May 17 in rail transport

Events

19th century

* 1853 – The New York Central Railroad is formed through the merger of ten smaller railroads in New York under the direction of Erastus Corning.
* 1879 – The Texas and St. Louis Railway, a predecessor of St. Louis Southwestern Railway, is organized as a way to ship cotton south to Texas.cite web| url=http://us.geocities.com/TheTropics/8199/c_belt.html| title=The History of St. Louis Southwestern Railway| author=Beck, Wayne| year=1957| accessdate=2006-05-17| ]

20th century

* 1906 – The Simplon Tunnel between Italy and Switzerland, the world’s longest tunnel until 1979, opens to rail traffic. [cite web| url=http://www.brainyhistory.com/events/1906/may_17_1906_70941.html| title=May 17, 1906 in History| work=Brainy History| accessdate=2006-05-17| ]
* 1908 – Trains operating through the St. Clair Tunnel connecting Sarnia, Ontario, and Port Huron, Michigan, begin using electric locomotives instead of steam locomotives.cite web| url=http://www.railways.incanada.net/candate/candate.htm| title=Significant dates in Canadian railway history| work=Colin Churcher's Railway Pages| year=2006-03-17| accessdate=2006-05-17| ]
* 1914 – Canadian Northern Railway acquires Canadian Northern Ontario Railway.cite web| url=http://www.railways.incanada.net/candate/ottawa.htm| title=Significant dates in Ottawa railway history| work=Colin Churcher's Railway Pages| year=2006-04-28| accessdate=2006-05-17| ]
* 1922 – The Arkansas Short Line Railroad, a predecessor of St. Louis Southwestern Railway, is incorporated.
* 1939 – King George VI and Queen Elizabeth arrive at Wolfe's Cove, Quebec, to begin a tour of Canada; the tour train is pulled by Canadian Pacific Railway 4-6-4 locomotives 2850 and 2851, earning the class the name "Royal Hudson".
* 1957 – Canadian National Railway opens a new track alignment between Toronto and Montreal to make way for construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway.
* 1996 – Canadian National Railway's Beachburg Subdivision between Pembroke and Nipissing, 126 miles (#expr:(126 * 1.609344) round 0 km) of track which traversed Algonquin Provincial Park, is officially abandoned.

21st century

* 2005 – Canadian National Railway and the Teamsters reach an agreement just short of a deadline for a strike that would have shut down GO Transit.

Births

Deaths

* 1884 – George Muirson Totten, chief construction engineer for the Panama Railway, dies (b. 1808).

References