1896 in rail transport
Encyclopedia
January events
- January 23 - Construction begins on the Northwestern Elevated line of the Chicago 'L'Chicago 'L'The L is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs. It is operated by the Chicago Transit Authority...
with the first structure erected at the intersection of Fullerton and Sheffield Avenues.
February events
- February 14 - 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...
opens its Union StationUnion Station (Portland)Union Station is a train station near the west shore of the Willamette River in the Old Town Chinatown section of Portland, Oregon, United States....
in Portland, OregonPortland, OregonPortland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
. - February 24 - Erie RailroadErie RailroadThe Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, originally connecting New York City with Lake Erie...
purchases the New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio RailroadNew York, Pennsylvania and Ohio RailroadThe Nypano Railroad, earlier the New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio Railroad, was organized from the bankrupt Atlantic and Great Western Railroad in March 1880....
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March events
- March 20 - 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...
purchases the Central Vermont RailwayCentral Vermont RailwayThe Central Vermont Railway was a railroad that operated in the New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New York, as well as the Canadian province of Quebec....
and begins operating it as a wholly owned subsidiary.
April events
- April 6 - The Snowdon Mountain RailwaySnowdon Mountain RailwayThe Snowdon Mountain Railway is a narrow gauge rack and pinion mountain railway in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It is a tourist railway that travels for from Llanberis to the summit of Snowdon, the highest peak in England and Wales....
in North WalesNorth WalesNorth Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
, the only Abt rack system line in the British IslesBritish IslesThe British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
, commences public operation; however, a derailment leading to one fatality causes services to be suspended for a year. - April 28 - Passenger rail service of the Henry Flagler Florida East Coast RailwayFlorida East Coast RailwayThe Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida; in the past, it has been a Class I railroad.Built primarily in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, the FEC was a project of Standard Oil principal Henry Morrison...
arrives in Miami from the former terminus of West Palm BeachWest Palm Beach, FloridaWest Palm Beach, is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and is the most populous city in and county seat of Palm Beach County, the third most populous county in Florida with a 2010 population of 1,320,134. The city is also the oldest incorporated municipality in South Florida...
, at the persuasion of Julia TuttleJulia TuttleJulia DeForest Tuttle, was an entrepreneur, citrus farmer and businesswoman who was largely responsible for, and the original owner of, the land upon which Miami, Florida, was built...
; this quickly leads to incorporation of the city of Miami and extensive development of South FloridaSouth Florida metropolitan areaThe South Florida metropolitan area, also known as the Miami metropolitan area, and designated the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Pompano Beach, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area by the U.S...
and the KeysFlorida KeysThe Florida Keys are a coral archipelago in southeast United States. They begin at the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry...
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May events
- May 2 - Budapest MetroBudapest MetroThe Budapest Metro is the rapid transit system in the Hungarian capital Budapest. It is the second-oldest underground metro system in the world after the London Underground. Its iconic Line 1, dating from 1896, was declared a World Heritage Site in 2002.-Lines:The Metro consists of three lines,...
Line 1Line 1 (Budapest Metro)The Metro 1 is the oldest line of the Budapest Metro system.Known in Budapest simply as "the underground" , it is the second oldest underground railway in the world , and the first on the European mainland. It was built from 1894 to 1896...
(HungaryHungaryHungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
), the world’s second, is opened by Emperor Franz Joseph I of AustriaFranz Joseph I of AustriaFranz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow from 1848 until his death in 1916.In the December of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicated the throne as part of...
. - May 9 - First Nord ExpressNord ExpressThe "Nord Express" was a train service introduced in 1896 by Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits, a Belgian night train company...
, ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
/OostendOstendOstend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
, BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, to Saint PetersburgSaint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. - May 30 - Construction of the Uganda RailwayUganda RailwayThe Uganda Railway is a railway system and former railway company linking the interiors of Uganda and Kenya with the Indian Ocean at Mombasa in Kenya.-Origins:...
starts at MombasaMombasaMombasa is the second-largest city in Kenya. Lying next to the Indian Ocean, it has a major port and an international airport. The city also serves as the centre of the coastal tourism industry....
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June events
- June 29 - The St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad Company (predecessor of the St. Louis - San Francisco Railway) is incorporated.
July events
- July 23 - Delivery of world's first commercially-built oil-engined locomotiveLocomotiveA locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
, from Richard Hornsby & SonsRichard Hornsby & SonsRichard Hornsby & Sons was an engine and machinery manufacturer in Lincolnshire, England from 1828 until 1918. The company was a pioneer in the manufacture of the oil engine developed by Herbert Akroyd Stuart and marketed under the Hornsby-Akroyd name. The company developed an early track system...
of GranthamGranthamGrantham is a market town within the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It bestrides the East Coast Main Line railway , the historic A1 main north-south road, and the River Witham. Grantham is located approximately south of the city of Lincoln, and approximately east of Nottingham...
, 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...
to the Royal ArsenalRoyal ArsenalThe Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, originally known as the Woolwich Warren, carried out armaments manufacture, ammunition proofing and explosives research for the British armed forces. It was sited on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England.-Early history:The Warren...
, WoolwichWoolwichWoolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...
, 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...
(18 in (457.2 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...
). - July 30 - Atlantic City rail crash1896 Atlantic City rail crashThe 1896 Atlantic City rail crash occurred soon after 6:30 pm on July 30, 1896 at a crossing just west of Atlantic City, New Jersey, crushing five loaded passenger coaches, killing 50 people and seriously injuring approximately 60.-Accident:...
: Shortly after 6:30 PM, at a crossing just west of Atlantic City, New JerseyAtlantic City, New JerseyAtlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
, two trains collide, crushing five loaded passenger coaches, killing 50 and seriously injuring around 60.
September events
- September 15 – The Missouri-Kansas-Texas RailroadMissouri-Kansas-Texas RailroadThe Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad was incorporated May 23, 1870. In its earliest days the MKT was commonly referred to as "the K-T", which was its stock exchange symbol; this common designation soon evolved into "the Katy"....
(the 'Katy') conveys 40,000 people to Crush, TexasCrush, TexasCrush, Texas, was a temporary "city" established as a one-day publicity stunt in 1896. William George Crush, general passenger agent of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad , conceived the idea to demonstrate a train wreck as a spectacle. No admission was charged, and train fares to the crash site...
to witness a staged train wreckTrain wreckA train wreck or train crash is a type of disaster involving one or more trains. Train wrecks often occur as a result of miscommunication, as when a moving train meets another train on the same track; or an accident, such as when a train wheel jumps off a track in a derailment; or when a boiler...
as a publicity stuntPublicity stuntA publicity stunt is a planned event designed to attract the public's attention to the event's organizers or their cause. Publicity stunts can be professionally organized or set up by amateurs...
arranged by its general passenger agent, William George Crush. Three spectators are accidentally killed.
October events
- October 5 - Norwegian Railway Museum established at HamarHamar StationHamar Station is a railway station located in downtown Hamar, Norway, on the Dovre Line and the Røros Line. The station was opened in 1862 with the construction of the narrow gauge railway between Hamar and Eidsvoll...
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December events
- December 14 - 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...
, the third oldest metroRapid transitA rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
system in the world, begins operations in 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...
. - December 25 - Japanese National RailwaysJapanese National Railways, abbreviated or "JNR", was the national railway network of Japan from 1949 to 1987.-History:The term Kokuyū Tetsudō "state-owned railway" originally referred to a network of railway lines operated by nationalized companies under the control of the Railway Institute following the nationalization...
opens two lines out of TabataTabataTabata is an administrative ward in the Ilala district of the Dar es Salaam Region of Tanzania. According to the 2002 census, the ward has a total population of 46,228.-References:...
: an extension of the Tsuchiura Line from TsuchiuraTsuchiura, Ibarakiis a city located in Ibaraki prefecture, in Japan. It is situated along the western shores of Lake Kasumigaura, the second largest lake in Japan. Tokyo city lies about 60 km to the south, and Tsukuba science city borders Tsuchiura to the west.-Demographics:...
, and the Sumidagawa Line to Sumidagawa.
Unknown date events
- The Green Bay and Western RailroadGreen Bay and Western RailroadThe Green Bay and Western Railroad served the transportation and freight haulage needs of northern Wisconsin for almost 100 years before it was absorbed into the Wisconsin Central in 1993...
is formed from the bankruptcy proceedings of the Green Bay, Winona and Saint Paul Railroad. - The Loup Creek & Deepwater Railway (predecessor of the Deepwater RailwayDeepwater RailwayThe Deepwater Railway was an intrastate short line railroad located in West Virginia in the United States which operated from 1898 to 1907.William N. Page, a civil engineer and entrepreneur, had begun a small logging railroad in Fayette County in 1896, sometimes called the Loup Creek and Deepwater...
) is formed. - Atlas Car and Manufacturing CompanyAtlas Car and Manufacturing CompanyThe Atlas Car and Manufacturing Company was a manufacturer of small railroad locomotives. The company was based in Cleveland, OH, building equipment from 1896 through the 1960s....
begins building 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. - 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 :...
Ferrocarril de TacubayaFerrocarril de TacubayaTacubaya Railroad was a one-mile-long line serving an amusement park in the Tacubaya district of Mexico City. The line was built by Fernando de Teresa in 1896. Passengers were carried in several designs of roofed cars approximately 5 meters long. The locomotives were smaller than those used at...
begins passenger service to Mexico CityMexico CityMexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
's TacubayaTacubayaTacubaya is a section of Mexico City located in the west in the Miguel Hidalgo borough. The area has been inhabited since before the Christian era, with its name coming from Nahuatl meaning “where water is gathered.” From the colonial period to the beginning of the 20th century, Tacubaya was...
amusement parkAmusement parkthumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
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October deaths
- October 21 - James Henry GreatheadJames Henry GreatheadJames Henry Greathead was an engineer renowned for his work on the London Underground railway.-Early life:Greathead was born in Grahamstown, South Africa; of English descent, Greathead's grandfather had emigrated to South Africa in 1820. He was educated at St Andrew's College, Grahamstown, and the...
, EnglishEnglandEngland 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...
inventor of the tunnelling shieldTunnelling shieldA tunnelling shield is a protective structure used in the excavation of tunnels through soil that is too soft or fluid to remain stable during the time it takes to line the tunnel with a support structure of concrete, cast iron or steel...
used for the London UndergroundLondon UndergroundThe London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
(b. 1844).