1879 in rail transport

none 1878 1879 1880 1870 thumb|right|The Tay Bridge disaster, 1879. As of 2024, it remains the fifth-deadliest railway accident in the history of the United Kingdom, as well as the second deadliest rail accident in Scottish history. Events January events January 28 – Construction of the Waimea Plains Railway, the first railway constructed under the District Railways Act of 1878, reaches Inverrcagill, New Zealand.Hawke's Bay Herald XXI 5293 January 29, 1879 2 http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=HBH18790129.2.8 Telegraphic News January 28, 2010 February events February 10 – The Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railway begins freight operations.Friends of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, Railroad History Timeline https://web.archive.org/web/20060222171648/http://rrmuseumpa.org/education/historytimeline2.htm 2006-02-22 . Retrieved February 10, 2006. May events May – James J. Hill forms the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railway from the assets of the bankrupt St. Paul and Pacific. May 17 – The Texas and St. Louis Railway, a predecessor of St. Louis Southwestern Railway, is organized as a way to ship cotton south to Texas.http://us.geocities.com/TheTropics/8199/c_belt.html The History of St. Louis Southwestern Railway Beck, Wayne 1957 2006-05-17 https://web.archive.org/web/20091018232359/http://us.geocities.com/TheTropics/8199/c_belt.html 2009-10-18 dead May 31 – The first electric railway opens at the Berlin Trades Exposition. July events July 4 – The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, building southwestward from Kansas, reaches Las Vegas, New Mexico.Santa Fe Railroad (1945), Along Your Way, Rand McNally, Chicago, Illinois. July 17 – Freycinet Plan enacted in France to extend rail and other transportation systems. July 31 – The Caledonian Railway opens the original Glasgow Central station in Scotland. November events November 1 – The first British dining car service leaves Leeds for London King's Cross. This is provided by the Pullman car Princess of Wales which accommodates just 10 first-class passengers. November 20 – Narrow gauge Sandy River Railroad completed to Phillips, Maine.The Maine Scenic Route Crittenden, H. Temple McClain Printing Company 1966 23 November 22 – The North Pennsylvania Railroad begins operating the Philadelphia, Newtown and New York Railroad, a subsidiary of Pennsylvania Railroad. November 25 – The Waldenburgerbahn is founded as a separate company and takes over the concession for the railway from Liestal to Waldenburg, Switzerland. December events December 1 – Solano, the largest rail ferryboat ever constructed, is put into service in California. December 28 – Tay Bridge disaster: The North British Railway's Tay Bridge across the Firth of Tay in Scotland collapses in a violent storm while a passenger train is crossing it. 75 lives are lost.Thomas John John Thomas (author) The North British Railway 1 1969 David & Charles Newton Abbot 0-7153-4697-0 William Topaz McGonagall produces his epic poem The Tay Bridge Disaster to commemorate the event. Unknown date events Southern Pacific Railroad engineers experiment with the first oil-fired steam locomotives. San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad constructs the Puerto Suello Hill Tunnel in Marin County, California.Prado Mark Puerto Suello Hill Tunnel for commute rail delayed http://www.marinij.com/article/NO/20150318/news/150319797 June 6, 2017 Marin Independent Journal March 18, 2015 Births March births March 6 – Patrick H. Joyce, president Chicago Great Western Railway 1931–1946 (d. 1946). April births April 24 – Oris Paxton Van Sweringen, American financier who, with his brother Mantis, controls the Nickel Plate Road and other eastern railroads (d. 1936). August births August 20 – Ralph Budd, president of the Great Northern Railway 1919–1932 and Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad 1932–1949 (d. 1962). October births October 18 – Charles Eugene Denney, president of Erie Railroad 1929–1939 and Northern Pacific Railway 1939–1950 (d. 1965).Who's Who In Railroading in North America 1940 New York Simmons-Boardman 1940 161 References (2000), American Experience / Streamliners / People & Events / Ralph Budd https://web.archive.org/web/20050309160358/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/streamliners/peopleevents/p_rbudd.html 2005-03-09 . Retrieved February 22, 2005. President and Fellows of Harvard College (2004), 20th century great American business leaders – Ralph Budd. Retrieved February 22, 2005. Today in Science History: May 31. Retrieved May 27, 2005.