1869 in rail transport

Events

January events

* January 23 - George Westinghouse files for a patent on his air brake.

February events

* February 17 - Henry Keyes succeeds Henry C. Lord as president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.
* February 27 - The first line of what is now Athens Metro, in Greece, opens as Athens Piraeus Railway SA, the first railroad in the country (8.8 km). [cite book|author=Marshall, John|title=The Guinness Railway Book|date=1989|publisher=Guinness|location=Enfield|isbn=0-85112-359-7]

March events

* March - By an act of Congress, the Kansas Pacific Railway's name is shortened to Kansas Pacific.

April events

* April 6 - The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway is formed through the merger of the Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad and the Lake Shore Railway. [cite web| url=http://www.michiganrailroads.com/RRHX/Timeline/1860s/TimeLine1860sBackUp.htm| title=Railroad History Timeline: 1860| work=Michigan's Internet Railroad History Museum| accessmonthday=6 April | accessyear=2006 ] [cite web| url=http://www.s363.com/dkny/lsms.html| title=History of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway Company| author=New York Central Railroad| year=1913| work=1913 Annual Report of The New York Central Railroad System| accessmonthday=6 April | accessyear=2006 ]
* April 23 - Crews building the Central Pacific Railroad lay 10 miles (16 km) of track in one day.
* April 26 - The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad opens its first segment of track (6 miles / 10 km long) between Topeka and Pauline, Kansas.

May events

* May 10 - The golden spike is driven at Promontory Summit, Utah, on the First Transcontinental Railroad in North America.
* May 15 - The first trains operate the entire length of the First Transcontinental Railroad in North America traveling between Omaha, Nebraska and Sacramento, California.

June events

* June 1 - The Merchants Despatch is reformed as a joint stock trading company, with ownership divided among the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railway (CCC&I), the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, and the New York Central Railroad (NYC), all part of the Cornelius Vanderbilt rail empire.
* June 17 - The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, building westward from Topeka, reaches Carbondale, Kansas.

July events

* July 3
** Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad subsidiary Kansas City and Cameron Railroad opens the Hannibal Bridge, the first railroad bridge across the Missouri River, connecting its namesake cities.
** Completion of the Mount Washington Cog Railway in New Hampshire, U.S., the world's first mountain rack railway. [cite web|url=http://www.cog-railway.com|title=The Mount Washington Cog Railway|accessdate=2007-08-01]

August events

* August 18 - The Windsor and Annapolis Railway in Nova Scotia officially opens between Annapolis and Grand Pre.

September events

* September 21 - The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad leases the Kalamazoo, Allegan and Grand Rapids Railway in Michigan.

November events

* November 8 – The Central Pacific Railroad completes the final leg of the First Transcontinental Railroad in North America, connecting Sacramento, California to San Francisco, California.
* November 11 – After the New York and Erie Railroad moves its primary shop facilities from Dunkirk, New York, to Buffalo, Horatio G. Brooks leases the facilities in Dunkirk and opens Brooks Locomotive Works.
* November 22 – The Ft. Wayne, Jackson and Saginaw Railroad opens between Jackson and Reading, Michigan. [cite web| url=http://www.michiganrailroads.com/RRHX/Timeline/1860s/TimeLine1860sBackUp.htm| title=Railroad History Timeline - 1860| work=Michigan's Internet Railroad History Museum| accessdate=2007-11-22| ]

December events

* December - Newly founded Brooks Locomotive Works completes construction of the company's first steam locomotive; it is included in an order for the New York and Erie Railroad.

Unknown date events

* The New York State Legislature authorised the merger of railroads already owned by Cornelius Vanderbilt into the New York Central, including the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, the Canada Southern Railroad and the Michigan Central Railroad into the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad.
* William Henry Vanderbilt, son of Cornelius Vanderbilt, is promoted to Vice President of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad.
* The first railroad built in New Jersey, the Camden and Amboy Railroad, is merged into the United New Jersey Railroad and Canals Company.
* The Westinghouse Air Brake Company is founded by George Westinghouse.
* Wells and French Company, later to become part of American Car and Foundry, is founded in Chicago, Illinois.
* Construction begins on the central pontifical railroad station in Rome, Italy.

Births

June births

* June 8 - William R. Coe, chief executive officer of Virginian Railway during World War II (d. 1955).

November births

* November 9 - Charles Donnelly, president of Northern Pacific Railway 1920-1939, is born (d. 1939). [Northern Pacific. Annual Report. St. Paul [Minn.] : Northern Pacific, 1939.]

Deaths

References

* Association of American Railroads (January 2005), " [http://www.railfanclub.org/archives/newsletters/January05/ThisMonth.htm This Month in Railroad History - January] ". Retrieved May 23, 2005.
* Baker Library Historical Collections, " [http://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/sfa/atchison,_topeka.htm Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad Records, 1879-1896] ". Retrieved May 10 2005.
* New York Central Railroad (1913), "Annual Report", " [http://www.s363.com/dkny/lsms.html History of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway Company] ". Retrieved September 21 2005.
* Santa Fe Railroad (1945), "Along Your Way", Rand McNally, Chicago, Illinois.
* Smith, Ivan (1998), " [http://www.trainweb.org/canadianrailways/articles/SignificantDatesInNSRailwayHistoryPart2.html Significant Dates in Nova Scotia's Railway History (1850- 1899)] ". Retrieved August 16 2005.
* Southern Tier West Regional Planning and Development Board, " [http://www.southerntierwest.org/L5/hist_hbrooks.htm STW historical figures / Horatio Brooks] ". Retrieved February 9 2005.
* p 42.