1891 in rail transport
Encyclopedia
January events
- January 28 – The railway trades unions of the United KingdomUnited 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...
put out demands for shorter working hours under threat of national strike actionStrike actionStrike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
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April events
- April 19 – A fatal collision in Kipton, OhioKipton, OhioKipton is a village in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The population was 265 at the 2000 census.-History:Kipton was once a stop along the Southern Division of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad; however, the line was abandoned and pulled up in 1976. This line is now a rail trail,...
between a freight train and a passenger train, attributed to a faulty engineer's pocket watchPocket watchA pocket watch is a watch that is made to be carried in a pocket, as opposed to a wristwatch, which is strapped to the wrist. They were the most common type of watch from their development in the 16th century until wristwatches became popular after World War I during which a transitional design,...
which stopped for 4 minutes. This accident will become the impetus for the adoption of new quality standards for railroad chronometers in 1893.
May events
- May 31 NS (=May 19 OS) – In the Kuperovskaya district of VladivostokVladivostokThe city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
, a grand ceremonial inauguration of construction work on the Trans-Siberian RailwayTrans-Siberian RailwayThe Trans-Siberian Railway is a network of railways connecting Moscow with the Russian Far East and the Sea of Japan. It is the longest railway in the world...
is carried out by the TsesarevichTsesarevichTsesarevich was the title of the heir apparent or presumptive in the Russian Empire. It either preceded or replaced the given name and patronymic.-Usage:...
Nikolay Alexandrovich (the future Czar Nicholas II) and a religious service held.
June events
- June 10 – The funeral trainFuneral trainA funeral train is a train specially chartered in order to carry a coffin or coffins to a resting place. Funeral trains today are often reserved for leaders and national heroes, as part of a state funeral, but in the past were sometimes the chief means of transporting coffins and mourners to...
for John A. MacdonaldJohn A. MacdonaldSir John Alexander Macdonald, GCB, KCMG, PC, PC , QC was the first Prime Minister of Canada. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, his political career spanned almost half a century...
, the first Prime Minister of 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...
, is operated between OttawaOttawaOttawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
and Kingston, OntarioKingston, OntarioKingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
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July events
- July 1 – The narrow gaugeNarrow gaugeA narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...
Phillips and Rangeley RailroadPhillips and Rangeley RailroadThe Phillips and Rangeley Railroad was a gauge narrow gauge common carrier railroad in the State of Maine.It connected the towns of Phillips and Rangeley and was built to serve the forestry and resort industries of Franklin County. This railroad pioneered the use of large 2-foot gauge rolling...
opens to Rangeley, Maine. - July 31 – The Ottawa, Arnprior & Parry Sound Railway is incorporated by John Rudolphus BoothJohn Rudolphus BoothJohn Rudolphus Booth was a Canadian lumber and railway baron. He controlled logging rights for large tracts of forest land in central Ontario, and built a railway to extract his logs; and from Ottawa through to Vermont to export lumber and grain to the United States and...
in Ontario, Canada, amalgamating two companies created in 1888, the Ottawa and Parry Sound Railway and the Ottawa Arnprior and Renfrew Railway.
September events
- September 14 – New York Central stages the record breaking run of the Empire State ExpressEmpire State ExpressThe Empire State Express was one of the named passenger trains and onetime flagship of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad...
between New York City and Buffalo, New YorkBuffalo, 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...
; the train makes the 436 mile (702 km) journey in 7 hours 6 minutes, an average speed of nearly 65 mph (105 km/h).
November events
- November 30
- John D. SpreckelsJohn D. SpreckelsJohn Diedrich Spreckels , the son of German-American industrialist Claus Spreckels, founded a transportation and real estate empire in San Diego, California in the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
incorporates the San Diego Electric RailwaySan Diego Electric RailwayThe San Diego Electric Railway was a mass transit system in Southern California, USA, using streetcars and buses.The SDERy was established by "sugar heir," developer, and entrepreneur John D. Spreckels in 1892...
Company. - 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 its 2,000th new 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...
.
- John D. Spreckels
December events
- December 4 – Great East Thompson Train WreckGreat East Thompson Train WreckThe Great East Thompson Train Wreck was a large rail disaster which occurred in East Thompson, Connecticut, on December 4, 1891. It was one of the most extensive train wrecks in American history, and the only one to involve four trains. It happened on the New York and New England Railroad, which...
: Four trains collide in East Thompson, Connecticut. It is one of the most extensive rail disasters in American history, yet only three people are killed.
Unknown date events
- Charles L. Heisler builds a working prototype of what is to become the Heisler locomotiveHeisler locomotiveThe Heisler locomotive was the last variant of the three major types of geared steam locomotive, Charles L. Heisler receiving a patent for the design in 1892 following the construction of a prototype in 1891. Somewhat similar to a Climax locomotive, Heisler's design featured two cylinders canted...
. - 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...
launches its trans-Pacific shipping route between Vancouver, British Columbia and Hong KongHong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. - The Busk Tunnel Railway Company completes construction of Colorado Midland's Busk-Ivanhoe TunnelBusk-Ivanhoe TunnelBusk-Ivanhoe Tunnel was a 9,394 ft long railroad tunnel at an elevation of 10,953 ft in Colorado. It was built by the Busk Tunnel Railway Company for the Colorado Midland Railroad in 1891 as a replacement for the Hagerman Tunnel at a lower, more direct route.The tunnel was briefly...
, which will soon replace the Hagerman TunnelHagerman TunnelHagerman Tunnel was a 2,161 ft railroad tunnel crossing the Continental Divide in Colorado at an altitude of 11,528 ft ....
in 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...
. - The first section of mainline railroad in Puerto RicoPuerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
begins operation between San JuanSan Juan, Puerto RicoSan Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
and ManatíManatí, Puerto RicoManatí is a municipality of Puerto Rico in the northern coast, north of Morovis and Ciales; east of Florida and Barceloneta; and west of Vega Baja. Manatí is spread over 8 wards and Manatí Pueblo...
.
March deaths
- March 14 – James Grant, first president of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific RailroadChicago, Rock Island and Pacific RailroadThe Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock.-Incorporation:...
, 1851-1854 (b. 1812).
August deaths
- August 27 – Samuel C. PomeroySamuel C. PomeroySamuel Clarke Pomeroy was an American Republican Senator from Kansas in the mid-19th century, serving in the United States Senate during the American Civil War. Pomeroy served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives...
, 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...
1863-1868 (b. 1816).
November deaths
- November 6 – J. Gregory SmithJ. Gregory SmithJohn Gregory Smith , railroad tycoon, politician, war-time governor of VermontSmith was born in St. Albans, Vermont, son of John and Maria Smith. The elder Smith was a pioneer railroad builder in Vermont, and a leading lawyer and public man of his generation...
, 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...
1866-1872, dies (b. 1818).
Unknown date deaths
- Moncure RobinsonMoncure RobinsonMoncure Robinson was a European-trained civil engineer and U.S. railroad building pioneer. He built the Chesterfield Railroad, the first in Virginia completed in 1831. He built the bridge across the James River between Manchester and Richmond, Virginia for the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad...
, builder of the Chesterfield RailroadChesterfield RailroadThe Chesterfield Railroad was located in Chesterfield County, Virginia. It was a 13-mile long mule-and-gravity powered line that connected the Midlothian coal mines with wharves that were located at the head of navigation on the James River just below the fall line at Manchester...
, Philadelphia and Reading Railroad and president of the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac RailroadRichmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac RailroadThe Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad was a railroad connecting Richmond, Virginia, to Washington, D.C. It is now a portion of the CSX Transportation system....
(b. 1802).