Events

January events

* January 1 – Coming into force of international convention on the transport of goods by rail in the principal contiguous states of Western Europe. * January 2 – Introduction by

Webb C. Ball Webster Clay Ball (October 6, 1848 – March 6, 1922) was a jeweler and watchmaker born in Fredericktown, Ohio, who founded the Ball Watch Company. When Standard Time was adopted in 1883, he was the first jeweler to use time signals from the Un ...

of the General Railroad Timepiece Standards in North America, leading to significance of the

railroad chronometer A railroad chronometer or railroad standard watch is a specialized timepiece that once was crucial for safe and correct operation of trains in many countries. A system of timetable and train order, which relied on highly accurate timekeeping, w ...

. * January – Under the direction of

James J. Hill James Jerome Hill (September 16, 1838 – May 29, 1916) was a Canadian-American railway director. He was the chief executive officer of a family of lines headed by the Great Northern Railway, which served a substantial area of the Upper Midwest ...

the third

transcontinental railway A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous railroad trackage that crosses a continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks may be via the tracks of a single railroad ...

Great Northern Great Northern may refer to: Transport * One of a number of railways; see Great Northern Railway (disambiguation). * Great Northern Railway (U.S.), a defunct American transcontinental railroad and major predecessor of the BNSF Railway. * Great N ...

, in the United States is completed to the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

February events

* February 4 – Official opening of main section of

Liverpool Overhead Railway The Liverpool Overhead Railway (known locally as the Dockers' Umbrella or Ovee) was an overhead railway in Liverpool that operated along the Liverpool Docks and opened in 1893 with lightweight electric multiple units. The railway had a number o ...

, the first electrified suburban line in Britain, and the first (third rail) electrified overhead railway in the world. * February 23 –

Rudolf Diesel Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel (, ; 18 March 1858 – 29 September 1913) was a German inventor and mechanical engineer who invented the Diesel engine, which burns Diesel fuel; both are named after him. Early life and education Diesel was born on 1 ...

receives a patent for the

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

March events

* March 1 – The

New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated principally in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to 1968. Founded by the merger of ...

(the

New Haven Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated principally in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to 1968. Founded by the merger of ...

) leases the

Old Colony Railroad The Old Colony Railroad (OC) was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island, which operated from 1845 to 1893. Old Colony trains ran from Boston to points such as Plymouth, Fall River, ...

. * March 2 – The US Railroad Safety Appliance Act is enacted, mandating that all cars in interchange service be equipped with air brakes, automatic couplers and grab irons.

April events

* April 17 – The

train station A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing suc ...

located at the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

is opened. * April 22 – The ''

John Bull John Bull is a national personification of England, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged, country-dwelling, jolly and matter-of-fact man. He originated in satirical works of ...

'' arrives in Chicago, Illinois, for the

after traveling under its own power from

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

May events

* May 1 – The

in Chicago's Jackson Park is opened to the public with the Intramural Railway, a 2.7-mile elevated third rail electric railroad system providing transportation throughout the fair grounds. A total of 72 motor and trailer coaches were assigned to the line all built by the Jackson and Sharp Company of

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

. * May 10 –

New York Central The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...

locomotive number 999 pulls a

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...

between Batavia and

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, reaching 112.5 mph (181 km/h); this is the first time an American train breaks 100 mph (161 km/h). * May 12 – Chicago's premier rapid transit line, the South Side Elevated Railway, is extended to the

in Jackson Park.

June events

* June 20 – The Wengernalpbahn

mountain railway A mountain railway is a railway that operates in a mountainous region. It may operate through the mountains by following mountain valleys and tunneling beneath mountain passes, or it may climb a mountain to provide transport to and from the su ...

Wengen, Switzerland Wengen () is a mountain village in the Bernese Oberland of central Switzerland. Located in the canton of Bern at an elevation of above sea level, it is part of the Jungfrauregion and has approximately 1,300 year-round residents, which swells to ...

(

Canton of Bern The canton of Bern, or Berne (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. The bear is the heraldic symbol of the c ...

) is opened. * June 22 –

Robert S. Lovett Robert Scott Lovett (June 22, 1860 – June 19, 1932) was an American lawyer and railroad executive. He was president and chairman of the board of the Union Pacific Railroad and a Director of both The National City Bank of New York and Western U ...

succeeds

Leland Stanford Amasa Leland Stanford (March 9, 1824June 21, 1893) was an American attorney, industrialist, philanthropist, and Republican Party (United States), Republican Party politician from Watervliet, New York. He served as the eighth governor of Calif ...

as the president of the Southern Pacific Company, parent company of the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...

, after Stanford's death. The Chairmanship position vacated by Stanford remains vacant for another 16 years.

July events

* July 1 – William Mackenzie purchases the Toronto and Mimico Creek Railway. * July 10 – The Toronto and Mimico Creek Railway is extended to

Mimico Creek Mimico Creek is a stream that flows through Brampton, Mississauga and Toronto in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada. It is long, is in the Great Lakes Basin, and is a tributary of Lake Ontario. The creek's name is derived from the comm ...

. * July 29 –

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at vario ...

opens

La Grande Station La Grande Station was the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway's (Santa Fe) main passenger terminal in Los Angeles, California from 1893 until the opening of Union Station in 1939. The station was located at 2nd Street and Santa Fe Avenue on t ...

in Los Angeles.

August events

* August 12 – The Llantrisant rail accident in Wales kills 13 people.

September events

* September 7 – First part of Douglas & Laxey Coast Electric Tramway, a 3 ft (914 mm)

gauge Gauge ( ) may refer to: Measurement * Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments * Gauge (firearms) * Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire ** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, especia ...

interurban The interurban (or radial railway in Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...

(later the

Manx Electric Railway The Manx Electric Railway ( Manx: ''Raad Yiarn Lectragh Vannin'') is an electric interurban tramway connecting Douglas, Laxey and Ramsey in the Isle of Man. It connects with the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway at its southern terminus at Derby Cas ...

), opens on the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

. * September 18 – The

Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway The Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway, or OA&PS, is a historic railway that operated in central and eastern Ontario, Canada, from 1897 to 1959. It was for a time the busiest railway route in Canada,"Track and Tower" brochure, Friends of Al ...

opens between

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

and

Arnprior Arnprior is a town in Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada. Arnprior has experienced significant growth in populations with the widening of the Ontario Highway 417 to four lanes. The town experienced an increase in population by 8.4% from 2011 to 2 ...

October events

* October 20 –

Brayton Ives Brayton Ives (August 23, 1840 – October 22, 1914) was president of Northern Pacific Railway from 1893 to 1896 and was president of the New York Stock Exchange and the Western National Bank of New York. He also served as an officer in the Union ...

succeeds

Thomas Fletcher Oakes Thomas Fletcher Oakes (July 15, 1843 – March 14, 1919) was president of Northern Pacific Railway from 1888 to 1893. Biography Thomas Fletcher Oakes was born in Boston on July 15, 1843. He entered railway service June 1, 1863; to April, 1879, ...

as president of

Northern Pacific Railway The Northern Pacific Railway was an important American transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the Western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest between 1864 and 1970. It was approved and chartered b ...

November events

* November 6 – The

Lake Street Elevated Railroad The Lake Street Elevated Railroad was the second permanent elevated rapid transit line to be constructed in Chicago, Illinois. The first section of the line opened in November 1893. Its route is still used today as part of the Green Line route of ...

, Chicago's second rapid transit line, is opened for service between Madison & Wacker and California Avenue. The road originally used 35 0-4-4T Forney locomotives built by the

Rhode Island Locomotive Works Rhode Island Locomotive Works was a steam locomotive manufacturing company in Providence, Rhode Island. The factory produced more than 3,400 locomotives between 1867 and 1906, when the plant's locomotive production was shut down. At its peak, the lo ...

and 125 trailer coaches built by Gilbert Car Company and

Pullman Car Company The Pullman Company, founded by George Pullman, was a manufacturer of railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Through rapid late-19th century d ...

. * November 14 – The Central Railway of

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

opens the section of line from Chicla across the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

watershed to Oroya, with a summit level at Galera of 4781 m (15,686 feet) above sea level.

December events

* December 6 – The ''

'' leaves the

World Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The c ...

in Chicago, Illinois, under its own power, headed toward Washington, DC, for its return to the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

. * December 18 – The

opens an extension of the railway from

to Eganville, Ontario. * December 22 – The ''

'' arrives back in Washington, DC, after traveling under its own power from Chicago, Illinois. * December 23 – The

enters receivership three days after the railroad's chairman died.

Unknown date events

Eugene V. Debs Eugene Victor Debs (November 5, 1855 – October 20, 1926) was an American socialist, political activist, trade unionist, one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), and five-time candidate of the Socialist Party o ...

organizes the first

industrial union Industrial unionism is a trade union organising method through which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union, regardless of skill or trade, thus giving workers in one industry, or in all industries, more leverage in ba ...

in the United States, the

American Railway Union The American Railway Union (ARU) was briefly among the largest labor unions of its time and one of the first Industrial unionism, industrial unions in the United States. Launched at a meeting held in Chicago in February 1893, the ARU won an early ...

(ARU). * Jacob S. Rogers, son of company founder Thomas Rogers, resigns from the presidency of

Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works was a manufacturer of railroad steam locomotives based in Paterson, New Jersey, Paterson, in Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, New Jersey, in the United States. Between its founding in 1832 and its acq ...

; the company's former treasurer becomes president and reorganizes the company as Rogers Locomotive Company. *

Jewett Car Company The Jewett Car Company was an early 20th-century United States, American industrial company that manufactured tram, streetcars and interurban cars. History The company was founded in 1893 in Jewett, Ohio, where its first factory was located. I ...

is founded in

Jewett, Ohio Jewett is a village (United States)#Ohio, village in Harrison County, Ohio, Harrison County, Ohio, United States. The population was 554 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Jewett was originally called Fairview, and under the ...

; it will become a major supplier of interurban cars and trolleys.

Births

November births

* November 5 –

Raymond Loewy Raymond Loewy ( , ; November 5, 1893 – July 14, 1986) was a French-born American industrial designer who achieved fame for the magnitude of his design efforts across a variety of industries. He was recognized for this by ''Time'' magazi ...

industrial designer Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in advance of the manufactu ...

who worked for the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

designing the shape of equipment such as the

GG1 The Pennsylvania Railroad Class GG1 is a class of streamlined electric locomotives built for the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), in the northeastern United States. The class was known for its striking art deco shell, its ability to pull trains at up ...

(d. 1986).

Deaths

January deaths

* January 27 –

Alfred Belpaire Alfred Jules Belpaire (25 September 1820 – 27 January 1893) was a Belgian locomotive engineer who invented the square-topped Belpaire firebox in 1864. Belpaire was born in Ostend, and first studied at the Athenaeum School in Antwerp. He then ...

, inventor of the

Belpaire firebox The Belpaire firebox is a type of firebox used on steam locomotives. It was invented by Alfred Belpaire of Belgium in 1864. Today it generally refers to the shape of the outer shell of the firebox which is approximately flat at the top and s ...

for

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

s (b. 1820).

March deaths

* March 24 –

John Taylor Johnston John Taylor Johnston (April 8, 1820 – March 24, 1893) was an American businessman and patron of the arts. He served as president of the Central Railroad of New Jersey and was one of the founders of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Early life Jo ...

, president of the

Central Railroad of New Jersey Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

, 1848–1877 (b. 1820).

June deaths

* June 21 –

, a member of The Big Four group of financiers in California (b. 1824)

December deaths

* December 20 – George C. Magoun, Chairman of the Board of Directors for

in the late 1880s (b. 1840).

Unknown date deaths

* Allen Manvel, eleventh president of the

(b. 1837). *

Walter McQueen Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...

Chief mechanical engineer Chief 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 locomotive ...

for the

Albany and Schenectady Railroad The Mohawk & Hudson Railroad was the first railroad built in the state of New York and one of the first railroads in the United States. It was so-named because it linked the Mohawk River at Schenectady with the Hudson River at Albany. It was c ...

1845–1850,

Hudson River Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...

1850–1852, and superintendent of

Schenectady Locomotive Works The Schenectady Locomotive Works was a factory in Schenectady, New York, that railroad locomotives from its founding in 1848 through its merger into American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in 1901. After the 1901 merger, ALCO made the Schenectady pla ...

1852–1876 (b. 1817).

Notes

References

* Colin Churcher's Railway Pages (September 7, 2005),
Significant dates in Ottawa railway history
'. Retrieved September 18, 2005. * * {{White - History of the American locomotive