1937 in rail transport
Encyclopedia
January events
- January – Electro-Motive Corporation introduces the EMC E2.
- January 18 – The Østfold Line in Norway takes electric traction into use between LjanLjan StationLjan Station is a railway station in the Ljan area of bydel Nordstrand in Oslo, Norway. Located on the Østfold Line, it is served by the Oslo Commuter Rail line 500 operated by Norges Statsbaner with two hourly services. The station was opened with the rest of Østfoldbanen in 1879.-External links:*...
and KolbotnKolbotn StationKolbotn is a railway station located at Kolbotn in Oppegård, Norway. Located 12 km from Oslo S on the Østfold Line, it is served by commuter trains operated by Norges Statsbaner....
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March events
- March 9 – In a joint announcement, PullmanPullman CompanyThe Pullman Palace Car Company, founded by George Pullman, manufactured railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the early decades of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Pullman developed the sleeping car which carried his name into the 1980s...
and the New York Central announce the order of new streamlinedStreamlinerA 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...
equipment to be NYC's "Great Steel Fleet". At the same time Pullman and the 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....
announce new streamline cars to be PRR's "Fleet of Modernism". - March 15 – The last tramTramA tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
operates on the Porte de Saint-Cloud-Porte de Vincennes line in Paris, France. - March 21 – Southern PacificSouthern 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 "Daylight LimitedDaylight LimitedThe Daylight Limited was an express passenger train between Auckland and Wellington, New Zealand along the North Island Main Trunk. It commenced in 1925 and was replaced by the Scenic Daylight in 1963.- Introduction :...
" debuts the new red/orange/black "Daylight" paint scheme.
April events
- April 10 – The last train operates on Colorado and Southern RailwayColorado and Southern RailwayThe Colorado and Southern Railway was a railroad company in the western United States that operated independently from 1898 to 1908, then as part of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad until it was absorbed into the Burlington Northern Railroad in 1981.The railway began as the...
's line to Leadville, ColoradoLeadville, ColoradoLeadville is a Statutory City that is the county seat of, and the only municipality in, Lake County, Colorado, United States. Situated at an elevation of , Leadville is the highest incorporated city and the second highest incorporated municipality in the United States...
, which was originally built and operated by the Denver, South Park and Pacific RailroadDenver, South Park and Pacific RailroadThe Denver, South Park, and Pacific Railroad was a historic narrow gauge railway that operated in Colorado in the western United States in the late 19th century. The railroad opened up the first rail routes to a large section of the central Colorado mining district in the decades of the mineral boom...
. - April 25 – 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...
's Royal Blue passenger train is re-equipped with cars rebuilt in the B&O's company shops.
May events
- May – Electro-Motive Corporation introduces the EMC E1, the first E Series design which will continue in production until 1963.
- May 18 – All heavyweight wood passenger cars used on 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...
are replaced with lightweight 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....
cars. - May 19 – The New York, Ontario and Western RailwayNew York, Ontario and Western RailwayThe New York, Ontario and Western Railway, more commonly known as the O&W or NYO&W, was a regional railroad with origins in 1868, lasting until March 29, 1957 when it was ordered liquidated by a US bankruptcy judge. The O&W holds the distinction of being the first major U.S...
files for bankruptcy.
June events
- June 3 – The first Duplex-drive 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...
in the United States (Baltimore and Ohio 5600) is ordered. - June 20 – 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 Manhattan TransferManhattan Transfer (PRR station)Manhattan Transfer was a passenger station in Harrison, New Jersey, east of Newark, 8.8 miles west of New York Penn Station on the Pennsylvania Railroad main line, now Amtrak's Northeast Corridor...
station in New York City closes after 26 years of service in favor of Newark Penn Station. - June 29 – On a press run preparatory to the introduction of the Coronation ScotCoronation ScotThe Coronation Scot was a named express passenger train of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway inaugurated in 1937 for the Coronation of King George VI which ran until the start of the war in 1939...
service, LMS Princess Coronation Class 6220 CoronationLMS Princess Coronation Class 6220 CoronationLondon Midland and Scottish Railway Princess Coronation Class No. 6220 Coronation was a British steam locomotive.- Overview :6220 was built in 1937 at Crewe Works, the first of its class of streamlined locomotives...
, newly built, achieves a speed of 114 miles per hour (183.5 km/h) near CreweCreweCrewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...
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July events
- July 4 – 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...
begins to run streamlined named train The CoronationThe Coronation (train)The Coronation was a named passenger train of the London and North Eastern Railway which ran between and . Named to mark the Coronation of King George VI, the service started on 4 July 1937...
between London King's Cross and Edinburgh WaverleyEdinburgh Waverley railway stationEdinburgh Waverley railway station is the main railway station in the Scottish capital Edinburgh. Covering an area of over 25 acres in the centre of the city, it is the second-largest main line railway station in the United Kingdom in terms of area, the largest being...
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August events
- August 1 – Russia's Railway Worker Day national holiday is restored under Soviet rule; the observance date is changed from July 8 to the first Sunday of August.
October events
- October 1 – After 11 years, the Pullman CompanyPullman CompanyThe Pullman Palace Car Company, founded by George Pullman, manufactured railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the early decades of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Pullman developed the sleeping car which carried his name into the 1980s...
recognizes the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car PortersBrotherhood of Sleeping Car PortersThe Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was, in 1925, the first labor organization led by blacks to receive a charter in the American Federation of Labor . It merged in 1978 with the Brotherhood of Railway and Airline Clerks , now known as the Transportation Communications International Union.The...
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November events
- November 29 – 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...
ends ferry service to Bar Harbor.
December events
- December 5 – The last run on the Mount Lowe RailwayMount Lowe RailwayThe Mount Lowe Railway was the third in a series of scenic mountain railroads in America created as a tourist attraction on Echo Mountain and Mount Lowe, north of Los Angeles, California. The railway, originally incorporated by Professor Thaddeus S. C. Lowe as the Pasadena & Mt. Wilson Railroad Co...
in Southern CaliforniaSouthern CaliforniaSouthern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
carries a group known as "The Railroad Boosters" who sought to preserve the railway for future riders as a heritage railwayHeritage 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...
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Unknown date events
- The Lake Shore Electric Railway and the Indiana RailroadIndiana RailroadThis article is for the electric interurban railroad of 1930-1941. For the currently operating freight railroad Indiana Rail Road see Indiana Rail Road....
both cease operations. - Raymond LoewyRaymond LoewyRaymond Loewy was an industrial designer, and the first to be featured on the cover of Time Magazine, on October 31, 1949. Born in France, he spent most of his professional career in the United States...
establishes a business relationship with the 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....
; one of his first projects is to redesign the Broadway LimitedBroadway LimitedThe Broadway Limited was the Pennsylvania Railroad's premier named passenger train, operating daily in each direction between New York City and Chicago, via North Philadelphia. It replaced its predecessors, the Pennsylvania Limited and the Pennsylvania Special...
passenger train. - Pullman-Standard introduces roometteRoometteA roomette is a type of sleeping car compartment in a railroad passenger train. The term was first used in North America, and was carried over into Australia and New Zealand...
sleeping cars. - The Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn RailroadBoston, Revere Beach and Lynn RailroadThe Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad is a historic railroad that operated in Massachusetts.It was constructed as an 8.8-mile gauge narrow gauge passenger-carrying railroad to serve the Boston area....
, in MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, files for bankruptcyBankruptcyBankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
. - Fairfax HarrisonFairfax HarrisonFairfax Harrison was an American lawyer, businessman, and writer. The son of the secretary to the Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Harrison studied law at Yale University and Columbia University before becoming a lawyer for the Southern Railway Company in 1896...
is succeeded by Earnest E. Norris as president of the Southern RailwaySouthern Railway (US)The Southern Railway is a former United States railroad. It was the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized and recombined beginning in the 1830s, formally becoming the Southern Railway in 1894...
. - Union Pacific RailroadUnion Pacific RailroadThe Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
changes the consist on 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...
passenger train to use one of only two EMC E2 locomotives built.