1893 in rail transport
Encyclopedia
January events
- January 1 - Coming into force of international convention on the transport of goods by rail in the principal contiguous states of Western EuropeWestern EuropeWestern Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
. - January 2 - Introduction by Webb C. BallWebb C. BallWebster Clay Ball was a jeweler and watchmaker born in Fredericktown, Ohio. After a two-year apprenticeship to a jeweler, Ball settled in Cleveland, Ohio to join a jewelry store...
of the General Railroad Timepiece Standards in North AmericaNorth AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. See Railroad chronometers. - January - Under the direction of James J. HillJames J. HillJames Jerome Hill , was a Canadian-American railroad executive. He was the chief executive officer of a family of lines headed by the Great Northern Railway, which served a substantial area of the Upper Midwest, the northern Great Plains, and Pacific Northwest...
the third transcontinental railway, Great Northern, in the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
is completed to the Pacific NorthwestPacific NorthwestThe Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
.
February events
- February 4 - Official opening of main section of Liverpool Overhead RailwayLiverpool Overhead RailwayThe Liverpool Overhead Railway was the world's first electrically operated overhead railway. The railway was carried mainly on iron viaducts, with a corrugated iron decking, onto which the tracks were laid. It ran close to the River Mersey in Liverpool, England, following the line of Liverpool Docks...
, the first electrified suburban line in BritainUnited 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...
, and the first (third rail) electrified overhead railway in the world. - February 23 - Rudolf DieselRudolf DieselRudolf Christian Karl Diesel was a German inventor and mechanical engineer, famous for the invention of the diesel engine.-Early life:Diesel was born in Paris, France in 1858 the second of three children of Theodor and Elise Diesel. His parents were Bavarian immigrants living in Paris. Theodor...
receives a patent for the diesel engineDiesel engineA diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
.
March events
- March 1 - The New York, New Haven and Hartford RailroadNew York, New Haven and Hartford RailroadThe New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , was a railroad that operated in the northeast United States from 1872 to 1968 which served the states of Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts...
(the New Haven Railroad) leases the Old Colony RailroadOld Colony RailroadThe Old Colony Railroad was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island. It operated from 1845 to 1893. Old Colony trains ran from Boston to points such as Plymouth, Fall River, New Bedford, Newport, Providence, Fitchburg, Lowell and Cape Cod...
. - March 2 - The US Railroad Safety Appliance Act is enacted, mandating that all cars in interchange service be equipped with air brakes, automatic couplers and grab irons.
April events
- April 22 - The John BullJohn Bull (locomotive)John Bull is a British-built railroad steam locomotive that operated in the United States. It was operated for the first time on September 15, 1831, and it became the oldest operable steam locomotive in the world when the Smithsonian Institution operated it in 1981...
arrives in Chicago, Illinois, for the World's Columbian ExpositionWorld's Columbian ExpositionThe World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
after traveling under its own power from Jersey City, New JerseyJersey City, New JerseyJersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
.
May events
- May 1 - The World's Columbian ExpositionWorld's Columbian ExpositionThe World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
in Chicago's Jackson Park is opened to the public with the Intramural Railway, a 2.7-mile elevated third rail electric railroad system providing transportation throughout the fair grounds. A total of 72 motor and trailer coaches were assigned to the line all built by the Jackson and Sharp CompanyJackson and Sharp CompanyJackson and Sharp Company was an American railroad car manufacturer and shipbuilder in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The company was founded in 1863 by Job H. Jackson , a tinsmith and retail merchant, and Jacob F. Sharp Jackson and Sharp Company was an American railroad car manufacturer...
of Wilmington, DelawareWilmington, DelawareWilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
. - May 10 - New York Central locomotive number 999 pulls a passenger train between Batavia 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...
, reaching 112.5 mph (181 km/h); this is the first time an AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
train breaks 100 mph (161 km/h). - May 12 - ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
's premier rapid transit line, the South Side Elevated Railway, is extended to the World's Columbian ExpositionWorld's Columbian ExpositionThe World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
in Jackson Park.
June events
- June 20 - The WengernalpbahnWengernalpbahnWengernalpbahn is a 19.091 km long, gauge rack railway line in Switzerland, which runs from Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald to Kleine Scheidegg, making it the world's longest continuous rack and pinion railway....
mountain railwayMountain railwayA mountain railway is a railway that ascends and descends a mountain slope that has a steep grade. Such railways can use a number of different technologies to overcome the steepness of the grade...
in Wengen, SwitzerlandWengen, SwitzerlandWengen is a village in the Bernese Oberland in the canton of Bern, located in central Switzerland at an elevation of 1274 m above sea level, and is part of the Jungfrauregion. Wengen has approximately 1,300 year-round residents...
(Canton of Bern) is opened. - June 22 - Robert S. Lovett succeeds Leland StanfordLeland StanfordAmasa Leland Stanford was an American tycoon, industrialist, robber baron, politician and founder of Stanford University.-Early years:...
as the president of the Southern Pacific Company, parent company of 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....
, after Stanford's death. The Chairmanship position vacated by Stanford remains vacant for another 16 years.
July events
- July 1 - William MackenzieWilliam Mackenzie (railway entrepreneur)Sir William Mackenzie was a Canadian railway contractor and entrepreneur.Born near Peterborough, Ontario, Mackenzie became a teacher and politician before entering business as the owner of a sawmill and gristmill in Kirkfield, Ontario...
purchases the Toronto and Mimico Creek Railway. - July 10 - The Toronto and Mimico Creek Railway is extended to Mimico CreekMimico CreekMimico Creek is a 33 km watercourse with its headwaters in Brampton, Ontario, and its mouth in Toronto, Ontario.The watershed lies between the Humber River to the east and Etobicoke Creek to the west....
. - July 29 - 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...
opens La Grande StationLa Grande StationLa Grande Station was the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway's main passenger terminal in Los Angeles, California, until damage from the Long Beach earthquake of 1933 forced its closure. When Union Station opened in 1939, Santa Fe moved all of its passenger services there.- History :Santa Fe...
in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
September events
- September 7 - First part of Douglas & Laxey Coast Electric Tramway, a 3 ft (914 mm) 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 :...
interurbanInterurbanAn interurban, also called a radial railway in parts of Canada, is a type of electric passenger railroad; in short a hybrid between tram and train. Interurbans enjoyed widespread popularity in the first three decades of the twentieth century in North America. Until the early 1920s, most roads were...
(later the Manx Electric RailwayManx Electric RailwayThe Manx Electric Railway is an electric inter-urban tramway connecting Douglas, Laxey and Ramsey in the Isle of Man. It connects with the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway at its southern terminus at Derby Castle at the northern end of the promenade in Douglas, and with the Snaefell Mountain Railway at...
), opens on the Isle of ManIsle of ManThe Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
. - September 18 - The Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound RailwayOttawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound RailwayThe Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway is a historic Canadian railway that operated in central and eastern Ontario from 1897 until 1959.It was a common carrier railway, although it was primarily used to transport timber from logging operations as well as haul cargo from western Canada via the...
opens 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 ArnpriorArnpriorArnprior is a town in Renfrew County, in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, Canada. It is located at the mouth of the Madawaska River, as it enters the Ottawa River in the Ottawa Valley...
.
October events
- October 20 - Brayton C. IvesBrayton C. IvesBrayton C. Ives was president of Northern Pacific Railway from 1893 to 1896 and was president of the New York Stock Exchange and the Western National Bank of New York....
succeeds Thomas Fletcher OakesThomas Fletcher OakesThomas Fletcher Oakes was president of Northern Pacific Railway from 1888 to 1893.He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, July 15, 1843 and died in Seattle, Washington, in 1919....
as 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...
.
November events
- November 6 - The Lake Street Elevated RailroadLake Street Elevated RailroadThe Lake Street Elevated Railroad was the second permanent elevated rapid transit line to be constructed in Chicago, Illinois. The first section of the line opened on November 6, 1893, and its route is still used today as part of the Green Line route of the Chicago 'L' system.-Beginnings:The Lake...
, Chicago's second rapid transit line, is opened for service between Madison & Wacker and California Avenue. The road originally used 35 0-4-4T ForneyForney locomotiveThe Forney is a type of tank locomotive patented by Matthias N. Forney between 1861 and 1864. Forney locomotives include the following characteristics:* An 0-4-4T wheel arrangement, that is four driving wheels followed by a truck with four wheels....
locomotives built by the Rhode Island Locomotive WorksRhode Island Locomotive WorksRhode Island Locomotive Works was a steam locomotive manufacturing company of the 19th century located in Providence, Rhode Island. The factory produced more than 3,400 locomotives between 1867 and 1906, when the plants locomotive production was shut down...
and 125 trailer coaches built by Gilbert Car CompanyGilbert Car CompanyGilbert Car Company was a railroad car builder based in Troy, New York. It began manufacturing streetcars in the late 1880s.Founded by Orsamus Eaton and Uri Gilbert , the company changed names several times as the partnership changed:...
and Pullman Car Company.
- November 14 - The Central RailwayFerrocarril Central AndinoFerrocarril Central Andino is the consortium which operates the Ferrovías Central railway in Peru linking the Pacific port of Callao and the capital Lima with Huancayo and Cerro de Pasco...
of PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
opens the section of line from Chicla across the AndesAndesThe Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
watershed to OroyaLa OroyaLa Oroya is a city of about 33,000 people on the River Mantaro in central Peru. It is situated on the Altiplano some 176 km east-north-east of the national capital, Lima, and is capital of the Yauli Province...
, with a summit level at GaleraGalera railway stationGalera is the second highest train station in the Western Hemisphere with an elevation of 4,777 m . It is situated in the Andes in Peru at km 172.7 on the Ferrocarril Central Andino line from Lima to Huancayo, immediately east of the 1.2 km Galera summit tunnel .The standard gauge line...
of 4781 m (15,686 feet) above sea level.
December events
- December 6 - The John BullJohn Bull (locomotive)John Bull is a British-built railroad steam locomotive that operated in the United States. It was operated for the first time on September 15, 1831, and it became the oldest operable steam locomotive in the world when the Smithsonian Institution operated it in 1981...
leaves the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois, under its own power, headed toward Washington, DC, for its return to the Smithsonian InstitutionSmithsonian InstitutionThe Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
. - December 18 - The Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound RailwayOttawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound RailwayThe Ottawa, Arnprior and Parry Sound Railway is a historic Canadian railway that operated in central and eastern Ontario from 1897 until 1959.It was a common carrier railway, although it was primarily used to transport timber from logging operations as well as haul cargo from western Canada via the...
opens an extension of the railway from ArnpriorArnprior, OntarioArnprior is a town in Renfrew County, in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, Canada. It is located at the mouth of the Madawaska River, as it enters the Ottawa River in the Ottawa Valley...
to EganvilleEganville, OntarioEganville is a small community occupying a deep limestone valley carved at the Fifth Chute of the Bonnechere River in Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada. It is in the township of Bonnechere Valley. This village also has two of the most popular restaurants in the upper Ottawa Valley: The Granary and...
, OntarioOntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
.
- December 22 - The John BullJohn Bull (locomotive)John Bull is a British-built railroad steam locomotive that operated in the United States. It was operated for the first time on September 15, 1831, and it became the oldest operable steam locomotive in the world when the Smithsonian Institution operated it in 1981...
arrives back in Washington, DC, after traveling under its own power from Chicago, Illinois. - December 23 - 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...
enters receivership three days after the railroad's chairman died.
Unknown date events
- Eugene V. DebsEugene V. DebsEugene Victor Debs was an American union leader, one of the founding members of the International Labor Union and the Industrial Workers of the World , and several times the candidate of the Socialist Party of America for President of the United States...
organizes the first industrial union in the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the American Railway UnionAmerican Railway UnionThe American Railway Union , was the largest labor union of its time, and one of the first industrial unions in the United States. It was founded on June 20, 1893, by railway workers gathered in Chicago, Illinois, and under the leadership of Eugene V...
(ARU). - Jacob S. RogersJacob S. Rogers-Biography:He was the son of Thomas Rogers, the founder of Rogers, Ketchum & Grosvenor.When Thomas Rogers died in 1856, Jacob took over the business and reorganized it as Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works and served as the company's president...
, son of company founder Thomas RogersThomas Rogers (locomotive builder)Thomas Rogers was an American mechanical engineer and founder of Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works of Paterson, New Jersey...
, resigns from the presidency of Rogers Locomotive and Machine WorksRogers Locomotive and Machine WorksRogers Locomotive and Machine Works was a 19th-century manufacturer of railroad steam locomotives based in Paterson, in Passaic County, New Jersey, in the United States. It built more than six thousand steam locomotives for railroads around the world. Most railroads in 19th-century United States...
; the company's former treasurer becomes president and reorganizes the company as Rogers Locomotive Company. - Jewett Car CompanyJewett Car CompanyThe Jewett Car Company was an early 20th century American industrial company that manufactured street cars.The company was founded in 1893 in Jewett, Ohio, where its first factory was located. In 1904, the company relocated from Jewett to a site along South Williams Street in Newark, Ohio, but...
is founded in Jewett, OhioJewett, OhioJewett is a village in Harrison County, Ohio, United States. The population was 784 at the 2000 census. The community has also been known as "Fairview."-Geography:Jewett is located at ....
; it will become a major supplier of interurban cars and trolleys.
November births
- November 5 - 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...
, industrial designer who worked for 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....
designing the shape of equipment such as the GG1PRR GG1The PRR GG1 is a class of electric locomotives that was built for the Pennsylvania Railroad for use in the northeastern United States. A total of 140 GG1s were constructed by its designer General Electric and the Pennsylvania's Altoona Works from 1934 to 1943....
(d. 1986).
January deaths
- January 27 - Alfred BelpaireAlfred BelpaireAlfred Jules Belpaire was a Belgian locomotive engineer who invented the square-topped Belpaire firebox in 1860....
, inventor of the Belpaire fireboxBelpaire fireboxThe Belpaire firebox is a type of firebox used on steam locomotives. It was invented by Alfred Belpaire of Belgium. It has a greater surface area at the top of the firebox, improving heat transfer and steam production...
for 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...
s (b. 1820).
March deaths
- March 24 - John Taylor JohnstonJohn Taylor JohnstonJohn Taylor Johnston was born on April 8, 1820, the son of John Johnston, a prominent merchant banker in New York City. Johnston was the founding president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1870, as well as the President of the Central Railroad of New Jersey from 1848 to 1877...
, president of the Central Railroad of New JerseyCentral Railroad of New JerseyThe Central Railroad of New Jersey , commonly known as the Jersey Central Lines or CNJ, was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s, lasting until 1976 when it was absorbed into Conrail with the other bankrupt railroads of the Northeastern United States...
, 1848–1877 (b. 1820).
June deaths
- June 21 - Leland StanfordLeland StanfordAmasa Leland Stanford was an American tycoon, industrialist, robber baron, politician and founder of Stanford University.-Early years:...
, a member of The Big Four group of financiers in CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
(b. 1824)
December deaths
- December 20 - George C. MagounGeorge C. MagounGeorge C. Magoun was, in the late 1880s, the Chairman of the Board of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway....
, Chairman of the Board of Directors for 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...
in the late 1880s1880sThe 1880s was the decade that spanned from January 1, 1880 to December 31, 1889. They occurred at the core period of the Second Industrial Revolution. Most Western countries experienced a large economic boom, due to the mass production of railroads and other more convenient methods of travel...
(b. 1840).
Unknown date deaths
- Allen ManvelAllen ManvelAllen Manvel was the eleventh president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.Manvel was born in Alexander, New York. In 1859 he began employment with the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad as a clerk in the purchasing agent's office. He worked his way up through the ranks to...
, eleventh 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...
(b. 1837). - Walter McQueen, 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...
for the Albany and Schenectady RailroadAlbany and Schenectady RailroadThe Albany & Schenectady Railroad, originally the Mohawk & Hudson Railroad, was the first railroad built in the State of New York and one of the first railroads in the United States....
1845–1850, Hudson River Railroad 1850–1852, and superintendent of Schenectady Locomotive WorksSchenectady Locomotive WorksThe Schenectady Locomotive Works built railroad locomotives from its founding in 1848 through its merger into American Locomotive Company in 1901.After the 1901 merger, ALCO made the Schenectady plant its headquarters in Schenectady, New York....
1852–1876 (b. 1817).