1923 in rail transport
Encyclopedia
January events
- January 1 – All major railways in Great Britain are amalgamated into the "Big Four" companiesBig Four British railway companiesThe Big Four was a name used to describe the four largest railway companies in the United Kingdom in the period 1923-1947. The name was coined by the Railway Magazine in its issue of February 1923: "The Big Four of the New Railway Era".The Big Four were:...
, the Great Western RailwayGreat Western RailwayThe Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
, London and North Eastern RailwayLondon and North Eastern RailwayThe London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...
, London, Midland and Scottish RailwayLondon, Midland and Scottish RailwayThe London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
and Southern RailwaySouthern Railway (Great Britain)The Southern Railway was a British railway company established in the 1923 Grouping. It linked London with the Channel ports, South West England, South coast resorts and Kent...
, under terms of Railways Act 1921Railways Act 1921The Railways Act 1921, also known as the Grouping Act, was an enactment by the British government of David Lloyd George intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, move the railways away from internal competition, and to retain some of the benefits which...
. - January 30 – The 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"....
(CN) absorbs 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...
and spins off the portion of the Grand Trunk within the United States to form the Grand Trunk Western RailroadGrand Trunk Western RailroadThe Grand Trunk Western Railroad is an important subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway , constituting the majority of CN's Chicago Division ....
(GTW); CN operates GTW as a subsidiary railroad. National ownership encourages freight rates favoring use of Canadian seaports in the MaritimesMaritimesThe Maritime provinces, also called the Maritimes or the Canadian Maritimes, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. On the Atlantic coast, the Maritimes are a subregion of Atlantic Canada, which also includes the...
, and causes declining freight volumes over the New England lineSt. Lawrence and Atlantic RailroadThe St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad , known as St-Laurent et Atlantique Quebec in Canada, is a short line railroad operating between Portland, Maine on the Atlantic Ocean and Montreal, Quebec on the St. Lawrence River. It crosses the Canada-U.S...
to Grand Trunk seaport facilities in Portland, MainePortland, MainePortland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
.
February events
- February 7 – London and North Eastern RailwayLondon and North Eastern RailwayThe London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...
(Great Britain) takes delivery of express passenger 4-6-24-6-24-6-2, 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...
Flying ScotsmanLNER Class A3 4472 Flying ScotsmanThe LNER Class A3 Pacific locomotive No. 4472 Flying Scotsman was built in 1923 for the London and North Eastern Railway at Doncaster Works to a design of H.N. Gresley...
from its Doncaster Works.
March events
- March 10 – Norfolk and Western Railroad (United States) takes delivery of its first Y3a Class 2-8-8-22-8-8-2.A 2-8-8-2, in the Whyte notation for describing steam locomotive wheel arrangements, is an articulated locomotive with a two-wheel leading truck, two sets of eight driving wheels, and a two-wheel trailing truck. The equivalent UIC classification is, refined to Mallet locomotives, D1...
steam locomotiveSteam locomotiveA steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
from ALCOAmerican Locomotive CompanyThe American Locomotive Company, often shortened to ALCO or Alco , was a builder of railroad locomotives in the United States.-Early history:...
.
July events
- July 6 – In New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, about 6:00 am on 6 July 1923, the southbound AucklandAucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
to WellingtonWellingtonWellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
express rounded a sharp bend and ploughed into a landslip which had fallen across the railway line near Ongarue, just north of TaumarunuiTaumarunuiTaumarunui is a town in the King Country of the central North Island of New Zealand. It is on State Highway 4 and the North Island Main Trunk Railway....
. 17 passengers died, and 28 others were injured. - July 11 – The Ofoten Line in Norway takes electric traction into use.
- July 15 – Warren G. HardingWarren G. HardingWarren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th President of the United States . A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential self-made newspaper publisher. He served in the Ohio Senate , as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and as a U.S. Senator...
, President of the United StatesPresident of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, drives the golden spike on 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...
.
- July 18 – In U.S. Fruit Growers ExpressFruit Growers ExpressFruit Growers Express was a railroad refrigerator car leasing company that began as a produce-hauling subsidiary of Armour and Company's private refrigerator car line. Its customers complained they were overcharged. In 1919 the Federal Trade Commission ordered the company's sale for anti-trust...
(FGE) and the Great Northern Railway form the Western Fruit ExpressWestern Fruit ExpressWestern Fruit Express was a railroad refrigerator car leasing company formed by the Fruit Growers Express and the Great Northern Railway on July 18, 1923 in order to compete with the Pacific Fruit Express and Santa Fe Refrigerator Despatch in the Western United States. The arrangement added 3,000...
(WFE) in order to compete with the Pacific Fruit ExpressPacific Fruit ExpressPacific Fruit Express was a railroad refrigerator car leasing company that at one point was the largest refrigerator car operator in the world. The company was founded on December 7, 1906 as a joint venture between the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific railroads...
and Santa Fe Refrigerator DespatchSanta Fe Refrigerator DespatchThe Santa Fe Refrigerator Despatch was a railroad refrigerator car line established as a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in 1884 to carry perishable commodities...
in the west. - July 20 – First Victorian RailwaysVictorian RailwaysThe Victorian Railways operated railways in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companies failed or defaulted, the Victorian Railways was established to take over their operations...
electric locomotiveElectric locomotiveAn electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or an on-board energy storage device...
, #1100Victorian Railways E class (electric)The Victorian Railways E class was a class of electric locomotive that ran on the Victorian Railways from 1923 until 1984. Introduced shortly after the electrification of the suburban rail system in Melbourne, Australia, and based on the same electrical and traction equipment as Melbourne's early...
built at its Newport Workshops, is placed into freight service in MelbourneMelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia.
August events
- August 1 – City of GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
(ScotlandScotlandScotland 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...
) takes over operation of the Glasgow SubwayGlasgow SubwayThe Glasgow Subway is an underground metro line in Glasgow, Scotland. Opened on 14 December 1896, it is the third-oldest underground metro system in the world after the London Underground and the Budapest Metro. Formerly a cable railway, the Subway was later electrified, but its twin circular lines...
. - August 4 – The Otira TunnelOtira TunnelThe Otira Tunnel is a railway tunnel on the Midland Line in the South Island of New Zealand between Otira and Arthur's Pass. It runs under the Southern Alps from Arthur's Pass to Otira - a length of over . The gradient is mainly 1 in 33, and the Otira end of the tunnel is over lower than the...
(8.5 km) on the Midland LineMidland Line, New ZealandThe Midland line is a 212 km section of railway between Rolleston and Greymouth in the South Island of New Zealand. The line features five major bridges, five viaducts and 17 tunnels, the longest of which is the Otira tunnel.-Freight services:...
in New Zealand opens, worked by electric traction; construction had started in 1907 and at opening it is the longest in the British EmpireBritish EmpireThe British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
(and remains the longest in South IslandSouth IslandThe South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
). - August – Great Western RailwayGreat Western RailwayThe Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
(Great Britain) takes delivery of its first 'Castle' ClassGWR 4073 ClassThe GWR 4073 Class or Castle class locomotives are a group of 4-6-0 steam locomotives of the Great Western Railway. They were originally designed by the railway's Chief Mechanical Engineer, Charles Collett, for working the company's express passenger trains.-History:A development of the earlier...
4-6-04-6-0Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-6-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels. This wheel arrangement became the second-most popular...
express passenger steam locomotiveSteam locomotiveA steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
from its Swindon WorksSwindon WorksSwindon railway works were built by the Great Western Railway in 1841 in Swindon in the English county of Wiltshire.-History:In 1835 Parliament approved the construction of a railway between London and Bristol. Its Chief Engineer was Isambard Kingdom Brunel.From 1836, Brunel had been buying...
, No. 4073 Caerphilly CastleGWR 4073 Class 4073 Caerphilly CastleCaerphilly Castle is a member of the GWR 4073 Class built in 1923. Its first shed allocation was Old Oak Common. Its August 1950 shed allocation was Bath Road, Bristol. Its last shed allocation was Cardiff Canton in March 1959...
.
September events
- September 27 – Following soon after the washout of Chicago, Burlington and Quincy RailroadChicago, Burlington and Quincy RailroadThe Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington or as the Q, the Burlington Route served a large area, including extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri,...
's bridge over Coal CreekCoal CreekCoal Creek may refer to the following:In Australia*Coal Creek, Victoria, a townIn Canada*Coal Creek , a creek*Coal Creek, British Columbia, a ghost townIn the United States...
(near Glenrock, WyomingGlenrock, WyomingGlenrock is a town in Converse County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 2,231 at the 2000 census.Glenrock, known as Deer Creek Station, had its beginning as a mail and stage station along the Oregon Trail. The station served as a relay and eating place and was a vital supply point for...
), a passenger train falls through the washout, killing 30 of the train's 66 passengers. The accident is the worst railroad accident in WyomingWyomingWyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
's history.
Unknown date events
- U.S. Interstate Commerce CommissionInterstate Commerce CommissionThe Interstate Commerce Commission was a regulatory body in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads to ensure fair rates, to eliminate rate discrimination, and to regulate other aspects of common carriers, including...
allows 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....
's control of 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...
to continue, ruling that it is in the public's interest. - Munising, Marquette and South Eastern Railway and Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railway merge to form the Lake Superior and Ishpeming RailroadLake Superior and Ishpeming RailroadThe Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad , a U.S. railroad offering service from Marquette, Michigan, to nearby locations in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, began operations in 1896...
.
Unknown date births
- Robert R. Dowty, construction foreman for the Jupiter and 119 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...
replicas at the Golden Spike National Historic SiteGolden Spike National Historic SiteGolden Spike National Historic Site is a U.S. National Historic Site located at Promontory Summit, north of the Great Salt Lake in Utah.It commemorates the completion of the first Transcontinental Railroad where the Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad met on May 10, 1869...
at Promontory, UtahPromontory, UtahPromontory in Box Elder County, Utah, United States, is notable as the location of Promontory Summit where the United States' Transcontinental Railroad was officially completed on May 10, 1869....
(d. 2004). - Margaret Landry Moore, "Miss Southern Belle" spokesmodel for Kansas City Southern's Southern BelleSouthern Belle (KCS)The Southern Belle was a named passenger train service offered by Kansas City Southern Railway from the 1940s through the 1960s, running between Kansas City, Missouri and New Orleans, Louisiana.The service was inaugurated on September 2, 1940...
passenger trains (d. 2005). - Frank Turpin, CEO of 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...
, 1985–1993 (d. 2005).
April deaths
- April 10 – Stuyvesant FishStuyvesant FishStuyvesant Fish was president of the Illinois Central Railroad.Fish was born in New York City, the son of Hamilton Fish and his wife Julia Ursin Niemcewicz, née Kean. A graduate of Columbia College, he was later an executive of the Illinois Central Railroad, and as its president from 1887 to 1906...
, president of 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...
1887-1907 (b. 1851).
May deaths
- May 16 – George Jay Gould IGeorge Jay Gould IGeorge Jay Gould I was a financier and the son of Jay Gould. He was himself a railroad executive, leading both the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad and the Western Pacific Railroad ....
, eldest son of Jay GouldJay GouldJason "Jay" Gould was a leading American railroad developer and speculator. He has long been vilified as an archetypal robber baron, whose successes made him the ninth richest American in history. Condé Nast Portfolio ranked Gould as the 8th worst American CEO of all time...
, president of the Denver and Rio Grande Western RailroadDenver and Rio Grande Western RailroadThe Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to Rio Grande or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, is a defunct U.S. railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow gauge line running south from Denver, Colorado in 1870; however, served mainly as a transcontinental...
and the Western Pacific RailroadWestern Pacific RailroadThe Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California...
(b. 1864).
October deaths
- October 25 – Henry IvattHenry IvattHenry Alfred Ivatt was the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Great Northern Railway from 1896 to 1911.- Biography :...
, Chief Mechanical EngineerChief Mechanical EngineerChief Mechanical Engineer and Locomotive Superintendent are titles applied by British, Australian, and New Zealand railway companies to the person ultimately responsible to the board of the company for the building and maintaining of the locomotives and rolling stock...
of Great Northern RailwayGreat Northern Railway (Great Britain)The Great Northern Railway was a British railway company established by the Great Northern Railway Act of 1846. On 1 January 1923 the company lost its identity as a constituent of the newly formed London and North Eastern Railway....
of England 1896-1911 (b. 1851).
December deaths
- December 5 – Sir William Mackenzie, part owner of Toronto Street Railway, builder of 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...
predecessors (b. 1849). - December 10 – Thomas George Shaughnessy, president of Canadian Pacific Railway Limited 1899-1918 (b. 1853).