1953 in rail transport
Encyclopedia
January events
- January 15 - The brakes fail on Pennsylvania RailroadPennsylvania RailroadThe Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
's westbound Federal ExpressFederal Express (passenger train)The Federal Express was an overnight named passenger train run by the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad between Washington, DC's Union Station and Boston, Massachusetts's South Station from 1912 to 1971. Train numbers on both railroads were 172 northbound and...
passenger train; the train barrels through the end of track barriers and stationmaster's office at Union Station in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, but nobody is killed in the accident.
March events
- March - 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....
removes 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-10003M-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...
from revenue service.
April events
- April - Fairbanks-MorseFairbanks-MorseFairbanks Morse and Company was a manufacturing company in the late 19th and early 20th century. Originally a weighing scale manufacturer, it later diversified into pumps, engines, windmills, locomotives and industrial supplies until it was merged in 1958...
and Canadian Locomotive CompanyCanadian Locomotive CompanyThe Canadian Locomotive Company, commonly referred to as CLC, was a Canadian manufacturer of railway locomotives located in Kingston, Ontario. Its works were located on Ontario Street and Gore Street on Kingston's waterfront....
introduce the H-24-66FM H-24-66-External links:* * * *...
model Train Master 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...
, at the time the most powerful single-engine diesel locomotive available. - April 12 - Last run of the Orange Blossom SpecialOrange Blossom Special (passenger train)The Orange Blossom Special was a deluxe passenger train operated primarily by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad between New York City and Miami in the United States....
passenger train in United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
May events
- May 30 - The Cedar Rapids and Iowa City RailwayCedar Rapids and Iowa City RailwayThe Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway , also known as the Crandic is a Class III railroad operating in the US state of Iowa.-History:...
runs its last passenger trains.
June events
- June 5 - 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...
runs on the Lackawanna Railroad. - June 9 - Chesapeake and Ohio RailwayChesapeake and Ohio RailwayThe Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P...
2-6-6-62-6-6-6The 2-6-6-6 is an articulated locomotive type with 2 leading wheels, two sets of six driving wheels and six trailing wheels. Only two classes of the 2-6-6-6 type were built. One was the "Allegheny" class, built by the Lima Locomotive Works. The name comes from the locomotive's first service with...
“Allegheny” number 1642 suffers a boilerBoilerA boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications.-Materials:...
explosion. All three head-end crew members are killed when the cab is blown in one piece 200 feet (60 m) in the air and 300 yards (275 m) off the mainline into the adjacent river. The boiler is blown off the running gear and flips end for end, coming to rest 600 feet (180 m) ahead of the train. The blast is blamed on a faulty feedwater injector and/or cold water pump. - June 15 - The New York City Transit AuthorityNew York City Transit AuthorityThe New York City Transit Authority is a public authority in the U.S. state of New York that operates public transportation in New York City...
is created. - June 16 - The last steam powered through passenger train runs on the Canada Southern.
- June 16 - New York Central RailroadNew York Central RailroadThe New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
ends 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...
operation on the former Michigan Central RailroadMichigan Central RailroadThe Michigan Central Railroad was originally incorporated in 1846 to establish rail service between Detroit, Michigan and St. Joseph, Michigan. The railroad later operated in the states of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois in the United States, and the province of Ontario in Canada...
with a train pulled by 4-6-44-6-4Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-6-4 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and four trailing wheels on two axles .Other equivalent classifications are:UIC classification:...
number 5434. http://www.michiganrailroads.com/RRHX/Timeline/1950s/TimeLine1950sBackUp.htm - June 22 - At the Annual Association of American RailroadsAssociation of American RailroadsThe Association of American Railroads is an industry trade group representing primarily the major freight railroads of North America . Amtrak and some regional commuter railroads are also members...
railroad show the first Fairbanks-MorseFairbanks-MorseFairbanks Morse and Company was a manufacturing company in the late 19th and early 20th century. Originally a weighing scale manufacturer, it later diversified into pumps, engines, windmills, locomotives and industrial supplies until it was merged in 1958...
Train MasterFM H-24-66-External links:* * * *...
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...
s and Airslide covered hopperCovered hopperA Covered Hopper is a railroad freight car. They are designed for carrying dry bulk loads, varying from grain to products such as sand and clay. The cover protects the loads from the weather - dried cement would be very hard to unload if mixed with water in transit, while grain would be liable to...
s are displayed, but for the first time no new steam locomotives are shown. - June 26 - The Rutland RailroadRutland RailroadThe Rutland Railway was a small railroad in the northeastern United States, primarily in the state of Vermont but extending into the state of New York. The earliest ancestor of the Rutland, the Rutland & Burlington Railroad, was chartered in 1843 by the state of Vermont to build between Rutland...
becomes freight-only.
July events
- July 2 - Baltimore’s Museum of Transportation opens.
- July 13 - Last day of 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...
operations on the Cotton Belt and Lackawanna Railroads. - July 25 - The New York City SubwayNew York City SubwayThe New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...
begins using tokens for passenger fares.
August events
- August 13 - 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...
begins Trailer-On-Flat-Car (TOFC, or "piggyback") service. The first route is an overnight service between Chicago and Green Bay, WisconsinGreen Bay, WisconsinGreen Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...
. At the start, two semi-truck trailers and a single fifty foot flat car are adequate to meet the demand. - August 15 - The Irk Valley Junction rail crashIrk Valley Junction rail crashThe Irk Valley Junction rail crash occurred on 15 August 1953 at Collyhurst, just over a mile from Manchester Victoria station. At that point, the electrified line to Bury passes through Irk Valley Junction, so called because it lies on a viaduct above the River Irk...
in Manchester, England kills 10 people.
September events
- September 20 - The Chicago Aurora and Elgin RailroadChicago Aurora and Elgin RailroadThe Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad , known colloquially as the "Roarin' Elgin" or the "Great Third Rail", was an interurban railroad that operated passenger and freight service on its line between Chicago, Illinois and Aurora, Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles, and Elgin. The railroad also operated...
ceases to operate into Chicago.
October events
- October - North British Locomotive CompanyNorth British Locomotive CompanyThe North British Locomotive Company was created in 1903 through the merger of three Glasgow locomotive manufacturing companies; Sharp Stewart and Company , Neilson, Reid and Company and Dübs and Company , creating the largest locomotive manufacturing company in Europe.Its main factories were...
of 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...
, begins delivery of class 25 4-8-4 locomotives to South African Railways( 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 :...
), the largest rigid-frame steam locomotives bult in the UKUnited 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...
(with condensing tenders, 234 tonLong tonLong ton is the name for the unit called the "ton" in the avoirdupois or Imperial system of measurements, as used in the United Kingdom and several other Commonwealth countries. It has been mostly replaced by the tonne, and in the United States by the short ton...
s 7 cwtHundredweightThe hundredweight or centum weight is a unit of mass defined in terms of the pound . The definition used in Britain differs from that used in North America. The two are distinguished by the terms long hundredweight and short hundredweight:* The long hundredweight is defined as 112 lb, which...
and 107 ft 6 in. over buffers). - October 26 – Electric operation of the WaldenburgerbahnWaldenburgerbahnThe Waldenburgerbahn is a narrow-gauge light rail system in the canton of Basel-Country. The long single-track line runs from Liestal, the capital of the canton, to Waldenburg, with stops in Bad Bubendorf, Höstein, Niederdorf, and Oberdorf. The line is operated by Waldenburgerbahn AG. It...
in SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
began using 1500 V DC and completely new rolling stock.
November events
- November 9 - 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"....
extends the line from Lynn LakeLynn Lake, ManitobaLynn Lake is a small town in the northwest region of Manitoba, Canada, 1,071 km from Winnipeg. The town was named after Lynn Smith, chief engineer of Sherritt Gordon Mines Ltd. There are numerous outfitters in the Lynn Lake area...
to Sherridon, ManitobaSherridon, ManitobaSherridon, Manitoba is a community in Manitoba, Canada.Sherridon originated as the service centre for the nearby Sherritt Gordon nickel mines. The mine closed in 1952, resulting in the equipment and many of the workers and families relocating to Lynn Lake. In 1949 the first house from Sherridon was...
. - November 9 - 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...
introduces Budd Rail Diesel CarBudd Rail Diesel CarThe Budd Rail Diesel Car, RDC or Buddliner is a self-propelled diesel multiple unit railcar. In the period 1949–62, 398 RDCs were built by the Budd Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States...
service, "Dayliners", for lighter passenger train duties on some branch lineBranch lineA branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...
s. - November 16 - New York Central RailroadNew York Central RailroadThe New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
's electric locomotiveElectric locomotiveAn electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or an on-board energy storage device...
operations end at Cleveland Union Terminal.
December events
- December 12 - Krauss-MaffeiKrauss-MaffeiThe Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co KG or simply Krauss-Maffei is an injection molding machine manufacturer and defence company based in Munich, Germany...
deliver first prototype Class V 200DB class V 200DB Class V 200.0 was one of the first diesel-hydraulic express locomotives of the German Deutsche Bundesbahn and - as Am 4/4 - of the SBB-CFF-FFS in Switzerland.-DB Service:...
diesel-hydraulic express 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...
to Deutsche BundesbahnDeutsche BundesbahnThe Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany on September 7, 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft '...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , 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...
. - December 14 - 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...
discontinues extra-fare charges on the El CapitanEl Capitan (passenger train)El Capitan was one of the named passenger trains of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. It was the only coach, or chair car train to operate the Santa Fe main line from Chicago, Illinois to Los Angeles, California on the same fast schedule as the road's premier Pullman Super Chief.This...
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...
. - December 19 - An electric passenger train of the New South Wales Railways run into the rear of another electric train, causing the Sydenham Rail DisasterSydenham Rail DisasterThe Sydenham rail disaster occurred on 19 December 1953 when a New South Wales Government Railways electric passenger train travelling to Bankstown ran into the rear of another electric train travelling to East Hills at Sydenham....
. Five people die and 748 are injured. - December 24 - The Prague-Bratislava express train in the Czech RepublicCzech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
whose crew fell asleep after several bottles of wine hits a commuter train at a stationTrain stationA train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
, killing 106 in the Šakvice train disasterŠakvice train disasterThe Šakvice train disaster occurred on 24 December 1953 in Czechoslovakia . A local train was standing at the Šakvice station near Brno, when the Prague-Bratislava express ran into it, resulting in 103 deaths and a further 83 injured. The Ministry of the Interior said there was gross negligence by...
. - December 24 - 151 people die in the Tangiwai disasterTangiwai disasterThe Tangiwai disaster on 24 December 1953 was the worst rail accident in New Zealand history. An 11-carriage overnight express from Wellington to Auckland fell into the Whangaehu River at Tangiwai, ten kilometres west of Waiouru. The bridge carrying the North Island Main Trunk Railway over the...
, when the Tangiwai Railway Bridge over the Whangaehu RiverWhangaehu RiverThe Whangaehu River is a large river in central North Island of New Zealand. Its headwaters are the crater lake of Mount Ruapehu on the central plateau, and it flows into the Tasman Sea eight kilometres southeast of Wanganui.-Length:...
collapses as the overnight express train between Wellington and AucklandAucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, passes over it; the bridge supports had been weakened by a laharLaharA lahar is a type of mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of pyroclastic material, rocky debris, and water. The material flows down from a volcano, typically along a river valley. The term is a shortened version of "berlahar" which originated in the Javanese language of...
(a volcanic ash and debris filled flash flood) a few minutes before the train passed. - December 29 - The last electric locomotiveElectric locomotiveAn electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or an on-board energy storage device...
runs through the Detroit River Tunnel. It is replaced by 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...
s. - December - Norfolk and Western RailwayNorfolk and Western RailwayThe Norfolk and Western Railway , a US class I railroad, was formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It had headquarters in Roanoke, Virginia for most of its 150 year existence....
turns out class S1a 0-8-00-8-0Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels...
switcherSwitcherA switcher or shunter is a small railroad locomotive intended not for moving trains over long distances but rather for assembling trains ready for a road locomotive to take over, disassembling a train that has been...
#244 from its Roanoke ShopsRoanoke Shopsthumb|250px|[[Norfolk Southern]] Roanoke Shops in 2004.The Roanoke Shops of the Norfolk and Western Railway in Roanoke, Virginia were founded in 1881 as the Roanoke Machine Works. It came under the control of the railroad in 1883. Locomotive production started in 1884 and 152 locomotives were...
, the last conventional 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...
built for a United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Class I railroadClass I railroadA Class I railroad in the United States and Mexico, or a Class I rail carrier in Canada, is a large freight railroad company, as classified based on operating revenue.Smaller railroads are classified as Class II and Class III...
.
Unknown date events
- The first Trailer-On-Flat-Car (TOFC, or "piggyback") equipment enters service on the 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....
. - John W. Barriger IIIJohn W. Barriger IIIJohn Walker Barriger III was an American railroad executive; he successively led the Monon Railroad, Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad, Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad and the Boston and Maine Railroad...
steps down from the presidency of the Monon RailroadMonon RailroadThe Monon Railroad , also known as the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway from 1897–1956, operated almost entirely within the state of Indiana...
. - After Joseph StalinJoseph StalinJoseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's death on March 5, construction work ceases on the ill-fated Salekhard-Igarka Railway in SiberiaSiberiaSiberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
n Arctic.
May deaths
- May 30 - Sam FaySam FaySir Sam Fay , born in Hamble-le-Rice, Hampshire, England, was a career railwayman who joined the London and South Western Railway as a clerk in 1872 and rose to become the last General Manager of the Great Central Railway after a successful stint in charge of the almost bankrupt Midland and South...
, General managerGeneral managerGeneral manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
of the Great Central RailwayGreat Central RailwayThe Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...
, 1902–1922, dies in HampshireHampshireHampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, 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...
(b. 1856).