1947 in rail transport
Encyclopedia
January events
- January 1 – The Companhia dos Caminhos de Ferro PortuguesesComboios de Portugalthumb|250px|right|CP suburban trains at São Bento Station in Oporto.CP — Comboios de Portugal, EPE is a state-owned company which operates freight and passenger trains in Portugal...
is reconstituted and takes over concessions of most private railway companies in PortugalPortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
.
- January 19 – The 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...
inaugurates the Cincinnatian passenger train between Baltimore, Maryland, and Cincinnati, OhioCincinnati, OhioCincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
.
February events
- February 18 – 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 Red Arrow passenger train derailsDerailmentA derailment is an accident on a railway or tramway in which a rail vehicle, or part or all of a train, leaves the tracks on which it is travelling, with consequent damage and in many cases injury and/or death....
at Gallatin, Pennsylvania; 24 people are killed in the accident. - February 28 – The Illinois Central RailroadIllinois Central RailroadThe Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...
withdraws its specialized Green DiamondGreen DiamondThe Green Diamond of the Illinois Central Railroad was a diesel streamliner built in 1936 by Pullman-Standard and powered by Electro-Motive Corporation. It was the last streamliner built with the power car articulated with the train; future streamliners featured a matched but separable locomotive...
passenger trainset from ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
-St. LouisSt. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
service.
March events
- March 4 – Ms. Friedel Klussman launches a drive to preserve the San Francisco cable car systemSan Francisco cable car systemThe San Francisco cable car system is the world's last permanently operational manually operated cable car system, in the US sense of a tramway whose cars are pulled along by cables embedded in the street. It is an icon of San Francisco, California...
.
April events
- April 7 – Ellis D. Atwood completes the original Edaville RailroadEdaville RailroadThe Edaville Railroad is a heritage railroad in South Carver, Massachusetts.Opened in 1947, the Edaville Railroad is generally regarded as one of the oldest heritage railroads in the United States....
on his cranberryCranberryCranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus Oxycoccus of the genus Vaccinium. In some methods of classification, Oxycoccus is regarded as a genus in its own right...
plantation at South Carver, MassachusettsSouth Carver, MassachusettsSouth Carver is a village in the town of Carver, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States.South Carver is the location of the main entrance to the Myles Standish State Forest and also home to the Edaville Railroad. The growing and processing of cranberries is the predominant activities in...
, United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. This narrow gauge line, using equipment from 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...
, is generally regarded as the world’s first tourist railroadHeritage railwaythumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
. - April 27 – After a complete overhaul, Illinois Central's Green DiamondGreen DiamondThe Green Diamond of the Illinois Central Railroad was a diesel streamliner built in 1936 by Pullman-Standard and powered by Electro-Motive Corporation. It was the last streamliner built with the power car articulated with the train; future streamliners featured a matched but separable locomotive...
trainset re-enters active service, this time between Jackson, MississippiJackson, MississippiJackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
, and New Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, as the Miss-Lou passenger train.
May events
- May – American Locomotive CompanyAmerican Locomotive CompanyThe American Locomotive Company, often shortened to ALCO or Alco , was a builder of railroad locomotives in the United States.-Early history:...
completes the last steam locomotives built for the 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 :...
White Pass and Yukon RouteWhite Pass and Yukon RouteThe White Pass and Yukon Route is a Canadian and U.S. Class II narrow gauge railroad linking the port of Skagway, Alaska, with Whitehorse, the capital of Yukon. An isolated system, it has no direct connection to any other railroad. Equipment, freight and passengers are ferried by ship through the...
. - May 5 – Sixteen people die in the Camp Mountain train disasterCamp Mountain train disasterThe Camp Mountain rail accident occurred at approximately 9:48am on 5 May 1947 when a crowded picnic train derailed on a sharp left-hand curve between Ferny Grove and Camp Mountain stations on the now-closed Dayboro line, approximately northwest of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland,...
when a crowded picnic train derails on a sharp left-hand curve between Ferny GroveFerny Grove railway station, BrisbaneFerny Grove Station is a railway station on the Ferny Grove Line of Brisbane, Australia. It is part of the Queensland Rail City network. It is the terminus for the Ferny Grove Line.It is in Zone 3 of the TransLink integrated public transport system....
and Camp MountainCamp Mountain, QueenslandCamp Mountain is a rural locality northwest of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, near Samford. It is 20 km north-west of the Brisbane central business district...
stations on the now-closed DayboroDayboro, QueenslandDayboro is a town in the Moreton Bay Region, approximately 46 km north-northwest of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia.To the north of Dayboro lies the D'Aguilar Range and the mountain township of Mount Mee. Other nearby towns include Petrie and Samford. The land surrounding...
line, approximately 20 km(12.4 miles) northwest of BrisbaneBrisbaneBrisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, QueenslandQueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, 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...
. - May 18 – Seaboard Air Line RailroadSeaboard Air Line RailroadThe Seaboard Air Line Railroad , which styled itself "The Route of Courteous Service," was an American railroad whose corporate existence extended from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, to form the Seaboard Coast Line...
inaugurates the Silver CometSilver Comet (train)The Silver Comet was a streamlined passenger train inaugurated on May 18, 1947, by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad...
passenger train between 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...
and Birmingham, AlabamaBirmingham, AlabamaBirmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
. - May 31 – The Gulf, Mobile and Ohio RailroadGulf, Mobile and Ohio RailroadThe Gulf, Mobile and Ohio was a Class I railroad in the central United States whose primary routes extended from Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans, Louisiana, to St...
acquires the Chicago and Alton Railroad.
June events
- June 6 – The Pere Marquette Railroad is merged into the 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...
. - June 29 – The Milwaukee RoadChicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific RailroadThe Milwaukee Road, officially the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until its merger into the Soo Line Railroad on January 1, 1986. The company went through several official names...
inaugurates the Olympian HiawathaOlympian HiawathaThe Olympian and its successor, Olympian Hiawatha, was a named passenger train operated by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad as train Nos. 15 and 16 from 1911 to 1961...
passenger train between Chicago, Illinois and Tacoma, WashingtonTacoma, WashingtonTacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
. Simultaneously, the railroad revives the ColumbianColumbian (passenger train)The Columbian was a named passenger train operated by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad between Chicago, Illinois, and Seattle/Tacoma, Washington...
, operating on the same route.
July events
- July 1 – The Maine Central RailroadMaine Central RailroadThe Maine Central Railroad Company was a railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. It operated a mainline between South Portland, Maine, east to the Canada-U.S...
begins operation of EMD E7EMD E7The EMD E7 was a , A1A-A1A passenger train locomotive manufactured by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois. The cab version, or E7A, was manufactured from February, 1945 to April, 1949, and 428 were produced. The booster version, or E7B, was manufactured from March, 1945...
locomotives with stainless steelStainless steelIn metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
passenger cars.
August events
- August 6 – The Transport Act 1947Transport Act 1947The Transport Act 1947 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Under it the railways, long-distance road haulage and various other types of transport were acquired by the state and handed over to a new British Transport Commission for operation...
is passed by the Parliament of the United KingdomParliament of the United KingdomThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
providing for the nationalisationNationalizationNationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...
of all major BritishGreat BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
railways in 1948.
- August 14–15 – The Partition of IndiaPartition of IndiaThe Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
leads to transfer of large parts of the North Western, Bengal AssamBengal Assam RailwayThe origin of the Bengal Assam Railway, a railway system operated in India between 1942-47, lies in the Assam Bengal Railway, which was conceived in the late eighties of the nineteenth century, when railways had come to expand in different parts of the subcontinent, with the objective of developing...
and JodhpurJodhpurJodhpur , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located west from the state capital, Jaipur and from the city of Ajmer. It was formerly the seat of a princely state of the same name, the capital of the kingdom known as Marwar...
Railways to a new Pakistan RailwaysPakistan RailwaysThis article is about the rail company in Pakistan. For technical details and operations see: Transport in Pakistan.Pakistan Railways is a national state-owned rail transport service of Pakistan, head-quartered in Lahore. It is administered by the federal government under the Ministry of Railways....
organisation, and large-scale population transferPopulation transferPopulation transfer is the movement of a large group of people from one region to another by state policy or international authority, most frequently on the basis of ethnicity or religion...
between the two countries by rail.
September events
- September 1 – Dugald, ManitobaDugald, ManitobaDugald is a community in Manitoba, Canada, 22 km east of Winnipeg. It was the site of a railway accident in 1947.It is located in the rural municipality of Springfield.Dugald is the birthplace of former NHL goaltender Trevor Kidd....
, 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...
: A Canadian National RailwayCanadian National RailwayThe Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
passenger train fails to take the siding and collides with the No. 4 Transcontinental that is standing on the main line. Thirty-one people are killed. - September 17 – The American Freedom TrainAmerican Freedom TrainThe United States has seen two national 'Freedom Trains'. The 1947–1949 Freedom Train was a special exhibit train that toured the United States in the later half of the 1940s. A similar train called the American Freedom Train toured the country for the United States Bicentennial celebration in...
, carrying the original versions of the United States ConstitutionUnited States ConstitutionThe Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
, Declaration of Independence and the Bill of RightsUnited States Bill of RightsThe Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. These limitations serve to protect the natural rights of liberty and property. They guarantee a number of personal freedoms, limit the government's power in judicial and other proceedings, and...
, begins a two-year tour of the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
starting in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. See also American Freedom Train - 1947-1949 station stopsAmerican Freedom Train - 1947-1949 station stopsThis article contains a list of station stops made by the first Freedom Train on its 48-state tour.-September 1947:* September 17–September 19 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania* September 20 - Atlantic City, New Jersey* September 21 - Trenton, New Jersey...
October events
- October 1 – The Chicago Transit AuthorityChicago Transit AuthorityChicago Transit Authority, also known as CTA, is the operator of mass transit within the City of Chicago, Illinois and some of its surrounding suburbs....
(CTA) begins operating the local transit (buses and 'L'-Subway rapid transit) systems in Chicago after acquiring the properties of the former Chicago Surface LinesChicago Surface LinesThe Chicago Surface Lines was operator of the street railway system of Chicago, Illinois, from the years 1913 to 1947. The firm is a predecessor of today's publicly owned operator, the Chicago Transit Authority.-History:...
and the Chicago Rapid Transit CompanyChicago Rapid Transit CompanyThe Chicago Rapid Transit Company was a privately owned firm providing rapid transit rail service in Chicago, Illinois and several adjacent communities between the years 1924 and 1947...
. - October 18 – Alaska RailroadAlaska RailroadThe Alaska Railroad is a Class II railroad which extends from Seward and Whittier, in the south of the state of Alaska, in the United States, to Fairbanks , and beyond to Eielson Air Force Base and Fort Wainwright in the interior of that state...
inaugurates the Aurora passenger train service between FairbanksFairbanks, AlaskaFairbanks is a home rule city in and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska, and second largest in the state behind Anchorage...
and AnchorageAnchorage, AlaskaAnchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
.
Unknown date events
- The first 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...
s enter mainline operation on 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....
. - 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....
is reincorporated in DelawareDelawareDelaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
. - 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...
train frequency is upgraded to daily. - The Super ChiefSuper ChiefThe Super Chief was one of the named passenger trains and the flagship of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. It was often referred to as "The Train of the Stars" because of the many celebrities who traveled on the streamliner between Chicago, Illinois and Los Angeles, California.The Super...
train frequency is upgraded to daily. - 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...
is merged with General Machinery Corporation of Hamilton, OH. The new company is named Lima-Hamilton. - The components of the former 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 are scrapped. - William NealWilliam NealWilliam Neal, is an English painter and graphic designer born in Guildford in 1947, but who was brought up in the village of Bramley, Surrey, England. He gained international fame for his artwork on the progressive rock albums Tarkus and Pictures at an Exhibition by the English progressive rock...
succeeds D'Alton Cory Coleman as president of 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...
. - The last United States Fish and Wildlife ServiceUnited States Fish and Wildlife ServiceThe United States Fish and Wildlife Service is a federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats...
fish car is taken out of service. - The Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac RailroadRichmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac RailroadThe Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad was a railroad connecting Richmond, Virginia, to Washington, D.C. It is now a portion of the CSX Transportation system....
inaugurates its Old Dominion passenger train between Washington, DC, and Richmond, VirginiaRichmond, VirginiaRichmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
.