1914 in rail transport
Encyclopedia
March events
- March 17 - A celebration is held in honor of the first train to arrive on the newly constructed Kansas City Southern RailwayKansas City Southern RailwayThe Kansas City Southern Railway , owned by Kansas City Southern Industries, is the smallest and second-oldest Class I railroad company still in operation. KCS was founded in 1887 and is currently operating in a region consisting of ten central U.S. states...
line in Hot Springs, ArkansasHot Springs, ArkansasHot Springs is the 10th most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Garland County, and the principal city of the Hot Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area encompassing all of Garland County...
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April events
- April 2 - Construction begins on the Connaught TunnelConnaught TunnelConnaught Tunnel, in the Selkirk Mountains under Rogers Pass on the Canadian Pacific Railway main line between Calgary, Alberta, and Revelstoke, British Columbia, at long was, at the time it was built, the longest railway tunnel in North America. Dug under Mount Macdonald to ease growing traffic...
in the Selkirk MountainsSelkirk MountainsThe Selkirk Mountains are a mountain range spanning the northern portion of the Idaho Panhandle, eastern Washington, and southeastern British Columbia. They begin at Mica Peak near Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and extend approximately 320 km north from the border. The range is bounded on its west,...
under Rogers PassRogers PassRogers Pass is a high mountain pass through the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia used by the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Trans-Canada Highway. The pass is a shortcut across the "Big Bend" of the Columbia River from Revelstoke on the west to Donald, near Golden, on the east...
on the 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...
main line between Calgary, Alberta, and Revelstoke, British ColumbiaRevelstoke, British ColumbiaRevelstoke is a city in southeastern British Columbia, Canada. It is located east of Vancouver, and west of Calgary, Alberta. The city is situated on the banks of the Columbia River just south of the Revelstoke Dam and near its confluence with the Illecillewaet River...
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- April 7 - The last spike is driven (pictured) on the Grand Trunk Pacific RailwayGrand Trunk Pacific RailwayThe Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was a historical Canadian railway.A wholly owned subsidiary of the Grand Trunk Railway , the GTPR was constructed by GTR using loans provided by the Government of Canada. The company was formed in 1903 with a mandate to build west from Winnipeg, Manitoba to the...
at Fort Fraser, British ColumbiaFort Fraser, British ColumbiaFort Fraser is an unincorporated community of about 1000 people, situated near the base of Fraser Mountain, close to both Fraser Lake and the Nechako River. It can be found near the geographical centre of British Columbia, Canada, west of Vanderhoof on the Yellowhead Highway...
, 93 miles (150 km) west of Prince GeorgePrince George, British ColumbiaPrince George, with a population of 71,030 , is the largest city in northern British Columbia, Canada, and is known as "BC's Northern Capital"...
, completing the line between Winnipeg and Prince RupertPrince Rupert, British ColumbiaPrince Rupert is a port city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is the land, air, and water transportation hub of British Columbia's North Coast, and home to some 12,815 people .-History:...
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May events
- May 17 - Canadian Northern RailwayCanadian Northern RailwayThe Canadian Northern Railway is a historic Canadian transcontinental railway. At its demise in 1923, when it was merged into the Canadian National Railway , the CNoR owned a main line between Quebec City and Vancouver via Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Edmonton.-Manitoba beginnings:CNoR had its start in...
acquires Canadian Northern Ontario Railway.
July events
- July 11 - The Karkamış to CeylanpınarCeylanpinarCeylanpınar is a town and district of Şanlıurfa Province in southeastern Turkey. On the border with Syria, it is reached by a long straight road across the plain south from Viranşehir...
line of the Baghdad RailwayBaghdad RailwayThe Baghdad Railway , was built from 1903 to 1940 to connect Berlin with the Ottoman Empire city of Baghdad with a line through modern-day Turkey, Syria, and Iraq....
opens. - July 15 - Yujiro Nakamura succeeds Ryutaro Nomura as president of South Manchuria RailwaySouth Manchuria RailwayThe , and operated within China in the Japanese-controlled South Manchuria Railway Zone. The railway itself ran from Lüshun Port at the southern tip of the Liaodong Peninsula to Harbin, where it connected to the Chinese Eastern Railway.-History:...
. - July 28 - Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits announces that due to the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of AustriaArchduke Franz Ferdinand of AustriaFranz Ferdinand was an Archduke of Austria-Este, Austro-Hungarian and Royal Prince of Hungary and of Bohemia, and from 1889 until his death, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne. His assassination in Sarajevo precipitated Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia...
this day at SarajevoSarajevoSarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
, the Orient ExpressOrient ExpressThe Orient Express is the name of a long-distance passenger train service originally operated by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. It ran from 1883 to 2009 and is not to be confused with the Venice-Simplon Orient Express train service, which continues to run.The route and rolling stock...
will terminate in BucharestBucharestBucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
and not go on to ConstantinopleConstantinopleConstantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
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August events
- August 4 - BritishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Government takes control of railways as a wartime measure. - August 19 - Passenger trains of the Canadian Northern Ontario Railway begin using the Grand Trunk RailwayGrand Trunk RailwayThe Grand Trunk Railway was a railway system which operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, as well as the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The railway was operated from headquarters in Montreal, Quebec; however, corporate...
's Central Station in TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
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October events
- October 13 - The Algoma Central and Hudson Bay Railway, building northward from Sault Ste. MarieSault Ste. Marie, OntarioSault Ste. Marie is a city on the St. Marys River in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay, with a population of 74,948. The community was founded as a French religious mission: Sault either means "jump" or "rapids" in...
, opens its northernmost section between Oba and Hearst, OntarioHearst, OntarioHearst is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is located in Northern Ontario, approximately west of Kapuskasing, approximately north of Toronto and east of Thunder Bay on Highway 11...
. - October 23 - Northwestern Pacific RailroadNorthwestern Pacific RailroadThe Northwestern Pacific Railroad is a regional railroad serving California's North Coast. The railroad currently runs on 62 miles of the 462 mile main line, stretching from Schellville, California to Eureka, California...
is completed connecting Humboldt County, CaliforniaHumboldt County, CaliforniaHumboldt County is a county in the U.S. state of California, located on the far North Coast 200 miles north of San Francisco. According to 2010 Census Data, the county’s population was 134,623...
to the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rail network.
Unknown date events
- The New York Central and Hudson River Railroad changes its official name to simply New York Central
- The Alaska Northern Railway (a predecessor of the 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...
) enters receivership. - The United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
government purchases the bankrupt Alaska Northern and moves the railroad's headquarters to Anchorage, AlaskaAnchorage, 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... - The Atlantic Coast LineAtlantic Coast Line RailroadThe Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was an American railroad that existed between 1900 and 1967, when it merged with the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, its long-time rival, to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad...
acquires the Florida Central Railroad. - Magnetic Signal CompanyMagnetic Signal CompanyThe Magnetic Signal Company of Los Angeles, California was the manufacturer of the ubiquitous "Magnetic Flagman" wig-wag railroad crossing signal seen all over California and the western states....
is awarded a U.S. patent on an improved wigwagWigwagWigwag may refer to:* Wigwag , a type of railroad grade crossing signal* Wig-wag , headlight flasher* Wig wag , a solenoid design used in some brands...
grade crossing signal. - The first prototype of the PRR K4sPRR K4sThe Pennsylvania Railroad's K4s 4-6-2 "Pacific" was their premier passenger-hauling steam locomotive from 1914 through the end of steam on the PRR in 1957....
Pacific4-6-24-6-2, in the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle .These locomotives are also known as Pacifics...
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...
class is built.
December births
- December 16 - O. Winston LinkO. Winston LinkOgle Winston Link , known commonly as O. Winston Link, was an American photographer. He is best known for his black-and-white photography and sound recordings of the last days of steam locomotive railroading on the Norfolk & Western in the United States in the late 1950s...
, AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
photographer who documented the end 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...
use on the Norfolk and Western RailwayNorfolk and Western RailwayThe Norfolk and Western Railway , a US class I railroad, was formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It had headquarters in Roanoke, Virginia for most of its 150 year existence....
in the 1950s1950sThe 1950s or The Fifties was the decade that began on January 1, 1950 and ended on December 31, 1959. The decade was the sixth decade of the 20th century...
(d. 2001).
Unknown date births
- Benjamin W. HeinemanBenjamin W. HeinemanBenjamin W. Heineman was an attorney and American railroad executive. Heineman first gained attention in the railroad industry in 1954, when he orchestrated a successful proxy battle for control of the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway...
, president of the Chicago and North Western RailwayChicago and North Western RailwayThe Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s...
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January deaths
- January 21 - Lord Strathcona and Mount RoyalDonald Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount RoyalSir Donald Alexander Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal, GCMG, GCVO, PC, DL was a Scottish-born Canadian fur trader, financier, railroad baron and politician.-Early life:...
, ScottishScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
financier, promoter of the 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...
(b. 1820).
March deaths
- March 12 - 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...
, AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
inventor; developed the Westinghouse air brake (b. 1846).
November deaths
- November 21 – Thaddeus C. PoundThaddeus C. PoundThaddeus Coleman Pound was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly and the Wisconsin State Senate. Pound was Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin 1870 - 1872...
, president of Chippewa Falls and Western RailwayChippewa Falls and Western RailwayThe Chippewa Falls and Western Railway was sold in 1888 to the Minnesota, Saint Croix and Wisconsin Railroad, which merged into the Wisconsin Central Company later that year....
and St. Paul Eastern Grand Trunk Railway (b. 1833).
Unknown date deaths
- George Frederick BaerGeorge Frederick BaerGeorge Frederick Baer was an American lawyer who was the President of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad and spokesman for the owners during the Anthracite Coal Strike of 1902....
, president of Reading CompanyReading CompanyThe Reading Company , usually called the Reading Railroad, officially the Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road and then the Philadelphia and Reading Railway until 1924, operated in southeast Pennsylvania and neighboring states...
(b. 1842). - Melville E. IngallsMelville E. IngallsMelville Ezra Ingalls , commonly abbreviated M.E. Ingalls, was a Massachusetts state legislator who went on to become president of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad .-Career:...
, president of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (b. 1842). - William Barstow Strong, 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...
1881–1889 (b. 1837).