1883 in rail transport

Events

January events

* January 10 – The Columbus, Chicago and Indiana Central Railway enters bankruptcy and is sold at foreclosure.
* January 12 – The second transcontinental railroad line in North America is completed as the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks from Los Angeles, California, meet the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio at the Pecos River. The golden spike is driven by Col. Tom Pierce, the GH&SA president, atop the Pecos River High Bridge

February events

* February – Central Pacific Railroad completes construction of the largest locomotive in the world for its time, "El Gobernador". [cite book| author=Diebert, Timothy S. and Strapac, Joseph A.| title=Southern Pacific Company Steam Locomotive Conpendium| publisher=Shade Tree Books| year=1987| id=ISBN 0-930742-12-5]

March events

* March 30 – Construction on the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad reaches Salt Lake City, Utah. [cite web| author=Rivanna Chapter National Railway Historical Society| url=http://avenue.org/nrhs/histmar.htm| title=This month in railroad history: March| accessmonthday=29 March | accessyear=2006 ]

June events

* June 5 – The first "Express d'Orient" is operated between Paris and Wien.

August events

* August
** The Toledo, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railway enters receivership.
** The Atlantic and Pacific Railroad, later to become part of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, building westward from Albuquerque, New Mexico, reaches Needles, California. [cite book| author=Santa Fe Railroad| year=1945| title=Along Your Way| publisher=Rand McNally| location=Chicago, Illinois| ]
* August 4 – Volk's Electric Railway, the first of its kind in Britain, opens at Brighton.
* August 11 – The California Southern Railroad receives a court order in its favor ordering the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) to allow it to cross SP tracks at Colton, California.cite book| author=Duke, Donald, and Kistler, Stan| title=Santa Fe ...Steel Rails Through California| year=1963| publisher=Golden West Books| location=San Marino, California| id=ISBN 0-87095-009-6| pages=p 27 ] cite book| author=Waters, Lawrence L.| title=Steel Trails to Santa Fe| publisher=University of Kansas Press | location=Lawrence, Kansas| year=1950| id=| pages=43-44 ]
* August 18 – Construction on the Canadian Pacific Railway reaches Calgary, Alberta.

September events

* September 8 – Northern Pacific Railway completes its connection to the Pacific coast in Washington with a final spike ceremony at Gold Creek, Montana.
* September 13 – A month after a frog war with the Southern Pacific Railroad in Colton, California, the first California Southern Railroad train arrives in San Bernardino. [cite book| author=Signor, John R.| title=The Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad Company; Union Pacific's Historic Salt Lake Route| publisher=Golden West Books| location=San Marino, California| year=1988| id=ISBN 0-87095-101-7| pages=p 17 ]
* September 28 – Formal opening of first electrified section of Giant's Causeway Tramway in Ireland. [cite book|author=Gillham, J. C.|title=The Age of the Electric Train: Electric Trains in Britain since 1883|year=1988|publisher=Ian Allan|location=London|isbn=0-7110-1392-6]

October events

* October 4 – The first ever Express d'Orient passenger train service leaves Paris for Constantinople (now Istanbul) in the Ottoman Empire (Turkey), by way of Munich, Vienna, Budapest, Bucharest, Giurgiu, then crossing the Danube by boat, second train from Rustchuk to Varna, and from there by boat 'Espero' to Constantinopel. The train was officially renamed Orient Express in 1891.

November events

* November 18 – In the United States and Canada, standard time zones were introduced by American and Canadian railroads.

Unknown date events

* The National Railway Appliance Exhibition is held in Chicago, Illinois.
* William Henry Vanderbilt resigns from the presidency of the New York Central system and appoints his heirs to chairmanship positions in the system's constituent railroad companies. James H. Rutter succeeds Vanderbilt as president.
* Franklin B. Gowen retires from the presidency of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad.
* Philip Armour founds Armour Refrigerator Line, as a subsidiary of his meatpacking firm Armour and Company, to operate refrigerator cars that will carry Armour meat products.
* The Colorado Midland Railway is incorporated.
* Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad fully acquires the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad.

Births

December births

* December 27 – Cyrus S. Eaton, president of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway in the 1950s (d. 1979).

Deaths

January deaths

* January 13 – Webster Wagner, founder of Wagner Palace Car Company, dies (b. 1817).

July deaths

* July 23 – Ginery Twichell, president of the Boston and Worcester Railroad beginning in 1857, president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway 1870-1873 (b. 1811). [cite web| work=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress| url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=T000443| title=Ginery Twichell| accessdate=2005-07-15| ]

October deaths

* October 4 – Henry Farnam, president of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad 1854-1863 (b. 1803).

Unknown date deaths

* William Swinburne, American locomotive designer and builder (b. 1805).

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.
* Depew, Chauncey M. [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/2045 My Memories of Eighty Years] . Retrieved February 23 2005.
* " [http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAgowenF.htm Franklin Gowen] ". Retrieved March 2 2005.
* Left, Sarah, The Guardian Unlimited (January 15 2002), " [http://www.guardian.co.uk/transport/Story/0,2763,633951,00.html Key dates in Britain's railway history] ". Retrieved August 4 2005.
* Rivanna Chapter National Railway Historical Society (2005), " [http://avenue.org/nrhs/histaug.htm This Month in Railroad History: August] ". Retrieved August 16 2005.
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