1941 in rail transport
Encyclopedia
February events
- February 10–March 11 – British ArmyBritish ArmyThe British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
constructs a 60 cm narrow gauge railway from KassalaKassalaKassala is the capital of the state of Kassala in eastern Sudan. Its 2008 population was recorded to be 419,030. It is a market town and is famous for its fruit gardens. It was formerly a railroad hub, however, as of 2006 there was no operational railway station in Kassala and much of the track...
in SudanSudanSudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
90 km east to TesseneiTeseneyTeseney , also spelled Tessenei or Tesseney, is a market town in western Eritrea. It lies south-east of Kassala in Sudan, on the Gash River. The city was much fought over in the Eritrean War of Independence during which much of it was destroyed...
in EritreaEritreaEritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
to support military advance. - February 11 – The first Gold record is presented to Glenn MillerGlenn MillerAlton Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician , arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
for Chattanooga Choo ChooChattanooga Choo Choo"Chattanooga Choo Choo" is a song by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon . It was recorded in a big-band/swing manner by Glenn Miller and his orchestra and featured in the 1941 movie Sun Valley Serenade, which starred Sonja Henie, John Payne, Glenn Miller and his orchestra, The Modernaires, Milton Berle...
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March events
- March – Alco-GEAlco-GEAlco-GE was a partnership between the American Locomotive Company and General Electric that lasted from 1940 to 1953. Their main competitor was EMD. Under this arrangement, Alco produced the locomotive body and prime mover, and GE supplied the electrical gear...
build the first ALCO RS-1ALCO RS-1The ALCO RS-1 was a 4-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by Alco-GE between 1941 and 1953 and the American Locomotive Company from 1953 to 1960. This model has the distinction of having the longest production run of any diesel locomotive for the North American market.The carbody configuration of...
road switcherRoad switcherA road switcher is a type of railroad locomotive used for delivering or picking up cars outside of a railroad yard. Since the road switcher must work some distance away from a yard, it needs to be able to operate at road speeds, it must also have high-visibility while it is switching, and it must...
. This model will have the longest production run of any diesel locomotiveDiesel locomotiveA diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
for the North AmericaNorth AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n market.
April events
- April 28 – The Supreme Court of the United StatesSupreme Court of the United StatesThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
unanimously rules that, based on the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887Interstate Commerce Act of 1887The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 is a United States federal law that was designed to regulate the railroad industry, particularly its monopolistic practices. The Act required that railroad rates be "reasonable and just," but did not empower the government to fix specific rates...
, African AmericanAfrican AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
passengers are entitled to equal accommodations on all passenger trains in the U.S.
May events
- May 4 – Portland, MainePortland, MainePortland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
streetcar system ceases operations. - May 22 – 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 Angus ShopsCPR Angus ShopsThe CPR Angus Shops in Montreal were a railcar manufacturing, repairing and selling facility of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The most of its production consisted of passenger cars, freight cars and locomotives. Built in 1904, and named for founder, Richard B...
in MontrealMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
produce its first tankTankA tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
as part of the war effort for World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
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July events
- July 7 – Deutsche ReichsbahnDeutsche Reichsbahn-GesellschaftThe Deutsche Reichsbahn – was the name of the German national railway created from the railways of the individual states of the German Empire following the end of World War I....
accepts delivery of an experimental "V-8" 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...
from the Henschel Locomotive Works. Nominally a 2-8-2, the locomotive had four sets of two cylinders in a 90 degree "V" shape on the ends of each drive axle, alternating from side to side. Captured by the Allies, it was tested in the U.S. before being scrapped in 1952. - July 11 – SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
's national railway, RENFERENFERenfe Operadora is the state-owned company which operates freight and passenger trains on the 1668-mm "Iberian gauge" and 1435-mm "European gauge" networks of the Spanish national railway infrastructure company ADIF .- History :The name RENFE is derived from that of the former Spanish National...
, is formed. - July – 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....
's M-10002M-10002The Union Pacific Railroad's M-10002 was a diesel-electric streamliner train built in 1936 by Pullman-Standard with a prime mover from the Winton engine division of General Motors Corporation and General Electric generator, control equipment and traction motors...
streamlinerStreamlinerA streamliner is a vehicle incorporating streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance. The term is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor "bullet trains". Less commonly, the term is applied to fully faired recumbent bicycles...
trainset is removed from active service on the City of PortlandCity of PortlandThe City of Portland was a named passenger train operated by the Union Pacific Railroad and Chicago and North Western Railway between Chicago, Illinois, and Portland, Oregon. It started in June 1935, using the refurbished M-10001 streamliner trainset; with only one set of equipment the train left...
and placed in storage.
August events
- August 14 – 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....
's M-10001M-10001The Union Pacific Railroad's M-10001 was a record breaking diesel-electric streamliner train built in late 1934 by Pullman-Standard with an engine from General Motors Electro-Motive Corporation and General Electric generator, control equipment and traction motors...
streamlinerStreamlinerA streamliner is a vehicle incorporating streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance. The term is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor "bullet trains". Less commonly, the term is applied to fully faired recumbent bicycles...
trainset is sold for scrap.
September events
- September 5 – The first 4-8-8-44-8-8-4In the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, a 4-8-8-4 is a locomotive with a four-wheel leading truck, two sets of eight driving wheels, and a four-wheel trailing truck.Other equivalent classifications are:...
"Big Boy"Union Pacific Big BoyBig Boy was the name of the Union Pacific Railroad's 4000-class 4-8-8-4 articulated steam locomotives, built between 1941 and 1944 by American Locomotive Company...
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...
is delivered from Alco to the 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....
at OmahaOmaha, NebraskaOmaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
. - September 7 – The last scheduled train runs on the MaineMaineMaine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
narrow gaugeNarrow gaugeA narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...
Bridgton and Saco River RailroadBridgton and Saco River RailroadThe Bridgton and Saco River Railroad was a gauge railroad that operated in the vicinity of Bridgton and Harrison, Maine. It connected with the Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad from Portland, Maine, to St...
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October events
- October 1 – After a bankruptcy, Spokane International Railway is reorganized as Spokane International RailroadSpokane International RailroadThe Spokane International Railroad was a short line railroad between Spokane, Washington and the Canadian Pacific Railway at Kingsgate, British Columbia...
. - October – Robert E. Woodruff becomes president of the Erie RailroadErie RailroadThe Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, originally connecting New York City with Lake Erie...
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November events
- November 17 – The ProspectorProspector (passenger train)The Prospector was a passenger train operated by the Denver & Rio Grande Western railroad between Denver, Colorado and Salt Lake City, Utah...
multiple unitMultiple unitThe term multiple unit or MU is used to describe a self-propelled carriages capable of coupling with other units of the same or similar type and still being controlled from one driving cab. The term is commonly used to denote passenger trainsets consisting of more than one carriage...
passenger trainset debuts on the Denver and Rio Grande Western RailroadDenver and Rio Grande Western RailroadThe Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to Rio Grande or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, is a defunct U.S. railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow gauge line running south from Denver, Colorado in 1870; however, served mainly as a transcontinental...
in operating between Denver, ColoradoDenver, ColoradoThe City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
, and 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...
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December events
- December – British War Department takes over operation of Trans-Iranian RailwayTrans-Iranian RailwayThe Trans-Iranian Railway was a major railway building project started in 1927 and completed in 1938, under the direction of the Persian monarch, Reza Shah, and entirely with indigenous capital. It links the capital Tehran with the Persian Gulf and Caspian Sea...
from Bandar Shahpur to Teheran to assist in sending wartime supplies to the USSR. - December 7 – The New York Central RailroadNew York Central RailroadThe New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
, with much fanfare, launches a new Empire State ExpressEmpire State ExpressThe Empire State Express was one of the named passenger trains and onetime flagship of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad...
. The bombing of Pearl HarborPearl HarborPearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
puts an immediate damper on the planned festivities. - December 9 – Chesapeake and Ohio RailwayChesapeake and Ohio RailwayThe Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P...
officials accept the first 2-6-6-62-6-6-6The 2-6-6-6 is an articulated locomotive type with 2 leading wheels, two sets of six driving wheels and six trailing wheels. Only two classes of the 2-6-6-6 type were built. One was the "Allegheny" class, built by the Lima Locomotive Works. The name comes from the locomotive's first service with...
Allegheny 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...
from the Lima Locomotive WorksLima Locomotive WorksLima Locomotive Works was an American firm that manufactured railroad locomotives from the 1870s through the 1950s. The company took the most distinctive part of its name from its main shops location in Lima, Ohio. The shops were located between the Baltimore & Ohio's Cincinnati-Toledo main line...
. Despite many claims made by AlcoAmerican Locomotive CompanyThe American Locomotive Company, often shortened to ALCO or Alco , was a builder of railroad locomotives in the United States.-Early history:...
, 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....
and others for the 4-8-8-4 Big Boy, the Alleghenies are the largest steam locomotives ever built for service in the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. - December 19 – Baltimore and Ohio RailroadBaltimore and Ohio RailroadThe Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
's ColumbianColumbian (B&O)The Columbian was a named passenger train operated by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. It was the all-coach supplemental train of the all-Pullman Capitol Limited...
passenger train route is extended frm Jersey CityJersey City, New JerseyJersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
-Washington to Jersey City-Chicago.
Unknown date events
- The first of over 8,000 KriegslokomotiveKriegslokomotiveKriegslokomotiven were German 'war locomotives', produced in large numbers during the Second World War, whose construction was tailored to the economic circumstances of wartime Germany, such as shortages of materials, goods transportation , ease of maintenance under difficult conditions, resistance...
2-10-02-10-0Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-10-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, ten powered and coupled driving wheels on five axles, and no trailing wheels...
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 is introduced into service on the Deutsche ReichsbahnDeutsche Reichsbahn-GesellschaftThe Deutsche Reichsbahn – was the name of the German national railway created from the railways of the individual states of the German Empire following the end of World War I....
. - The Heisler Locomotive Works produces the last Heisler locomotiveHeisler locomotiveThe Heisler locomotive was the last variant of the three major types of geared steam locomotive, Charles L. Heisler receiving a patent for the design in 1892 following the construction of a prototype in 1891. Somewhat similar to a Climax locomotive, Heisler's design featured two cylinders canted...
. - The Hollywood, a lounge car built for use on the City of Los AngelesCity of Los AngelesThe City of Los Angeles was a streamlined passenger train that ran between Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California, via Omaha, Nebraska, and Ogden, Utah. Between Omaha and Los Angeles it ran on the Union Pacific Railroad; east of Omaha it ran on the Chicago and North Western Railway until...
becomes the first passenger car whose interior is built entirely out of synthetic materials. The car's interior features the newly invented materials of formicaFormicaFormica is a genus of ants of the family Formicidae, commonly known as wood ants, mound ants, or field ants. Formica is the type genus of the Formicidae, and of the subfamily Formicinae...
and naugahydeNaugahydeNaugahyde is an American brand of artificial leather . Naugahyde is a composite of a knit fabric backing and polyvinyl chloride plastic coating. It was developed by United States Rubber Company, and is now manufactured and sold by the Uniroyal Engineered Products division of Michelin...
. - General Motors Electro-Motive Division introduces the EMD TR1EMD TR1The EMD TR1 was a two-unit "cow-calf" diesel locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois in 1941. Two pairs were built for the Illinois Central Railroad, the only purchaser....
. - Armand Mercier succeeds Angus Daniel McDonaldAngus Daniel McDonaldAngus Daniel McDonald an American railroad executive. He was president of the Southern Pacific Company, the parent company of the Southern Pacific Railroad....
as president of the Southern Pacific Company, parent company 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....
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April deaths
- April 5 – Nigel GresleyNigel GresleySir Herbert Nigel Gresley was one of Britain's most famous steam locomotive engineers, who rose to become Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London and North Eastern Railway . He was the designer of some of the most famous steam locomotives in Britain, including the LNER Class A1 and LNER Class A4...
, 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 Eastern RailwayLondon and North Eastern RailwayThe London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...
1923–1941 (b. 1876). - April 16 – Josiah StampJosiah Stamp, 1st Baron StampJosiah Charles Stamp, 1st Baron Stamp, Bt, GCB, GBE, FBA, was a British civil servant, industrialist, economist, statistician, writer, and banker. He was a director of the Bank of England and chairman of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.Josiah was born in London, the third of seven...
, ChairmanChair (official)The chairman is the highest officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office is typically elected or appointed by the members of the group. The chairman presides over meetings of the assembled group and conducts its business in an...
of the London, Midland and Scottish RailwayLondon, Midland and Scottish RailwayThe London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
1926-1941 (b. 1880) (in an air raidStrategic bombingStrategic bombing is a military strategy used in a total war with the goal of defeating an enemy nation-state by destroying its economic ability and public will to wage war rather than destroying its land or naval forces...
).
Unknown date deaths
- Angus Daniel McDonaldAngus Daniel McDonaldAngus Daniel McDonald an American railroad executive. He was president of the Southern Pacific Company, the parent company of the Southern Pacific Railroad....
, president of the Southern Pacific Company, parent company 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....
, 1932–1941 (b. 1878). - Alonzo C. MatherAlonzo C. MatherAlonzo Clark Mather was founder and president of the Mather Stock Car Company, a U.S. firm that built and leased railroad freight cars, especially stock cars.-Birth and education:...
, founder of Mather Stock Car CompanyMather Stock Car CompanyThe Mather Stock Car Company was a U.S. corporation that built railroad rolling stock. Mather specialized in stock cars, but built other types of cars as well, including boxcars. The company was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Their main headquarters building, Mather Tower, built in 1928 in...
, designed the first widely-recognized humane stock carStock car (rail)In railroad terminology, a stock car or cattle wagon is a type of rolling stock used for carrying livestock to market...
(b. 1848). - Frederick Methvan WhyteFrederick Methvan WhyteFrederick Methvan Whyte was a mechanical engineer of Dutch background who worked for the New York Central in the United States. He is most widely known as the person who developed Whyte notation to describe the different wheel arrangements of steam locomotives in 1900.In some railroad literature,...
, mechanical engineer for the New York Central railroad, creator of Whyte notationWhyte notationThe Whyte notation for classifying steam locomotives by wheel arrangement was devised by Frederick Methvan Whyte and came into use in the early twentieth century encouraged by an editorial in American Engineer and Railroad Journal...
for the classification of 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 (b. 1865).