was built by the Siemens & Halske company in Lichterfelde, a suburb of Berlin, and went in service on 16 May 1881....
, the world's first electric tramway, is opened in BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
by Siemens & HalskeSiemens & HalskeSiemens & Halske AG was a German electrical engineering company that later became part of Siemens AG.It was founded on 12 October 1847 as Telegraphen-Bauanstalt von Siemens & Halske by Ernst Werner von Siemens and Johann Georg Halske...
. - May 19 - Tracks of the Southern Pacific RailroadSouthern Pacific RailroadThe Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
reach El Paso, TexasEl Paso, TexasEl Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
. - May 28 - A.B. Rogers on his birthday discovers the pass through the Rocky MountainsRocky MountainsThe Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
that will bear his name, Rogers PassRogers PassRogers Pass is a high mountain pass through the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia used by the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Trans-Canada Highway. The pass is a shortcut across the "Big Bend" of the Columbia River from Revelstoke on the west to Donald, near Golden, on the east...
.
June events
- June 9 - The Canada Central Railway is merged into the Canadian Pacific RailwayCanadian Pacific RailwayThe Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
. - June 11 - The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad connects to El Paso, TexasEl Paso, TexasEl Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
.
July events
- July 4 - Darjeeling Himalayan RailwayDarjeeling Himalayan RailwayThe Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, nicknamed the "Toy Train", is a narrow gauge railway from New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling in West Bengal, run by the Indian Railways....
opened throughout to Darjeeling, IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. - July 6 - Kate ShelleyKate ShelleyCatherine "Kate" Shelley was a midwestern United States railroad heroine, and the first woman in the United States to have a bridge named for her. She was also one of the few women to ever have a train named after her, the Kate Shelley 400.-Background:Catherine Shelley was born in Loughaun, County...
prevented a train with 200 passengers from going over the Honey Creek Bridge after it was washed out during a flash floodFlash floodA flash flood is a rapid flooding of geomorphic low-lying areas—washes, rivers, dry lakes and basins. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a storm, hurricane, or tropical storm or meltwater from ice or snow flowing over ice sheets or snowfields...
near Des Moines, IowaDes Moines, IowaDes Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
. - July 26 - Construction crews on the Denver, South Park and Pacific RailroadDenver, South Park and Pacific RailroadThe Denver, South Park, and Pacific Railroad was a historic narrow gauge railway that operated in Colorado in the western United States in the late 19th century. The railroad opened up the first rail routes to a large section of the central Colorado mining district in the decades of the mineral boom...
's Alpine Tunnel, in ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, break through to connect both ends of the tunnelTunnelA tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...
.
August events
- August 22 - The East Tennessee and Western North Carolina RailroadEast Tennessee and Western North Carolina RailroadThe East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad , affectionately called the "Tweetsie" in reference to the sound of its steam whistles, was primarily a railroad established in 1866 for the purpose of serving the mines at Cranberry, North Carolina.The narrow gauge portion of the ET&WNC was...
(ET&WNC) commences operation over a 14.1-mile (2.25-kilometer) run through the Appalachian MountainsAppalachian MountainsThe Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
. - August 26 - The first train operates over the Red River BridgeRed River of the NorthThe Red River is a North American river. Originating at the confluence of the Bois de Sioux and Otter Tail rivers in the United States, it flows northward through the Red River Valley and forms the border between the U.S. states of Minnesota and North Dakota before continuing into Manitoba, Canada...
into Winnipeg, Manitoba, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Unknown date events
- E.W. Clark & Co.E.W. Clark & Co.E. W. Clark & Co. was a banking and financial firm founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1837 by Enoch White Clark. Among its partners were American Civil War financier Jay Cooke and West Philadelphia developer Clarence Howard Clark....
, a private banking firm in Philadelphia, purchases the Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio RailroadAtlantic, Mississippi and Ohio RailroadAtlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad was formed in 1870 in Virginia from 3 east-west railroads which traversed across the southern portion of the state. Organized and led by former Confederate general William Mahone , the 428-mile line linked Norfolk with Bristol, Virginia by way of Suffolk,...
(a predecessor of the Norfolk & Western) at a foreclosure auction. - The Richmond and Danville RailroadRichmond and Danville RailroadThe Richmond and Danville Railroad was chartered in Virginia in the United States in 1847. The portion between Richmond and Danville, Virginia was completed in 1856...
leases the Atlanta and Charlotte Air Line Railway. - Henry VillardHenry VillardHenry Villard was an American journalist and financier who was an early president of the Northern Pacific Railway....
becomes president of the Northern Pacific Railroad. - The FrenchFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interocéanique purchased controlling interest in the Panama RailwayPanama RailwayThe Panama Canal Railway Company is a railway line that links the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean across Panama in Central America. It is jointly owned by the Kansas City Southern Railway and Mi-Jack Products...
Company. - John SoutherJohn SoutherJohn Souther was the founder of Globe Locomotive Works, an American steam locomotive manufacturing company. In his obituary published in the Newton, Massachusetts, Town Crier, he is credited with the invention of the steam shovel and steam dredger as well as designing the pattern for the fence...
retires from the steam locomotiveSteam locomotiveA steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
manufacturing company that he founded, Globe Locomotive WorksGlobe Locomotive WorksThe Globe Locomotive Works was a late-19th century manufacturer of railroad steam locomotives and other machinery based in Boston, Massachusetts. During that time the firm built some one hundred steam locomotives for railroads throughout the United States...
. - Construction of the Canadian Pacific RailwayCanadian Pacific RailwayThe Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
begins. - The first standard gaugeStandard gaugeThe standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
railroad in ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
is opened from TangshanTangshan"唐山"redirects here. For an alternative name of China, see Names of China#TangTangshan is a largely industrial prefecture-level city in Hebei province, People's Republic of China. It has become known for the 1976 Tangshan earthquake which measured 7.8 on the Richter scale and killed at least...
to XugezhuangXugezhuangXugezhuang is a former village and modern town of Fengnan District in Hebei, China.It was the terminus of the second railway to be constructed in China after the abortive Woosung Railway in Shanghai...
(10 km (6.2 mi)) for coal traffic.
March births
- March 22 - Arturo CaprottiArturo CaprottiArturo Caprotti was an Italian engineer and architect. In 1915 or 1916 he invented the Caprotti valve gear rotary cam poppet valve gear for steam engines of all kinds, but in practice it was employed almost exclusively in railway locomotives.-External links:* at www.steamindex.com...
, ItalianItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
inventor of Caprotti valve gearCaprotti valve gearThe Caprotti valve gear is a type of steam engine valve gear invented in the early 1920's by Italian architect and engineer Arturo Caprotti. It uses camshafts and poppet valves rather than the piston valves used in other valve gear...
for steam locomotiveSteam locomotiveA steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
s (d. 1938).
July births
- July 8 - Mantis James Van Sweringen, AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
financierFinancierFinancier is a term for a person who handles typically large sums of money, usually involving money lending, financing projects, large-scale investing, or large-scale money management. The term is French, and derives from finance or payment...
who, with his brother Oris, controlled the Nickel Plate RoadNew York, Chicago and St. Louis RailroadThe New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad , abbreviated NYC&St.L, was a railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. Commonly referred to as the Nickel Plate Road, the railroad served a large area, including trackage in the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois...
and other eastern railroads (d. 1935).
October births
- October 30 - Charles E. JohnstonCharles E. JohnstonCharles E. Johnston was the eighth president of Kansas City Southern Railway.-References:* Kansas City Southern Historical Society, . Retrieved August 15, 2005....
, president of Kansas City Southern RailwayKansas City Southern RailwayThe Kansas City Southern Railway , owned by Kansas City Southern Industries, is the smallest and second-oldest Class I railroad company still in operation. KCS was founded in 1887 and is currently operating in a region consisting of ten central U.S. states...
1928-1938 (d. 1951).
Unknown date births
- Martin W. ClementMartin W. ClementMartin W. Clement was the 11th president of the Pennsylvania Railroad .He attended Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, ....
, president of the Pennsylvania RailroadPennsylvania RailroadThe Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
1935–1948 (d. 1966).
May deaths
- May 21 - Thomas Alexander ScottThomas Alexander ScottThomas Alexander Scott was an American businessman. He was the 4th president of what was the largest corporation in the world, the Pennsylvania Railroad, during the middle of the 19th century...
, president of Union Pacific RailroadUnion Pacific RailroadThe Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
1871-1872, dies (b. 1823).
Unknown date deaths
- William S. Hudson, superintendent of AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
steam locomotiveSteam locomotiveA steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
manufacturing firm Rogers, Ketchum and Grosvenor (b. 1810).