1910 in rail transport
Encyclopedia
January events
- January 3 – Tired of its cars being routed to the Boston and Maine RailroadBoston and Maine RailroadThe Boston and Maine Corporation , known as the Boston and Maine Railroad until 1964, was the dominant railroad of the northern New England region of the United States for a century...
by mistake, the Brookville and Mahoning Railroad of PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
changes its name to the Pittsburg and Shawmut RailroadPittsburg and Shawmut RailroadThe Pittsburg and Shawmut Railroad , also known as the Shawmut Line, was a short line railroad company operating passenger and freight service on standard gauge track in central and southwestern Pennsylvania...
. - January 21 – 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...
's westbound Soo Express passenger train derails as it crosses the bridge over the Spanish RiverSpanish River (Ontario)The Spanish River is a river in Algoma District, Sudbury District and Greater Sudbury in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. It flows in a southerly direction from its headwaters at Spanish Lake and Duke Lake to its mouth at the North Channel on Georgian Bay, Lake Huron just outside of the community...
in Northern OntarioNorthern OntarioNorthern Ontario is a region of the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north of Lake Huron , the French River and Lake Nipissing. The region has a land area of 802,000 km2 and constitutes 87% of the land area of Ontario, although it contains only about 6% of the population...
, 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...
, killing 44 people. See Spanish River derailmentSpanish River derailmentThe Spanish River derailment is a rail transport accident that occurred on January 21, 1910, on the CPR line where the railway crosses the Spanish River near the settlement of Nairn in Northern Ontario, Canada....
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February events
- February 24 – The Cleveland Short Line RailwayCleveland Short Line RailwayThe Cleveland Short Line Railway was a freight bypass around southern Cleveland, Ohio on the New York Central Railroad's Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway system. It is now owned and used by CSX.-History:...
, a subsidiarySubsidiaryA subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern RailwayLake Shore and Michigan Southern RailwayThe Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, sometimes referred to as the Lake Shore, was a major part of the New York Central Railroad's Water Level Route from Buffalo, NY to Chicago, primarily along the south shore of Lake Erie and across northern Indiana...
, opens its first 9.73 miles (15.7 km) section of track from Rockport to Marcy, OhioOhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, and a junction with the Lake Erie and Pittsburg Railway.
March events
- March 1 – A snowslide buries three passenger trains in the Cascades, killing 118, making it the worst snowslide accident in U.S. history.
April events
- April 2 – Butzbach-Licher Eisenbahn in GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
opens the section from Bad NauheimBad NauheimBad Nauheim is a town in the Wetteraukreis district of Hesse state of Germany. , Bad Nauheim has a population of 30,365. The town is located approximately 35 kilometers north of Frankfurt am Main, on the east edge of the Taunus mountain range. It is a world-famous resort, noted for its salt...
to RockenbergRockenbergRockenberg is a municipality in the Wetteraukreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located approx. 36 kilometers north of Frankfurt am Main....
. - April 5 – Opening of the Argentine Transandino Railway, a metre gauge mountain railwayMountain railwayA mountain railway is a railway that ascends and descends a mountain slope that has a steep grade. Such railways can use a number of different technologies to overcome the steepness of the grade...
partly using the Abt rack system, from Los Andes, ChileLos Andes, ChileLos Andes, founded in July 31, 1791 as Santa Rosa de Los Andes, is a Chilean city and commune located in the province of the same name, in Valparaíso Region...
, to Mendoza, ArgentinaMendoza, ArgentinaMendoza is the capital city of Mendoza Province, in Argentina. It is located in the northern-central part of the province, in a region of foothills and high plains, on the eastern side of the Andes. As of the , Mendoza's population was 110,993...
, a distance of 251 km (156 mi), rising to a height of about 3200 m (10,498.7 ft) at the summit tunnel.
June events
- June 6 – the US Railroad Safety Appliance Act of 1893 is further extended to mandate that no less than 85% of all railroad carRailroad carA railroad car or railway vehicle , also known as a bogie in Indian English, is a vehicle on a rail transport system that is used for the carrying of cargo or passengers. Cars can be coupled together into a train and hauled by one or more locomotives...
s in an operating train must be equipped with air brakesAir brake (rail)An air brake is a conveyance braking system actuated by compressed air. Modern trains rely upon a fail-safe air brake system that is based upon a design patented by George Westinghouse on March 5, 1872. The Westinghouse Air Brake Company was subsequently organized to manufacture and sell...
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July events
- July 5 – Opening of Bernina RailwayBernina RailwayThe Bernina Railway is a single track metre gauge railway line forming part of the Rhaetian Railway . It links the spa resort of St. Moritz, in the Canton of Graubünden, Switzerland, with the town of Tirano, in the Province of Sondrio, Italy, via the Bernina Pass...
(metre gauge, electrified) from St. MoritzSt. MoritzSt. Moritz is a resort town in the Engadine valley in Switzerland. It is a municipality in the district of Maloja in the Swiss canton of Graubünden...
, SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, to TiranoTiranoTirano is a town in Valtellina, located in the province of Sondrio, Northern Italy. It has about 9,044 inhabitants and is adjacent to the Switzerland-Italy boundary. The river Adda flows through the town....
, ItalyItalyItaly , 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...
, crossing the AlpsAlpsThe Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
at the highest altitude of a through railway in Europe, 2257 m (7,404.9 ft). - July 11 – Construction begins on the Sheridan Railway in Sheridan, WyomingSheridan, WyomingSheridan is a city in Sheridan County, Wyoming, United States. The 2010 census put the population at 17,444 and a Micropolitan Statistical Area of 29,116...
. - July 18 – A passenger train traveling through dense fogFogFog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...
hits a stationary locomotiveLocomotiveA locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
in Richmond, VictoriaRichmond, VictoriaRichmond is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra...
, AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, killing nine people on the moving train. - July 26 – The London and South Western RailwayLondon and South Western RailwayThe London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in...
introduces a new Continental service, SouthamptonSouthamptonSouthampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
-HavreHavreHavre may refer to:* Havre, Montana* Havre de Grace, Maryland* Havre , Norway* Havre-Aubert, Magdalen Islands, Quebec, Canada* Havre Boucher, Nova Scotia, Canada...
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August events
- August 10 – The Mill Mountain InclineMill Mountain InclineThe Mill Mountain Incline was a 0.37 mi funicular, or inclined plane, located on Mill Mountain in Roanoke, Virginia that operated between 1910-1929...
funicularFunicularA funicular, also known as an inclined plane or cliff railway, is a cable railway in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails moves them up and down a steep slope; the ascending and descending vehicles counterbalance each other.-Operation:The basic principle of funicular...
in Roanoke, VirginiaRoanoke, VirginiaRoanoke is an independent city in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. state of Virginia and is the tenth-largest city in the Commonwealth. It is located in the Roanoke Valley of the Roanoke Region of Virginia. The population within the city limits was 97,032 as of 2010...
, opens for service. - August 22 – The first Western Pacific RailroadWestern Pacific RailroadThe Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California...
passenger train to operate over the railroad's entire route from Salt Lake City, UtahSalt Lake City, UtahSalt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
, arrives in San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
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September events
- September 21 – A Fort Wayne and Wabash Valley Traction interurban car overruns a meeting point at Kingsland, IndianaKingsland, IndianaKingsland is an unincorporated town in Jefferson Township, Wells County, Indiana....
, and smashes head onHead-on collisionA head-on collision is one where the front ends of two ships, trains, planes or vehicles hit each other, as opposed to a side collision or rear-end collision.-Rail transport:...
into a northbound interurban. Forty-one people are killed in the worst accident of the interurban era.
October events
- October 1 – The Great Western RailwayGreat Western RailwayThe Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
of EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, abolishes second-class rail fares (first- and third-class remain).
November events
- November 27 – 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....
's Manhattan TransferManhattan Transfer (PRR station)Manhattan Transfer was a passenger station in Harrison, New Jersey, east of Newark, 8.8 miles west of New York Penn Station on the Pennsylvania Railroad main line, now Amtrak's Northeast Corridor...
station and the New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
side of the railroad's Hudson RiverHudson RiverThe Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
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...
s (built by the Pennsylvania Tunnel and Terminal RailroadPennsylvania Tunnel and Terminal RailroadThe New York Tunnel Extension , was a major project of the Pennsylvania Railroad at the beginning of the 20th century, to improve railroad access throughout the greater New York City area...
) open in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
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December events
- December 24 – The Hawes Junction train disaster in CumbriaCumbriaCumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, occurs when a busy signalman forgets about a pair of bank enginesSteam 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...
waiting at his starting signalRailway signalA signal is a mechanical or electrical device erected beside a railway line to pass information relating to the state of the line ahead to train/engine drivers. The driver interprets the signal's indication and acts accordingly...
and he then allows two trains into the one block section.
Unknown date events
- The city of Cleveland, OhioCleveland, OhioCleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, approves a bond measure to pay for the Nickel Plate Road's grade separationGrade separationGrade separation is the method of aligning a junction of two or more transport axes at different heights so that they will not disrupt the traffic flow on other transit routes when they cross each other. The composition of such transport axes does not have to be uniform; it can consist of a...
project through the densest part of the city. - 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....
opens Pennsylvania Station in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. - Finnish RailwaysVR GroupVR or VR Group is a state-owned railway company in Finland. Formerly known as Suomen Valtion Rautatiet until 1922 and Valtionrautatiet / Statsjärnvägarna until 1995...
opens Lanskaya StationLanskayaLanskaya platform is a railway station located in St. Petersburg, Russia.Lanskaya is commuter passenger station, its platforms are located on a high embankment....
in Saint Peterburg, RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
after the restructuring of the architect Bruno GranholmBruno GranholmBruno Ferdinand Granholm was a Finnish architect. He served as the chief architect of Rautatiehallitus between 1892 and 1926...
. - The Lackawanna Railroad opens the Lackawanna Cutoff, a 28-mile low-grade line from Lake Hopatcong to the Delaware River. Built primarily to transport anthracite coal from Pennsylvania to New York, the line also serves dozens of resort hotels in the Poconos. Trains on this line routinely approach speeds of 100 miles an hour. It remains in service until 1979, and is now owned by the State of New Jersey.
February births
- February 27 – Francesco di Majo, designer of the PendolinoPendolinoPendolino is an Italian family of tilting trains used in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland, Russian Federation, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, Slovakia, Switzerland, China and shortly in Romania and Poland...
(d. 20112011 in rail transport- January events :* 10 January – Regular through passenger service from Wuhan to Wanzhou over the complete new Yiwan Railway in China starts...
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March deaths
- March 7 – George WhaleGeorge WhaleGeorge Whale was a British locomotive engineer who worked for the London and North Western Railway .Whale was born in Bocking, Essex. In 1858 he entered Wolverton Works under James Edward McConnell, and from 1862 under John Ramsbottom. In 1865 he entered the drawing office at Crewe Works, and in...
, Chief Mechanical EngineerChief Mechanical EngineerChief Mechanical Engineer and Locomotive Superintendent are titles applied by British, Australian, and New Zealand railway companies to the person ultimately responsible to the board of the company for the building and maintaining of the locomotives and rolling stock...
of the London and North Western RailwayLondon and North Western RailwayThe London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
1903–1909 (b. 1842).