March 18 in rail transport

Events

19th century

* 1855 – The second Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge opens for rail traffic; the bridge had rails that allowed trains of three different gauges to operate over it.

20th century

* 1950 – Wind blows smoke and freshly fallen snow to obscure the headlight on a Canadian Pacific Railway passenger train doing switching maneuvers at Ashton, Ontario; the apparently blinking light is misinterpreted as a clear signal by the engineer of an opposing train who throttles up and runs into passenger cars that were still standing on the mainline. [cite web| work=Colin Churcher's Railway Pages| date=February 2006| url=http://www.railways.incanada.net/circle/Wrecks.html#CPRAshton1950| title=Railway Accidents in the Ottawa Area: 1950, March 18 - Canadian Pacific - Ashton| accessdate=2006-03-18 ]
* 1960 – Western Region of British Railways 2-10-0 standard class 9F 92220 "Evening Star" is named at Swindon Works to commemorate its completion as the last steam locomotive built for B.R.
* 1996 – SNCF begins a construction project to renew the track ballast on the Paris-Lyon TGV line; the project is expected to last through 2006. [cite web| url=http://fr.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=18_mars_dans_les_chemins_de_fer&oldid=10532928| title=18 mars dans les chemins de fer| language=French| work=French language Wikipedia| accessdate=2007-03-09 ]

21st century

* 2005 – Joseph H. Boardman, head of the New York State Department of Transportation, is nominated to lead the United States Federal Railroad Administration.

Births

Deaths

* 1911 – David Moffat, Colorado financier and head of nine railroads, dies (b. 1839).

References