1944 in rail transport
Encyclopedia
January events
- January 3: Torre del Bierzo rail disasterTorre del Bierzo rail disasterThe Torre del Bierzo rail disaster occurred on January 3, 1944 near the village of Torre del Bierzo in the El Bierzo region of Spain's León province when three trains collided inside a tunnel...
in Leon Province, SpainLeón (province)León is a province of northwestern Spain, in the northwestern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León.About one quarter of its population of 500,200 lives in the capital, León. The weather is cold and dry during the winter....
. More than 500 are killed.
March events
- March 3: Balvano, ItalyBalvanoBalvano is a small city and a commune in the province of Potenza .The recent history of Balvano is connected to several catastrophes. In 1944, a steam train stalled in a nearby railway tunnel, suffocating 426 passengers. It was also one of the towns nearly destroyed by the 1980 Irpinia earthquake....
: A double-headedDouble-headedDouble-headed may refer to:* Double-headed eagle, common symbol in heraldry and vexillology* Double-heading, the use of at least two steam locomotives at the front of a train...
mixed trainMixed trainA mixed train is a train that hauls both passenger and freight cars or wagons. In the early days of railways they were quite common, but by the 20th century they were largely confined to branch lines with little traffic. As the trains provided passengers with very slow service, mixed trains have...
stalls in a tunnel. Five people survive, 521 are killed by carbon monoxide poisoningCarbon monoxide poisoningCarbon monoxide poisoning occurs after enough inhalation of carbon monoxide . Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas, but, being colorless, odorless, tasteless, and initially non-irritating, it is very difficult for people to detect...
. One Hundred ninety-three of the dead who carried no identification, most of them Black MarketeersUnderground economyA black market or underground economy is a market in goods or services which operates outside the formal one supported by established state power. Typically the totality of such activity is referred to with the definite article as a complement to the official economies, by market for such goods and...
, are buried in a mass graveMass graveA mass grave is a grave containing multiple number of human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. There is no strict definition of the minimum number of bodies required to constitute a mass grave, although the United Nations defines a mass grave as a burial site which...
at the site (see Balvano train disasterBalvano train disasterIn the Balvano train disaster of March 2/3, 1944, some 426 people illegally riding a steam-hauled freight train died of carbon monoxide poisoning when the train stalled on a steep gradient in the Armi tunnel. The accident occurred in southern Italy, near Balvano .-Circumstances:Naples suffered...
). - March 19: The last 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...
purchased new by 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....
, cab forwardCab forwardThe term cab forward refers to various rail and road vehicle designs which place the driver's compartment substantially farther towards the front than is common practice.- Rail locomotives :...
class AC-12Southern Pacific class AC-12Southern Pacific Railroad's AC-12 class of cab forward steam locomotives was the last class of steam locomotives ordered by Southern Pacific. They were built by Baldwin Locomotive Works during World War II, with the first, number 4275, entering service on October 27, 1943, and the last, 4294, on...
4-8-8-24-8-8-2Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, a 4-8-8-2 is a locomotive with four leading wheels, two sets of eight driving wheels, and a two-wheel trailing truck.Other equivalent classifications are:...
number 4294Southern Pacific 4294Southern Pacific 4294 was the last steam locomotive ordered new by Southern Pacific Railroad . It was built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in March 1944, and was used hauling SP's trains over the Sierra Nevada Mountains, often working on Donner Pass in California.- Construction and use :4294 was the...
, enters service.
April events
- April 1: Government of IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
takes over the Madras & Southern MahrattaMadras and Southern Mahratta RailwayThe Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway was a railway company that operated in southern India. It was founded on January 1, 1908, by merging the Madras Railway and the Southern Mahratta Railway. Initially, its headquarters was at Royapuram in Madras but later shifted to a newly constructed...
and South Indian Railways.
June events
- June 6: D-DayD-DayD-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
invasion of NormandyNormandyNormandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
destroys the 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 :...
Chemins de Fer du Calvados.
July events
- July 6: Troop train crash near Jellico, TennesseeJellico, TennesseeJellico is a city in Campbell County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,448 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Jellico is located at . The city is situated amidst the Cumberland Mountains in the Elk Creek Valley, which runs perpendicular to the Tennessee-Kentucky state line...
, United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
: Passenger train derails due to excessive speed on defective track. 35 killed, 99 injured; all soldiers in U.S. Army en route to deployment.
September events
- September 8: Nickel Plate 765Nickel Plate 765Nickel Plate Road 765 is a 2-8-4 Berkshire steam locomotive that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.-Original career:The 765 was first assigned to Bellevue, Ohio, where it was used primarily on the Nickel Plate's fast freight trains. After the war, she worked primarily out of a...
is built by the Lima Locomotive WorksLima Locomotive WorksLima Locomotive Works was an American firm that manufactured railroad locomotives from the 1870s through the 1950s. The company took the most distinctive part of its name from its main shops location in Lima, Ohio. The shops were located between the Baltimore & Ohio's Cincinnati-Toledo main line...
.
October events
- October 1: Government of IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
takes over the Bengal Nagpur Railway. - October 16: The Baltimore & Ohio's last new 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...
#5594, Class T-3C rolls out of Mount ClareB&O Railroad MuseumThe B&O Railroad Museum is a museum exhibiting historic railroad equipment in Baltimore, Maryland, originally named the Baltimore & Ohio Transportation Museum when it opened on July 4, 1953. It has been called one of the most significant collections of railroad treasures in the world and has the...
erecting shop in BaltimoreBaltimoreBaltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
.
November events
- November 7: Election day accident in Puerto RicoPuerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
: a passenger train derails at Aguadilla due to excessive speed on a downhill grade; 16 are killed, 50 injured.
December events
- December: 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....
takes delivery from AlcoAmerican Locomotive CompanyThe American Locomotive Company, often shortened to ALCO or Alco , was a builder of railroad locomotives in the United States.-Early history:...
of Class FEF-3Union Pacific FEF SeriesThe FEF was a series of three types of 4-8-4 steam locomotives owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railway. The classes were: FEF-1; FEF-2; FEF-3. "FEF" was an acronym for the wheel arrangement, "four-eight-four."-Origins:...
4-8-44-8-4Under the Whyte notation classification of steam locomotives, 4-8-4 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and four trailing wheels on two axles .Other equivalent classifications are:UIC classification: 2D2...
#844Union Pacific 844Union Pacific 844 is a 4-8-4 steam locomotive owned by Union Pacific Railroad. It was the last steam locomotive delivered to Union Pacific and is unique in that it is the only steam locomotive never retired by a North American Class I railroad....
, the road’s last new 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...
.
Unknown date events
- Charles FairburnCharles FairburnCharles Edward Fairburn was Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.- Biography :...
succeeds William StanierWilliam StanierSir William Arthur Stanier, FRS was Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.- Biography :...
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...
upon Stanier's retirement. - Fred GurleyFred GurleyFred G. Gurley was president and executive committee chairman of Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.Gurley began his railroad career in 1906 on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, where he worked his way up to become an assistant vice president...
succeeds Edward Engel as 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...
.
June births
- June 11: Michael R. Haverty, 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...
1989–1995, president of the Kansas City Southern RailwayKansas City Southern RailwayThe Kansas City Southern Railway , owned by Kansas City Southern Industries, is the smallest and second-oldest Class I railroad company still in operation. KCS was founded in 1887 and is currently operating in a region consisting of ten central U.S. states...
1995–present.
Unknown date births
- E. Hunter HarrisonE. Hunter HarrisonE. Hunter Harrison is a Tennessee-born railroader who served as the president and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian National Railway through the end of 2009.-Life:...
, president of 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...
1993–1998, Railroader of the YearRailroader of the YearRailroader of the Year is an annual award presented to a North American railroad industry worker by trade journal Railway Age. The award was first presented in 1964 by trade journal Modern Railroads and has continued through the magazine acquisition in 1992 to the present.Past recipients of this...
2002, president of Canadian National RailwayCanadian National RailwayThe Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
2003–present.
January deaths
- January 8: William Kissam Vanderbilt IIWilliam Kissam Vanderbilt IIWilliam Kissam Vanderbilt II was a motor racing enthusiast and yachtsman and a member of the prominent United States Vanderbilt family.-Biography:...
, heir to Cornelius VanderbiltCornelius VanderbiltCornelius Vanderbilt , also known by the sobriquet Commodore, was an American entrepreneur who built his wealth in shipping and railroads. He was also the patriarch of the Vanderbilt family and one of the richest Americans in history...
and president of the New York Central system (b. 1878).
March deaths
- March 7: Richard Edward Lloyd Maunsell, 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...
of the Southern Railway (UK) 1923–1937 (b. 1868). - March 21 - Hugo LentzHugo LentzHugo Lentz was an Austrian mechanical engineer, born in South Africa. He was the inventor of many award winning improvements to the steam engine....
, AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n inventor of a valve gearValve gearThe valve gear of a steam engine is the mechanism that operates the inlet and exhaust valves to admit steam into the cylinder and allow exhaust steam to escape, respectively, at the correct points in the cycle...
for steam engineSteam engineA steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
s (b. 1859).
June deaths
- June 19: Richard DeeleyRichard DeeleyRichard Mountford Deeley was a British engineer, chiefly noted for his five years as Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Midland Railway....
, 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...
of the Midland RailwayMidland RailwayThe Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
1909–1923 (b. 1855).