1869 in rail transport
Encyclopedia
January events
- January 9 - Government of IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
resolves not to create new guaranteed railway companies, thus determining future relationships between private enterprise and state in railway development. - January 23 - George WestinghouseGeorge WestinghouseGeorge Westinghouse, Jr was an American entrepreneur and engineer who invented the railway air brake and was a pioneer of the electrical industry. Westinghouse was one of Thomas Edison's main rivals in the early implementation of the American electricity system...
files for a patentPatentA patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
on his air brakeAir 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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February events
- February 17 - Henry KeyesHenry KeyesHenry Keyes was a prominent politician and railroad executive from Vermont. He was a state senator and was a candidate for governor of Vermont three times. He also served as president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.In 1825 he moved to Newbury, Vermont, where he preferred to stay as...
succeeds Henry C. LordHenry C. LordHenry Clark Lord was the fourth president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. He was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, the son of Dartmouth College president Nathan Lord....
as president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe RailwayAtchison, Topeka and Santa Fe RailwayThe Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...
. - February 27 - The first line of what is now Athens MetroAthens MetroThe Athens Metro is an underground rapid transit system serving Athens, the capital city of Greece. It was constructed and owned by Attiko Metro S.A. and operated until 2011 by Attiko Metro Etaireia Leitourgias S.A....
, in GreeceGreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, opens as Athens Piraeus Railway SA, the first railroad in the country (8.8 km).
March events
- March - By an act of CongressUnited States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, the Kansas Pacific RailwayKansas Pacific RailwayThe Kansas Pacific Railway was a historic railroad company that operated in the western United States in the late 19th century. It was a federally chartered railroad, backed with government land grants. It operated many of the first long-distance lines in the state of Kansas in the 1870s,...
's name is shortened to Kansas Pacific.
April events
- April 6 - 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...
is formed through the merger of the Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad and the Lake Shore Railway. - April 23 - Crews building the Central Pacific RailroadCentral Pacific RailroadThe Central Pacific Railroad is the former name of the railroad network built between California and Utah, USA that formed part of the "First Transcontinental Railroad" in North America. It is now part of the Union Pacific Railroad. Many 19th century national proposals to build a transcontinental...
lay 10 miles (16 km) of track in one day. - April 26 - The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad opens its first segment of track (6 miles / 10 km long) between TopekaTopeka, KansasTopeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
and PaulinePauline, KansasPauline is an unincorporated town in Shawnee County, Kansas, United States. Located south of Topeka, it lies next to Forbes Field. Although it began as a small town in its own right, Pauline now is occasionally seen as part of the South City Industry Park for Topeka, Kansas with its many large...
, KansasKansasKansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
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May events
- May 10 - The golden spikeGolden spikeThe "Golden Spike" is the ceremonial final spike driven by Leland Stanford to join the rails of the First Transcontinental Railroad across the United States connecting the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads on May 10, 1869, at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory...
is driven at Promontory Summit, Utah, on the First Transcontinental RailroadFirst Transcontinental RailroadThe First Transcontinental Railroad was a railroad line built in the United States of America between 1863 and 1869 by the Central Pacific Railroad of California and the Union Pacific Railroad that connected its statutory Eastern terminus at Council Bluffs, Iowa/Omaha, Nebraska The First...
in 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...
. - May 15 - The first trains operate the entire length of the First Transcontinental RailroadFirst Transcontinental RailroadThe First Transcontinental Railroad was a railroad line built in the United States of America between 1863 and 1869 by the Central Pacific Railroad of California and the Union Pacific Railroad that connected its statutory Eastern terminus at Council Bluffs, Iowa/Omaha, Nebraska The First...
in 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...
traveling between Omaha, NebraskaOmaha, 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...
and Sacramento, CaliforniaSacramento, CaliforniaSacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
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June events
- June 1 - The Merchants DespatchMerchants DespatchThe Merchants Despatch Transportation Company was established in 1857 or 1858 by the American Express Company of New York...
is reformed as a joint stock trading company, with ownership divided among the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis RailwayCleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis RailwayThe Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railway was formed from the merger of the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad with the Bellefontaine Railway in 1868...
(CCC&I), 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...
, and 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...
(NYC), all part of the Cornelius VanderbiltCornelius VanderbiltCornelius Vanderbilt , also known by the sobriquet Commodore, was an American entrepreneur who built his wealth in shipping and railroads. He was also the patriarch of the Vanderbilt family and one of the richest Americans in history...
rail empire. - June 17 - The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, building westward from TopekaTopeka, KansasTopeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
, reaches Carbondale, KansasCarbondale, KansasCarbondale is a city in Osage County, Kansas, United States. It is part of the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,478 at the 2000 census.-History:...
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July events
- July 3
- Hannibal and St. Joseph RailroadHannibal and St. Joseph RailroadThe Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad was the first railroad to cross Missouri starting in Hannibal in the northeast and going to St. Joseph, Missouri, in the northwest...
subsidiary Kansas City and Cameron RailroadKansas City and Cameron RailroadThe Kansas City and Cameron Railroad was the subsidiary of the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad which built the first bridge across the Missouri River at the Hannibal Bridge....
opens the Hannibal BridgeHannibal BridgeThe First Hannibal Bridge was the first bridge to cross the Missouri River and was to establish Kansas City, Missouri as a major city and rail center....
, the first railroad bridge across the Missouri RiverMissouri RiverThe Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
, connecting its namesake cities. - Completion of the Mount Washington Cog Railway in New HampshireNew HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, U.S.United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the world's first mountainMountain 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...
rack railwayRack railwayA rack-and-pinion railway is a railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with this rack rail...
. - 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...
opened railway line Finland Station-Zelenogorsk (Part of the line Kouvola-Saint Petersburg). Finnish stations were opened: LanskayaLanskayaLanskaya platform is a railway station located in St. Petersburg, Russia.Lanskaya is commuter passenger station, its platforms are located on a high embankment....
, Udelnaya, Ozerki, Pargolovo, PesochnyPesochnyPesochny is a municipal settlement in Kurortny District of the federal city of St. Petersurg, Russia, located on the Karelian Isthmus, on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland. Population:...
, Levashovo, BeloostrovBeloostrovBeloostrov , from 1922 to World War II—Krasnoostrov , is a municipal settlement in Kurortny District of the federal city of Saint Petersburg, Russia, located on the Sestra River, Karelian Isthmus, and a key station of the Saint Petersburg-Vyborg railroad since 1870 at the junction of Saint...
, SolnechnoyeSolnechnoye, Saint PetersburgSolnechnoye is a municipal settlement in Kurortny District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located on the Karelian Isthmus, on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland. Population:...
, RepinoRepinoRepino is a municipal settlement in Kurortny District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, and a station of the Saint Petersburg-Vyborg railroad. It was known by its Finnish name Kuokkala until 1948, when it was renamed after its most famous inhabitant, Ilya Repin...
, KomarovoKomarovo, Saint PetersburgKomarovo is a municipal settlement in Kurortny District of the federal city of Saint Petersburg, Russia, located on the Karelian Isthmus on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, and a station of the Saint Petersburg-Vyborg railroad. It is located about northwest of central Saint Petersburg...
, ZelenogorskZelenogorsk, Saint PetersburgZelenogorsk , ' before 1948, is a municipal town in Kurortny District of the federal city of Saint Petersburg, Russia, located in part of the Karelian Isthmus on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, and a station on the St. Petersburg-Vyborg railroad. It is located about northwest of central Saint...
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- Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad
August events
- August 18 - The Windsor and Annapolis RailwayWindsor and Annapolis RailwayThe Windsor and Annapolis Railway was a historic Canadian railway that operated in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley.The railway ran from Windsor to Annapolis Royal and leased connections to Nova Scotia's capital of Halifax...
in Nova ScotiaNova ScotiaNova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
officially opens between AnnapolisAnnapolis (electoral district)Annapolis was a federal electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1917. The district was created in the British North America Act of 1867. It was abolished in 1914 when it was redistributed into Digby and Annapolis...
and Grand PreGrand Pre, Nova ScotiaGrand-Pré is a Canadian rural community in Kings County, Nova Scotia. Its French name translates to "Great Meadow" and the community lies at the eastern edge of the Annapolis Valley several kilometres east of the town of Wolfville on a peninsula jutting into the Minas Basin, framed by the Gaspereau...
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September events
- September 21 - 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...
leases the Kalamazoo, Allegan and Grand Rapids Railway in MichiganMichiganMichigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
.
October events
- 10 October - A branch of the West Coast Main LineWest Coast Main LineThe West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
to Liverpool, is opened by 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...
, from Weaver JunctionWeaver JunctionWeaver Junction is a railway junction on the West Coast Main Line . It connects Ditton to the WCML via Runcorn Railway Bridge and opened on 1 April 1869. Trains bound for Liverpool from London diverge from the WCML at this junction. Weaver Junction is the oldest flying junction in Britain....
north of CreweCrewe railway stationCrewe railway station was completed in 1837 and is one of the most historic railway stations in the world. Built in fields near to Crewe Hall, it originally served the village of Crewe with a population of just 70 residents...
to Ditton Junction via the Runcorn Railway BridgeRuncorn Railway BridgeThe Runcorn Railway Bridge, which is also known as the Ethelfleda Bridge or the Britannia Bridge, crosses the River Mersey at Runcorn Gap from Runcorn to Widnes in Cheshire, England. It was built for the London and North Western Railway to a design by William Baker, chief engineer of the railway...
over the River MerseyRiver MerseyThe River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
. Bypassing the earlier Liverpool and ManchesterLiverpool and Manchester RailwayThe Liverpool and Manchester Railway was the world's first inter-city passenger railway in which all the trains were timetabled and were hauled for most of the distance solely by steam locomotives. The line opened on 15 September 1830 and ran between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester in North...
line.
November events
- November 8 – The Central Pacific RailroadCentral Pacific RailroadThe Central Pacific Railroad is the former name of the railroad network built between California and Utah, USA that formed part of the "First Transcontinental Railroad" in North America. It is now part of the Union Pacific Railroad. Many 19th century national proposals to build a transcontinental...
completes the final leg of the First Transcontinental RailroadFirst Transcontinental RailroadThe First Transcontinental Railroad was a railroad line built in the United States of America between 1863 and 1869 by the Central Pacific Railroad of California and the Union Pacific Railroad that connected its statutory Eastern terminus at Council Bluffs, Iowa/Omaha, Nebraska The First...
in 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...
, connecting Sacramento, CaliforniaSacramento, CaliforniaSacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
to 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...
. - November 11 – After the New York and Erie Railroad moves its primary shop facilities from Dunkirk, New York, to BuffaloBuffalo, New YorkBuffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, Horatio G. BrooksHoratio G. BrooksHoratio G. Brooks worked as chief engineer for the New York and Erie Railroad until the railroad moved its steam locomotive maintenance facilities from Dunkirk, New York, to Buffalo, New York. In 1869 he leased the former NY&E shops in Dunkirk and formed Brooks Locomotive Works...
leases the facilities in Dunkirk and opens Brooks Locomotive WorksBrooks Locomotive WorksThe Brooks Locomotive Works manufactured steam railroad locomotives and freight cars from 1869 through its merger into the American Locomotive Company until 1934.-History:...
. - November 22 – The Ft. Wayne, Jackson and Saginaw Railroad opens between JacksonJackson, MichiganJackson is a city located along Interstate 94 in the south central area of the U.S. state of Michigan, about west of Ann Arbor and south of Lansing. It is the county seat of Jackson County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 33,534...
and Reading, MichiganReading, MichiganReading is a city in Hillsdale County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,134 at the 2000 census.The city is situated within Reading Township on M-49, but is politically independent.-Geography:...
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December events
- December - Newly founded Brooks Locomotive WorksBrooks Locomotive WorksThe Brooks Locomotive Works manufactured steam railroad locomotives and freight cars from 1869 through its merger into the American Locomotive Company until 1934.-History:...
completes construction of the company's first 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...
; it is included in an order for the New York and Erie Railroad.
Unknown date events
- The New York State Legislature authorised the merger of railroads already owned by Cornelius VanderbiltCornelius VanderbiltCornelius Vanderbilt , also known by the sobriquet Commodore, was an American entrepreneur who built his wealth in shipping and railroads. He was also the patriarch of the Vanderbilt family and one of the richest Americans in history...
into the New York Central, including 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...
, the Canada Southern Railroad and the Michigan Central RailroadMichigan Central RailroadThe Michigan Central Railroad was originally incorporated in 1846 to establish rail service between Detroit, Michigan and St. Joseph, Michigan. The railroad later operated in the states of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois in the United States, and the province of Ontario in Canada...
into the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad. - William Henry VanderbiltWilliam Henry VanderbiltWilliam Henry Vanderbilt I was an American businessman and a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family.-Childhood:William Vanderbilt was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey in 1821...
, son of Cornelius VanderbiltCornelius VanderbiltCornelius Vanderbilt , also known by the sobriquet Commodore, was an American entrepreneur who built his wealth in shipping and railroads. He was also the patriarch of the Vanderbilt family and one of the richest Americans in history...
, is promoted to Vice President of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad. - The first railroad built in 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...
, the Camden and Amboy Railroad, is merged into the United New Jersey Railroad and Canal CompanyUnited New Jersey Railroad and Canal CompanyThe United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company was part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system in New Jersey, including their main line to New York City...
. - The Westinghouse Air Brake CompanyWABCOWABCO can refer to:*Westinghouse Air Brake Company **WABCO Vehicle Control Systems - a part of the former Westinghouse Air Brake Company...
is founded by George WestinghouseGeorge WestinghouseGeorge Westinghouse, Jr was an American entrepreneur and engineer who invented the railway air brake and was a pioneer of the electrical industry. Westinghouse was one of Thomas Edison's main rivals in the early implementation of the American electricity system...
. - Wells and French Company, later to become part of American Car and Foundry, is founded in Chicago, Illinois.
- Construction begins on the central pontifical railroad station in RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, 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...
.
June births
- June 8 - William R. Coe, chief executive officer of Virginian RailwayVirginian RailwayThe Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads....
during 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...
(d. 1955).
November births
- November 9 - Charles Donnelly, president of Northern Pacific RailwayNorthern Pacific RailwayThe Northern Pacific Railway was a railway that operated in the west along the Canadian border of the United States. Construction began in 1870 and the main line opened all the way from the Great Lakes to the Pacific when former president Ulysses S. Grant drove in the final "golden spike" in...
1920-1939, is born (d. 1939).