1924 in rail transport
Encyclopedia
March events
- March 12 – ElectrificationRailway electrification systemA railway electrification system supplies electrical energy to railway locomotives and multiple units as well as trams so that they can operate without having an on-board prime mover. There are several different electrification systems in use throughout the world...
is completed on what is now Hamburg S-BahnHamburg S-BahnThe Hamburg S-Bahn is a railway network for public rapid mass transit in the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. Together the S-Bahn, the Hamburg U-Bahn, the AKN railway and the regional railway form the backbone of railway public transport in the city and the surrounding area...
's Line 1 between Ohlsdorf and Poppenbüttel. - March 19 – 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...
completes the last locomotive commercially manufactured for MaineMaineMaine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
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 :...
railroads. - March 31 – American Car and Foundry acquires Pacific Car and Foundry.
May events
- May 8 – Arthur HoneggerArthur HoneggerArthur Honegger was a Swiss composer, who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. He was a member of Les six. His most frequently performed work is probably the orchestral work Pacific 231, which is interpreted as imitating the sound of a steam locomotive.-Biography:Born...
’s “Pacifica 231” premieres. The orchestral tone poem reflects Honegger’s impressions of steam engines.
June events
- June 7 – London, Midland and Scottish RailwayLondon, Midland and Scottish RailwayThe London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
opens the luxury Gleneagles HotelGleneagles HotelThe Gleneagles Hotel is a luxury hotel near Auchterarder, Perth and Kinross, Scotland.- History :The hotel was built by the former Caledonian Railway Company and opened in 1924, originally with its own railway station...
in 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...
. - June 28 – The streetcar system in Adrian, MichiganAdrian, MichiganAs of the 2010 census Adrian had a population of 21,133. The racial and ethnic makeup of the population was 84.1% white, 4.4% black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 5.9% from some other race and 4.0% from two or more races...
, is abandoned.
August events
- August 7 – Streetcars operate for the last time in Williamsport, PennsylvaniaWilliamsport, PennsylvaniaWilliamsport is a city in and the county seat of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania in the United States. In 2009, the population was estimated at 29,304...
, to be replaced with busBusA bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
es. - August 14 – The New York Central tests a General Electric diesel-electric locomotive. The locomotive succeeds in starting a train of 93 cars on level track.
September events
- September 28 – The Chicago and Alton Railroad places "the handsomest train in the world" into Chicago – St. Louis service. The red painted, million dollar train competes with Illinois Central RailroadIllinois Central RailroadThe Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...
's green and black Daylight Special and WabashWabash RailroadThe Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including trackage in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri and Ontario. Its primary connections included Chicago, Illinois, Kansas City, Missouri, Detroit,...
's blue Blue Banner Special.
October events
- October 23 – Two trolley cars of the Hull Electric Railway in 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...
collide head-onHead-on collisionA head-on collision is one where the front ends of two ships, trains, planes or vehicles hit each other, as opposed to a side collision or rear-end collision.-Rail transport:...
due to a misunderstanding in operations around track maintenance work.
November events
- November 3 – Lytham rail crashLytham rail crashThe derailment of a passenger train at Lytham, Lancashire, England occurred when the front tyre of the locomotive fractured and led to the loss of 14 lives. The accident happened on 3 November 1924 to the 4.40 pm Liverpool express travelling to Blackpool at 5.46 pm...
on London, Midland and Scottish RailwayLondon, Midland and Scottish RailwayThe London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
occurs when a locomotive tyre fractures. 14 people are killed in the subsequent derailment as the train hits a bridge and a signal box. - November 7 – Experimental three-truck diesel-electric locomotive Ys. N 002 (designed by Ya. M. Hakkel) makes first trial trip on the Oktyabrskaya RailwayOktyabrskaya RailwayThe broad gauge Oktyabrskaya Railway or October Railway , which forms part of RZD, is the oldest railway in Russia, located in the north-west of the country. It stretches from Moscow's Leningrad Terminal in the south to Murmansk beyond the Arctic Circle in the north. The total length of the lines...
in the Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. - November 30 – RaumabanenRaumabanenThe Rauma Line is a long railway between Åndalsnes and Dombås in Norway. Running down the valley of Romsdalen, the line opened between 1921 and 1924 as a branch of the Dovre Line, which connects to Oslo and Trondheim. Originally intended as the first stage to connect Ålesund, and possibly also...
from DombåsDombåsThe village of lies in the Dovre municipality and serves as an administrative center in the upper Gudbrandsdal, Norway. It lies at an important junction of roads: south leading to the current capital of Norway, Oslo, west via Lesja leading to Åndalsnes on the sea and north to the old capital,...
to ÅndalsnesÅndalsnesis a town in the municipality of Rauma in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Åndalsnes is the administrative center of Rauma. The town has a population of 2,207...
in NorwayNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
is opened.
December events
- December 17 – The first Diesel-electric locomotive enters service, on the docks in the Bronx.
Unknown date events
- ALCOAmerican Locomotive CompanyThe American Locomotive Company, often shortened to ALCO or Alco , was a builder of railroad locomotives in the United States.-Early history:...
produces its first diesel locomotiveDiesel locomotiveA diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
using electrical components from General ElectricGeneral ElectricGeneral Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
. - Hitachi Ltd. builds JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
's first electric locomotiveElectric locomotiveAn electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or an on-board energy storage device...
. - The first section of the Barcelona MetroBarcelona MetroThe Barcelona Metro , part of the public transportation system of Barcelona, Catalonia, is an extensive network of electrified railways that run underground in central Barcelona and above ground into the city's suburbs. Since July 31, 2010, Barcelona Metro system consists of 11 lines with 165...
opens.
February deaths
- February 16 – Wilhelm SchmidtWilhelm Schmidt (engineer)Wilhelm Schmidt, known as Hot Steam Schmidt was a German engineer and inventor who achieved the breakthrough in the development of superheated steam technology for steam engines....
, GermanGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
pioneer of superheated steamSuperheated steamSuperheated steam is steam at a temperature higher than water's boiling point. If saturated steam is heated at constant pressure, its temperature will also remain constant as the steam quality increases towards 100% Dry Saturated Steam. Continued heat input will then generate superheated steam...
for use in 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. 1858).