1936 in rail transport
Encyclopedia
January events
- January 13 – Première of BritishUnited 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...
documentary filmDocumentary filmDocumentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
Night MailNight MailNight Mail is a 1936 documentary film about a London, Midland and Scottish Railway mail train from London to Scotland, produced by the GPO Film Unit. A poem by English poet W. H. Auden was written for it, used in the closing few minutes, as was music by Benjamin Britten...
made by the GPO Film UnitGPO Film UnitThe GPO Film Unit was a subdivision of the UK General Post Office. The unit was established in 1933, taking on responsibilities of the Empire Marketing Board Film Unit...
. - January 29 – The Sørland Line in Norway takes electric traction into use between KongsbergKongsbergis a town and municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is located at the southern end of the traditional region of Numedal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kongsberg....
and HjuksebøHjuksebøHjuksebø is a village in Sauherad municipality, Norway. It is located between Notodden and Nordagutu, just south of Hjuksevelta.Hjuksebø used to have a train station on the Sørlandsbanen railway...
.
March events
- March 20 – The 1936 flood ends train service on the 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...
Rangeley branch north of Rumford, Maine. - March 25 – The 200 inches (5.1 m) mirror blank for the Palomar observatoryPalomar ObservatoryPalomar Observatory is a privately owned observatory located in San Diego County, California, southeast of Pasadena's Mount Wilson Observatory, in the Palomar Mountain Range. At approximately elevation, it is owned and operated by the California Institute of Technology...
begins its cross-country trip aboard a special railroad car.
May events
- May 7 – The Bratsberg Line in Norway takes electric traction into use.
- May 11 – Deutsche Reichsbahn-GesellschaftDeutsche Reichsbahn-GesellschaftThe Deutsche Reichsbahn – was the name of the German national railway created from the railways of the individual states of the German Empire following the end of World War I....
's BR 05DRG Class 05The Deutsche Reichsbahn's Class 05 was a German class of three express passenger steam locomotives of 4-6-4 wheel arrangement in the Whyte notation, or 2'C2' in the UIC notation used in continental Europe...
class locomotive number 05 002 sets the world's speed record for steam locomotives at 200.4 km/h (124.5 mph) on a run between 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...
and BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. - May 12 – 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...
inaugurates the all-dieselDiesel 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...
powered Super ChiefSuper ChiefThe Super Chief was one of the named passenger trains and the flagship of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. It was often referred to as "The Train of the Stars" because of the many celebrities who traveled on the streamliner between Chicago, Illinois and Los Angeles, California.The Super...
passenger train between Chicago, Illinois, and 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...
. - May 15 – The first City of Los AngelesCity of Los AngelesThe City of Los Angeles was a streamlined passenger train that ran between Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California, via Omaha, Nebraska, and Ogden, Utah. Between Omaha and Los Angeles it ran on the Union Pacific Railroad; east of Omaha it ran on the Chicago and North Western Railway until...
passenger train makes its debut, using the streamlinerStreamlinerA streamliner is a vehicle incorporating streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance. The term is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor "bullet trains". Less commonly, the term is applied to fully faired recumbent bicycles...
trainset M-10002M-10002The Union Pacific Railroad's M-10002 was a diesel-electric streamliner train built in 1936 by Pullman-Standard with a prime mover from the Winton engine division of General Motors Corporation and General Electric generator, control equipment and traction motors...
, running from Chicago, Illinois, to 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...
, on the Chicago and North Western RailwayChicago and North Western RailwayThe Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s...
and the Union Pacific RailroadUnion Pacific RailroadThe Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
. - May 17 – Illinois Central’s streamlinerStreamlinerA streamliner is a vehicle incorporating streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance. The term is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor "bullet trains". Less commonly, the term is applied to fully faired recumbent bicycles...
“Green Diamond” makes its debut, running between Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. - May 20 – The 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...
rolls out of EMCGeneral Motors Electro-Motive DivisionElectro-Motive Diesel, Inc., also referred to as "EMD", is a wholly owned subsidiary of Progress Rail Services Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc., that designs, manufactures and sells diesel-electric locomotives and diesel power engines worldwide under the Electro-Motive...
’s LaGrange plant in McCook, IllinoisMcCook, IllinoisMcCook is a suburb of Chicago in Cook County, in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 254, which is the lowest population of all municipalities in the county. It was named for John J. McCook, a late 19th century director of the Santa Fe Railroad and a former...
: a 100-ton, 600 hp switcher built for the Santa Fe Railroad. - May – Union Pacific RailroadUnion Pacific RailroadThe Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
takes delivery of the first of the M-10003-6M-10003-6The Union Pacific Railroad's M-10003, M-10004, M-10005, and M-10006 were four identical diesel-electric streamliner train 2-car power sets delivered in May, June, and July 1936 from Pullman-Standard with engines and internal locomotive equipment by General Motors Electro-Motive Corporation and...
streamlinerStreamlinerA streamliner is a vehicle incorporating streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance. The term is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor "bullet trains". Less commonly, the term is applied to fully faired recumbent bicycles...
power cars.
June events
- June 14 – The M-10004M-10003-6The Union Pacific Railroad's M-10003, M-10004, M-10005, and M-10006 were four identical diesel-electric streamliner train 2-car power sets delivered in May, June, and July 1936 from Pullman-Standard with engines and internal locomotive equipment by General Motors Electro-Motive Corporation and...
streamlinerStreamlinerA streamliner is a vehicle incorporating streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance. The term is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor "bullet trains". Less commonly, the term is applied to fully faired recumbent bicycles...
trainset enters service on the City of San FranciscoCity of San FranciscoThe City of San Francisco was a streamlined passenger train operated jointly by the Chicago and North Western Railway, the Southern Pacific Railroad, and the Union Pacific Railroad...
passenger train. - June 18 – The first City of DenverCity of DenverThe City of Denver was a passenger train operated jointly by the Chicago and North Western and Union Pacific railroads. The train operated on both railroads' rights of way between Chicago, Illinois, and Denver, Colorado...
passenger train makes its debut running from Chicago, Illinois, to Denver, ColoradoDenver, ColoradoThe City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
, on the Chicago and North Western RailwayChicago and North Western RailwayThe Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s...
and the Union Pacific RailroadUnion Pacific RailroadThe Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
.
July events
- July 15 – The New York Central introduces the MercuryMercury (NYC)Mercury was the name used by the New York Central Railroad for a family of daytime streamliner passenger trains operating between midwestern cities. The Mercury train sets were designed by the noted industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss, and are considered a prime example of Art Deco design...
passenger train between Detroit, MichiganDetroit, MichiganDetroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, and Cleveland, OhioCleveland, OhioCleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
.
August events
- August 1 – The New Haven Railroad tests a new streamlinerStreamlinerA streamliner is a vehicle incorporating streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance. The term is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor "bullet trains". Less commonly, the term is applied to fully faired recumbent bicycles...
: a two-car Besler steam motor train.
September events
- September 13 – Last regular passenger trains operate on Ashover Light Railway, the last steam-worked public passenger services on a narrow gauge railway in 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...
. - September 18 – 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...
4-4-44-4-4Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-4-4 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles, and four trailing wheels on two axles. In the United States, this arrangement was named the...
number 3003 pulls a newly-designed lightweight passenger train at 112.5 mph (181 km/h) near Saint-Télesphore, QuebecSaint-Télesphore, QuebecSaint-Télesphore is a municipality located in Vaudreuil-Soulanges Regional County Municipality, Quebec . The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 769...
, 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...
.
October events
- October – Chicago, Burlington and Quincy RailroadChicago, Burlington and Quincy RailroadThe Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington or as the Q, the Burlington Route served a large area, including extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri,...
inaugurates the Sam Houston ZephyrSam Houston ZephyrThe Sam Houston Zephyr was a named passenger train operated by the Burlington-Rock Island Railroad, a subsidiary of both the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad...
passenger train.
November events
- November 8 – Chicago, Burlington and Quincy RailroadChicago, Burlington and Quincy RailroadThe Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington or as the Q, the Burlington Route served a large area, including extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri,...
inaugurates the Denver ZephyrDenver ZephyrThe Denver Zephyr was a passenger train operated by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad between Chicago, Illinois, and Denver, Colorado...
passenger train.
December events
- December 9 – The Østfold Line in Norway takes electric traction into use between Oslo East Station and LjanLjan StationLjan Station is a railway station in the Ljan area of bydel Nordstrand in Oslo, Norway. Located on the Østfold Line, it is served by the Oslo Commuter Rail line 500 operated by Norges Statsbaner with two hourly services. The station was opened with the rest of Østfoldbanen in 1879.-External links:*...
. - December 18 – The Twin Cities ZephyrTwin Cities ZephyrThe Twin Cities Zephyr was a streamlined passenger train service of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad . It was the second Zephyr service introduced by CB&Q following the record-setting Denver–Chicago "dawn to dusk dash" of the Pioneer Zephyr trainset...
, an articulated trainset, is placed into service between Chicago, Illinois, and Minneapolis-St. Paul. - December – Chicago, Burlington and Quincy RailroadChicago, Burlington and Quincy RailroadThe Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington or as the Q, the Burlington Route served a large area, including extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri,...
inaugurates the Ozark State Zephyr passenger train.
Unknown date events
- Illinois Central's Green DiamondGreen DiamondThe Green Diamond of the Illinois Central Railroad was a diesel streamliner built in 1936 by Pullman-Standard and powered by Electro-Motive Corporation. It was the last streamliner built with the power car articulated with the train; future streamliners featured a matched but separable locomotive...
trainset is built by Pullman-Standard . - Bruce Church, T. R. Merrill, Gene Harden and Ken Nutting form the Growers Ice Company to ship bulk carloads of lettuce by rail from Salinas, CaliforniaSalinas, CaliforniaSalinas is the county seat and the largest municipality of Monterey County, California. Salinas is located east-southeast of the mouth of the Salinas River, at an elevation of about 52 feet above sea level. The population was 150,441 at the 2010 census...
- Southern Railway (Great Britain)Southern Railway (Great Britain)The Southern Railway was a British railway company established in the 1923 Grouping. It linked London with the Channel ports, South West England, South coast resorts and Kent...
signs exclusive 10-year contract with English ElectricEnglish ElectricEnglish Electric was a British industrial manufacturer. Founded in 1918, it initially specialised in industrial electric motors and transformers...
for the supply of traction equipment for its electric multiple unitElectric multiple unitAn electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...
s. This will be twice renewed and 5,500 EE507 traction motorTraction motorTraction motor refers to an electric motor providing the primary rotational torque of a machine, usually for conversion into linear motion ....
s will be supplied under it.
Unknown date deaths
- Oris Paxton Van Sweringen, AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
financierFinancierFinancier is a term for a person who handles typically large sums of money, usually involving money lending, financing projects, large-scale investing, or large-scale money management. The term is French, and derives from finance or payment...
who, with his brother Mantis, controlled the Nickel Plate RoadNew York, Chicago and St. Louis RailroadThe New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad , abbreviated NYC&St.L, was a railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. Commonly referred to as the Nickel Plate Road, the railroad served a large area, including trackage in the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois...
and other eastern United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
railroads (b. 1879).