1931 in rail transport
Encyclopedia
January events
- January 11 – The Boston and Maine RailroadBoston and Maine RailroadThe Boston and Maine Corporation , known as the Boston and Maine Railroad until 1964, was the dominant railroad of the northern New England region of the United States for a century...
runs its first “Snow Train” for skiers and other winter vacationers.
May events
- May 24 – The Baltimore and Ohio RailroadBaltimore and Ohio RailroadThe Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
inaugurates the first air conditionedAir conditioningAn air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
passenger train, the ColumbianColumbian (B&O)The Columbian was a named passenger train operated by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. It was the all-coach supplemental train of the all-Pullman Capitol Limited...
, between 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...
, and Washington, DC. - May 30 – Maine Central RailroadMaine Central RailroadThe Maine Central Railroad Company was a railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. It operated a mainline between South Portland, Maine, east to the Canada-U.S...
ends train service to the Bar Harbor ferry.
June events
- June – The County Donegal Railways Joint CommitteeCounty Donegal Railways Joint CommitteeThe County Donegal Railways Joint Committee operated an extensive 3 foot gauge railway system serving county Donegal, Ireland,from 1906 until 1960...
in Ireland (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 :...
) introduces the first 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...
d railcarRailcarA railcar, in British English and Australian English, is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach , with a driver's cab at one or both ends. Some railways, e.g., the Great Western...
to enter regular passenger service in the British Isles.
- June 10 – The German rail zeppelin (SchienenzeppelinSchienenzeppelinThe ' or rail zeppelin was an experimental railcar which resembles a zeppelin airship in appearance. It was designed and developed by the German aircraft engineer Franz Kruckenberg in 1929. Propulsion was by means of a propeller located at the rear, it accelerated the railcar to setting the land...
), an experimental propeller driven railcar, sets up a new world railway speed record of 230 km/h on its way from HamburgHamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
to Berlin which was not surpassed by any other train for 24 years. - June 13 – Switzerland's Brienz Rothorn BahnBrienz Rothorn BahnThe Brienz Rothorn Bahn is an gauge tourist rack railway in Switzerland, which climbs from Brienz, at the eastern end of Lake Brienz, to the summit of the Brienzer Rothorn mountain...
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...
reopens after a 17-year stoppage due to World War I.
July events
- July 1 – Rebuilt Milano Centrale railway station opens in Italy.
- July 19 – Sudbury Town stationSudbury Town tube stationSudbury Town is a London Underground station on the Uxbridge branch of the Piccadilly Line. The station is between Sudbury Hill and Alperton. It is located on Station Approach in Sudbury, a short distance from the junction of Bridgewater Road and Harrow Road . The forecourt of the station is...
on 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...
Piccadilly linePiccadilly LineThe Piccadilly line is a line of the London Underground, coloured dark blue on the Tube map. It is the fifth busiest line on the Underground network judged by the number of passengers transported per year. It is mainly a deep-level line, running from the north to the west of London via Zone 1, with...
opens as rebuilt by Charles HoldenCharles HoldenCharles Henry Holden, Litt. D., FRIBA, MRTPI, RDI was a Bolton-born English architect best known for designing many London Underground stations during the 1920s and 1930s, for Bristol Central Library, the Underground Electric Railways Company of London's headquarters at 55 Broadway and for the...
, the first of his iconic modern designs for the network.
September events
- September 12 – Just outside BudapestBudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, a bomb planted by a Hungarian Fascist destroys a section of the Biotobargy Viaduct, plunging the Orient ExpressOrient ExpressThe Orient Express is the name of a long-distance passenger train service originally operated by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. It ran from 1883 to 2009 and is not to be confused with the Venice-Simplon Orient Express train service, which continues to run.The route and rolling stock...
into the ravine below. Twenty people are killed. Entertainer Josephine BakerJosephine BakerJosephine Baker was an American dancer, singer, and actress who found fame in her adopted homeland of France. She was given such nicknames as the "Bronze Venus", the "Black Pearl", and the "Créole Goddess"....
, one of the surviving passengers, gives an impromptu concert to calm other survivors.
November events
- November 12 – 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...
commemorates the 100th birthday of 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...
by operating its mechanism with compressed air.
Unknown date events
- Voroshilovgrad Locomotive Factory turns out first Class FDSteam locomotive FDThe russian locomotive class FD FD from Felix Dzerzhinsky, russian: ФД from Феликс Дзержинский was a soviet russian main freight steam locomotive type. Between 1932 to 1942 years 3213 locomotives were built.- History :...
(Felix Dzerzhinsky) 2-10-22-10-2Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-10-2 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, ten powered and coupled driving wheels on five axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle, usually in a trailing truck...
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...
which will become the USSR’s principal freight type, with 3213 being built up to 1942. - Ernest LemonErnest LemonSir Ernest John Hutchings Lemon, OBE was Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and later one of its three Vice-Presidents...
succeeds Sir Henry Fowler as Chief Mechanical Engineer of the 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...
.
Unknown date births
- Nelson W. Bowers, president of the National Railway Historical SocietyNational Railway Historical SocietyThe National Railway Historical Society is a non-profit organization established in 1935 in the United States to promote interest in, and appreciation for, the historical development of railroads. It is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and organized into 16 regions and...
(1983–1987) (d. 2004).
January deaths
- January 13 – Kálmán KandóKálmán KandóKálmán Kandó de Egerfarmos et Sztregova was a Hungarian engineer, and a pioneer in the development of electric railway traction.-Education:...
, Hungarian engineer who designed the world's first ACAlternating currentIn alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....
traction electric railway in Italy in 1902 (b. 1869).