1979 in rail transport

Events

January events

* January - An electrical fire erupts aboard a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train traveling in the transbay tube; the fire kills one firefighter and closes the system for more than two months.

February events

* February 1 - The Southern Railway's "Southern Crescent" becomes Amtrak's "Crescent" as Southern discontinues independent passenger train service.

March events

* March 17 - The Penmanshiel Tunnel in the UK collapses, killing two workers.

May events

* May 1 - The Jubilee line on the London Underground opens between Stanmore and Charing Cross.

June events

* June 23 - New South Wales Premier Neville Wran officially opens the Eastern Suburbs Railway in Sydney. It operates as a shuttle between Central & Bondi Junction until full integration with the Illawarra Line during 1980.

August events

* August 20 - San Diego's Metropolitan Transit Development Board (MTDB) purchases the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway Company in restored condition for $18.1 million.
* August 20 - The East Coast Main Line rail route between England and Scotland is restored when the Penmanshiel Diversion opens.
* August 29 - Bangor and Aroostook Railroad discontinues hauling potatoes; it was for this business that the railroad painted many of their boxcars in a distinctive red, white and blue "State of Maine" livery.

eptember events

* September 8 - Restored Nickel Plate 765 is unveiled.

October events

* October 1 - Hong Kong's first MTR line, from Shek Kip Mei to Kwun Tong, is opened.
* October 22 - The Invergowrie rail crash, in Invergowrie, Scotland, occurs when a track signal fails to switch to a stop indication that would have protected a stalled passenger train; a second passenger train collides with the stalled train, resulting in 5 fatalities.
* October 23 - Amtrak's Dearborn, Michigan, station opens. [cite web| url=http://www.michiganrailroads.com/RRHX/Timeline/1970s/TimeLine1970sBackUp.htm| title=Railroad History Timeline: 1970-1979| accessdate=2006-10-23| ]
* October 30 - Amtrak introduces double decker Superliner coaches on the "Empire Builder" passenger train.

November events

* November 10 - A CP Rail train develops a hot box and derails 24 cars carrying hazardous materials near Mississauga, Ontario; almost 250,000 people are evacuated for up to five days at a time while cleanup commences. See 1979 Mississauga train derailment.
* November 17 - The first stage of Brisbane Suburban Electrification between Ferny Grove and Darra is commissioned by the Queensland Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen. It is the first section of electrification in Australia to use 25,000 volts 50 Hz overhead power supply.

December events

* December - Amtrak discontinues the "Floridian", "Lone Star" and "North Coast Hi" passenger trains.
* December - Union Pacific 3985, a 4-6-6-4 steam locomotive, is moved from static display in Cheyenne, Wyoming, for inspection and eventual restoration for operations.
* December - Nickel Plate 765, a 2-8-4 steam locomotive, operates under its own power after 21 years of static display.

Unknown date events

* Alan Furth succeeds Denman McNear as president of the Southern Pacific Company, parent company of the Southern Pacific Railroad.
* Amtrak's first AEM-7 locomotives enter service.
* The Federal Government of the United States relinquishes control of the Panama Railway, transferring the railway to the government of Panama.

Births

Deaths

May deaths

* May 9 - Cyrus S. Eaton, president of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway in the 1950s (b. 1883).
* May 16 - A. Philip Randolph, who organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in 1925 (b. 1889).

References

* Colin Churcher's Railway Pages (August 16 2005), " [http://www.railways.incanada.net/candate/candate.htm Significant dates in Canadian railway history] ". Retrieved November 8 2005.
* Rivanna Chapter National Railway Historical Society (2005), " [http://avenue.org/nrhs/histaug.htm This Month in Railroad History: August] ". Retrieved August 29 2005.
* Rivanna Chapter National Railway Historical Society (2005), " [http://avenue.org/nrhs/histoct.htm This Month in Railroad History: October] ". Retrieved October 28 2005.