1899 in rail transport

Years in rail transport

1898 in rail transport 1899 in rail transport 1900 in rail transport

This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in 1899.

Events

February events

• February 9 – Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway purchases the Minneapolis, New Ulm and Southern.

Modest exterior of H.W. Braddock's Marylebone station building

March events

• March 12 – Southern Railway in the United States inaugurates the Piedmont Limited passenger train service.^[1]
• March 15 – Marylebone Station, the new London terminus of the Great Central Railway, is opened.
• March – The first of Victoria's 2'6" Narrow-gauge railways opens between Wangaratta and Whitfield.

April events

• April 15 – Chicago's Lake Street 'L' is extended at grade level beyond the City Limits at 52nd Avenue and reaches Austin. On May 15, it is extended into suburban Oak Park.

June events

• June 18 – Canadian Pacific Railway inaugurates the Imperial Limited passenger train between Montreal, Quebec, and Vancouver, British Columbia.

July events

• July 21 – The Burgdorf-Thun Railway in Switzerland becomes the first to operate with an alternating current electrification system, using a three-phase overhead at 750 V 40 Hz.^[2]
• July 23 – After successfully lobbying for a change in Canadian Federal regulations and a new city by-law to allow the service, the Ottawa Electric Railway begins Sunday operations.^[3]
• July 30 – The Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis is formed to handle switching and transfer chores in St. Louis. The sponsoring railroads are the Missouri Pacific Railroad, Iron Mountain and Southern, Wabash Railroad, Ohio and Mississippi Railroad, Louisville and Nashville Railroad and the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad.

August events

• August 8 – Atlantic Coast Line Railroad predecessor Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company of South Carolina acquired from the Central of Georgia its half-interest in the lease of the Georgia Railroad; the ACL now had direct access to Atlanta, Georgia.

September events

• September 18 – The Gyeongin Line, predecessor Noryangjin to Jemulpo, and the first railway line built on the Korean peninsula, opens.

October events

• October 14 – North British Railway submits its proposal to absorb the Aberlady, Gullane and North Berwick Railway in Scotland by a stock exchange transaction.

November events

• November 8 – Jōbu Railway is founded in Japan.
• November 15 – The New York Central railroad leases the Boston and Albany Railroad.

December events

• December 31 – Rail transport in Sudan: Desert railway from Wadi Halfa completed throughout to Khartoum by British military engineers on 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge.

Unknown date events

• Maine Central Railroad Calais Branch was completed connecting Washington County, Maine to the United States rail network.^[4]
• William Cornelius Van Horne retires as president of Canadian Pacific Railway; he is succeeded by Thomas George Shaughnessy.
• Alexander J. Cassatt becomes president of the Pennsylvania Railroad.^[5]
• American Car and Foundry is formed from the merger of 13 smaller rolling stock manufacturers across the United States.^[6]
• Southern Car and Foundry, later to become part of American Car and Foundry, is founded in Memphis, Tennessee.
• Niagara, St. Catharines and Toronto Railway began operations in Ontario, Canada.
• Establishment in London, England, of The Railway Club, the oldest society in the world for railway enthusiasts.^[7][8]
• William Truesdale becomes President of the Lackawanna Railroad, and initiates a bold plan to upgrade the road's facilities.

Births

January births

• January 15 – Robert Stetson Macfarlane, president of Northern Pacific Railway 1951-1966, is born.^[9]

Unknown date births

• John W. Barriger III, president of the Monon Railroad 1946–1953, Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad 1954–1964, Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad 1965–1970 and the Boston and Maine Railroad 1973–1974 (died 1976).^[10]

Deaths

September deaths

• September 12 – Cornelius Vanderbilt II, president of the New York Central system (born 1843).

References

• White, John H., Jr. (Spring 1986), America's most noteworthy railroaders, Railroad History, Railway and Locomotive Historical Society, 154, p. 9-15.

1. "This date in Southern Railway history". Southern Railway History. Southern Railway Historical Association. Retrieved March 12, 2009.
2. Marshall, John (1989). The Guinness Railway Book. Enfield: Guinness. ISBN 0-85112-359-7.
3. "Significant dates in Ottawa/Hull street and light railway history". December 3, 2004. Archived from the original on 16 August 2005. Retrieved July 19, 2005.
4. Johnson, Ron (1985). The Best of Maine Railroads. Portland Litho. p. 74.
5. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (2005). "RPI: Alumni hall of fame: Alexander J. Cassatt". Archived from the original on 26 February 2005. Retrieved February 22, 2005.
6. Moody, John (1904). The Truth about the Trusts: A Description and Analysis of the American Trust. New York: Moody Publishing Company. p. 217. Retrieved April 16, 2008.
7. "The Railway Club". Retrieved July 20, 2005.
8. Simmons, Jack; Biddle, Gordon (ed.) (1997). The Oxford Companion to British Railway History from 1603 to the 1990s. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-211697-5.
9. Osthoff, Frederick C., editor (1968). Who’s Who in Railroading in North America. New York: Simmons-Boardman. p. 314.
10. "John W. Barriger; Rail historian and railfan". Archived from the original on 1 March 2005. Retrieved February 22, 2005.