1873 in rail transport
Encyclopedia
January events
- January 21 - The New York, Boston and Montreal Railway is organized as a renaming of the New York, Boston and Northern Railway.
April events
- April 2 - The first sleeping carSleeping carThe sleeping car or sleeper is a railway/railroad passenger car that can accommodate all its passengers in beds of one kind or another, primarily for the purpose of making nighttime travel more restful. The first such cars saw sporadic use on American railroads in the 1830s and could be configured...
is introduced in BritainGreat BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, on Anglo-Scottish services. - April 8 - Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway reopens its DabhoiDabhoiDabhoi is a city and a municipality in Vadodara district in the state of Gujarat, India. It was originally known as Darbhavati.- History :...
-Miyagam line (32 km of 2'6" (760 mm) narrow gauge) relaid with stronger rails allowing locomotives to replace oxen as motive power (although this is not done regularly until 1880). Later part of the Gaekwar's Baroda State Railway and Western RailwayWestern Railway (India)The Western Railway is one of the 16 zones of Indian Railways, and is among the busiest railway networks in India. The major railway routes of Indian Railways which come under Western Railways are: Ratlam - Mumbai Central, Surat - Mumbai, Surat - Ahmedabad, Ahmedabad - Vadodara and Palanpur -...
, the DabhoiDabhoiDabhoi is a city and a municipality in Vadodara district in the state of Gujarat, India. It was originally known as Darbhavati.- History :...
system is in continuous operation until gauge conversionGauge conversionIn rail transport, gauge conversion is the process of converting a railway from one rail gauge to another, through the alteration of the railway tracks...
in the early 21st century.
- April 29 - Eli H. JanneyEli H. JanneyEli H. Janney , aka Eli Hamilton Janney or simply Eli Janney, was the inventor of the modern knuckle coupler that replaced link and pin couplers on North American railroads....
is awarded , Improvement in Car-Couplings (filed for on April 1) for his knuckle couplerCoupling (railway)A coupling is a mechanism for connecting rolling stock in a train. The design of the coupler is standard, and is almost as important as the railway gauge, since flexibility and convenience are maximised if all rolling stock can be coupled together.The equipment that connects the couplings to the...
design.
May events
- May 5 - The Midland RailwayMidland RailwayThe Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
of EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
opens the main part of the Midland Grand Hotel (designed by George Gilbert ScottGeorge Gilbert ScottSir George Gilbert Scott was an English architect of the Victorian Age, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches, cathedrals and workhouses...
) at its LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
St PancrasSt Pancras railway stationSt Pancras railway station, also known as London St Pancras and since 2007 as St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus celebrated for its Victorian architecture. The Grade I listed building stands on Euston Road in St Pancras, London Borough of Camden, between the...
terminus. - May 10 - The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, building westward from 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...
, reaches Granada, ColoradoGranada, ColoradoGranada is a Statutory Town in Prowers County, Colorado, United States. The population was 640 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Granada is located at ....
. - May 22 - Henry StrongHenry Strong (ATSF)Henry Strong was the seventh president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.Strong was born in Helensburg, Scotland, the son of Glasgow's Consul General. When he was four years old, he and his family emigrated to the United States...
succeeds Ginery TwichellGinery TwichellGinery Twichell was president of the Boston and Worcester Railroad in the 1860s, the Republican Representative for Massachusetts for three consecutive terms and the sixth president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.He was born on in Athol, Massachusetts. Some references list his actual...
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...
.
June events
- June - The 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....
builds its 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...
at the railroad's 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,...
, shops as CP's 2nd number 55, a 4-4-04-4-0Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-4-0 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and no trailing wheels...
. - June 2 - Construction begins on Clay Street in 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...
, for the first cable railwayCable railwayA cable railway is a steeply graded railway that uses a cable or rope to haul trains.-Introduction:...
in the world, the Clay Street Hill RailroadClay Street Hill RailroadThe Clay Street Hill Railroad was the first successful cable hauled street railway. It was located on Clay Street, a notably steep street in San Francisco in California, and first operated in August 1873....
(later to become part of the San Francisco cable car systemSan Francisco cable car systemThe San Francisco cable car system is the world's last permanently operational manually operated cable car system, in the US sense of a tramway whose cars are pulled along by cables embedded in the street. It is an icon of San Francisco, California...
). - June 14 - The Denver, South Park and Pacific Railway is reorganized with greater capital as 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...
.
July events
- July 1 - The Isle of Man RailwayIsle of Man RailwayThe Isle of Man Railway is a narrow gauge steam-operated railway connecting Douglas with Castletown and Port Erin in the Isle of Man. The line is built to gauge and is long...
opens its first line, from DouglasDouglas, Isle of Manright|thumb|250px|Douglas Promenade, which runs nearly the entire length of beachfront in Douglasright|thumb|250px|Sea terminal in DouglasDouglas is the capital and largest town of the Isle of Man, with a population of 26,218 people . It is located at the mouth of the River Douglas, and a sweeping...
to Peel.
August events
- August 2 -
- The first prototypes of the San Francisco cable car systemSan Francisco cable car systemThe San Francisco cable car system is the world's last permanently operational manually operated cable car system, in the US sense of a tramway whose cars are pulled along by cables embedded in the street. It is an icon of San Francisco, California...
are tested at the top of Nob Hill by Andrew HallidieAndrew Smith HallidieAndrew Smith Hallidie was the promoter of the Clay Street Hill Railroad in San Francisco, USA. This was the world's first practical cable car system, and Hallidie is often therefore regarded as the inventor of the cable car and father of the present day San Francisco cable car system, although...
. - The Wigan rail crashWigan rail crashIn Victorian times annual holidays to Scotland were popular amongst the affluent; inspired by Queen Victoria's visits to Balmoral. The 'Tourist Special' which left London Euston at 20:00 on 2 August 1873 drawn by two locomotives consisted of 25 vehicles by the time it left Crewe including many...
in England kills 13 people.
- The first prototypes of the San Francisco cable car system
- August 4 - The Ross and Monmouth RailwayRoss and Monmouth RailwayThe Ross and Monmouth Railway was a standard gauge railway of which ran between Ross-on-Wye and Monmouth....
's line from MonmouthMonmouthMonmouth is a town in southeast Wales and traditional county town of the historic county of Monmouthshire. It is situated close to the border with England, where the River Monnow meets the River Wye with bridges over both....
, WalesWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, to Ross on Wye, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, opens.
September events
- September 20 - In order to contain the Panic of 1873Panic of 1873The Panic of 1873 triggered a severe international economic depression in both Europe and the United States that lasted until 1879, and even longer in some countries. The depression was known as the Great Depression until the 1930s, but is now known as the Long Depression...
, brought on by the failure two days earlier of Jay Cooke & CompanyJay Cooke & CompanyJay Cooke & Company was a U.S. bank from 1861 to 1873. It was the first brokerage house to use telegraph messages to confirm with clients the purchase and sale of securities. Headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it had branches in New York City and Washington, DC...
in financing the 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...
, the New York Stock ExchangeNew York Stock ExchangeThe New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
halts all trading and closes for ten days. - September 22 - Western Counties Railway holds official groundbreakingGroundbreakingGroundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are often attended by dignitaries such as politicians and...
ceremonies at Lovitt's Wharf, Yarmouth County, Nova ScotiaYarmouth County, Nova ScotiaFor the ship built in Yarmouth County, see County of YarmouthYarmouth County is a rural county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It has both traditional Anglo-Scottish and Acadian French culture as well as significant inland wilderness areas, including over 365 lakes and several major rivers...
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
October events
- October 3 - 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...
begins converting its track between Stratford, OntarioStratford, OntarioStratford is a city on the Avon River in Perth County in southwestern Ontario, Canada with a population of 32,000.When the area was first settled by Europeans in 1832, the townsite and the river were named after Stratford-upon-Avon, England. It is the seat of Perth County. Stratford was...
, and MontrealMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
from 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) (broad gaugeBroad gaugeBroad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...
) to (standard gaugeStandard gaugeThe standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
); the conversion is completed within 24 hours.
December events
- December 23 - The first section of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad is opened between Topeka, KansasTopeka, 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 the ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
/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...
border. - December 24 - Opening of first steam-operated passenger railway in the North IslandNorth IslandThe North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
of 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...
, from 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 OnehungaOnehungaOnehunga is a suburb of Auckland City, New Zealand and the location of the Port of Onehunga, the city's small port on the Manukau Harbour. It is eight kilometres south of the city centre, close to the volcanic cone of One Tree Hill, Maungakiekie....
(3 ft 6in (1067 mm) gaugeRail gaugeTrack gauge or rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the heads of the two load bearing rails that make up a single railway line. Sixty percent of the world's railways use a standard gauge of . Wider gauges are called broad gauge; smaller gauges, narrow gauge. Break-of-gauge refers...
).
Unknown date events
- Under the direction 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...
, the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad tracks reach Chicago, Illinois. - St. Charles Car CompanySt. Charles Car CompanySt. Charles Car Company, a railroad rolling stock manufacturing company located in St. Charles, Missouri, was founded in 1872 or 1873. In 1899 it merged with twelve other companies to form American Car and Foundry . The St. Charles plant became the main passenger car works. With a failing market...
, later to become part of American Car and Foundry, is founded in St. Charles, Missouri. - Matthew BairdMatthew BairdMatthew Baird was one of the early partners in the Baldwin Locomotive Works.Baird was born in Derry, Ireland, in 1817. His parents brought him to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1821....
retires from his management and ownership position at Baldwin Locomotive WorksBaldwin Locomotive WorksThe Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of...
.
December deaths
- December 24 - Johns HopkinsJohns HopkinsJohns Hopkins was a wealthy American entrepreneur, philanthropist and abolitionist of 19th-century Baltimore, Maryland, now most noted for his philanthropic creation of the institutions that bear his name, namely the Johns Hopkins Hospital, and the Johns Hopkins University and its associated...
, entrepreneur (b. 1795), died without heirs, leaving $7 million, mostly in Baltimore & Ohio Railroad stock, to establish his namesake institutions, the single largest philanthropic donation ever made to educational institutions at that time.