History-of-Train-Travel
History-of-Train-Travel
In our article on the History-of-Train-Travel or its earlier term ‘rail transport”, really, goes back many, years. If one considers the first stagecoaches as a from of rail transport we are talking almost 500 years.
For all intensive purposes, we will stick to History-of-Train-Travel, as it relates to the United States only.
Below we will give you a time line of the History-of-Train-Travel as referenced by
Wikipedia.com.
•1810s-1830s: Various inventors and entrepreneurs make suggestions about Building Model railways in the United States; In 1825 John Stevens (inventor) builds a test track and runs a locomotive around it in Hoboken, New Jersey.
•1820s and 1830s: The Baltimore and Ohio is incorporated in 1827 and officially opens in
1830. Other railroads soon follow, including the Camden and Amboy by 1832.
•August 8, 1829: The Stourbridge Lion is tested along tracks built by the Delaware and Hudson company.
•1830s-1860s: Enormous railway building booms in the United States of America. Railroads replace canals as a primary mode of transportation.
•1853 Indianapolis’ Union Station, the first “union station” in the world, opened by the Terre Haute & Richmond, Madison & Indianapolis, and Belle fontaine railroads.
•1865: George Pullman becomes well-known for luxury sleeping cars, called Pullman cars in his honor, after he loans one of his cars to house the coffin of Abraham Lincoln after Lincoln’s assassination.
•1869: Union Pacific and Central Pacific complete first transcontinental railway link at Promontory Summit.
•1869: George Westinghouse establishes air brake company.
•1870s and 1880s: Strikes break out against railroads and the Pullman Palace Car Company. Corporations hire Pinkerton guards to break up the strikes. Nonetheless, much violence occurs in the strikes. Many people were killed, buildings and rolling stock were burned, and reports of rioting shocked middle-class Americans.
•1886: Many southern states convert from broad gauges such as 1,524 mm (5 ft) to standard gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 81⁄2 in). See also Broad gauge#United States.
•1887: The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) is created to regulate railroads, to ensure fair prices.
•1891: Webb C. Ball establishes first Railway Watch official guidelines for Railroad chronometers.
•1901: Eight locomotive manufacturing companies are combined in a merger to form the American Locomotive Company (ALCO).
•1902: Twentieth Century Limited inaugurated by the New York Central railroad.
•1910s: Pennsylvania Railroad builds Pennsylvania Station in New York City; New York Central Railroad builds current version of Grand Central Terminal.
•1916: US railway reaches peak length.
•1920s and 1930s: Automobiles and airplanes contribute to a decline in ridership and mileage, as well as the Great Depression.
•1934: Burlington railroad’s Pioneer Zephyr completes its inaugural run from Denver, Colorado to Chicago, Illinois, first diesel-powered stream liner in America.
•May 12, 1936: The Santa Fe railroad inaugurates the all-Pullman Super Chief between Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California.
•1940s: World War II brings railroads the highest ridership in American history, as soldiers are being sent to fight overseas in the Pacific Theater and the European Theater. However, automobile travel causes ridership to decline after the war ends.
•March 20, 1949: The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad and Western Pacific Railroad jointly launch the California Zephyr between Chicago, Illinois, and San Francisco, California, as the first passenger train to include Vista Dome cars in regular service.
•1950s and 1960s: Drastic decline in railroad travel in the United States of America, due to automobiles, trucks, and airplanes, as first jetliners take to the air. Railroads respond through mergers and attempts to shut down trains and railroad lines. However, the ICC refuses to let railroads shut down many trains.
•December 1, 1959: ICC approved Virginian Railway merger into Norfolk & Western begins modern-day period of railroad mergers and consolidations
•December 3, 1967: The New York Central’s Twentieth Century Limited makes last run.
•1968: Pennsylvania Railroad and New York Central merge to form Penn Central.
•June 21, 1970: Penn Central declares Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
•1971: President Richard Nixon and the United States Congress create Amtrak and eliminate several passenger routes.
•March 22, 1970: The CB&Q, D&RGW and WP railroads’ California Zephyr on its last run, arrives in Oakland, CA from Chicago, Illinois; however the train name will soon be resurrected by Amtrak on a train traveling almost the same route as the original
•1970s: Conrail, a freight railroad, founded from the remains of the bankrupt Penn Central and a number of other bankrupt railroads in the Northeastern US.
•1970s and 1980s: Amtrak introduces double-deck Super liner rolling stock. Auto-Train Corporation begins running as independent line (1971), but fails in 1981; In 1983, Amtrak revives service and runs slightly renamed Auto Train as one of its more-heavily-promoted lines.
•1980 Railroads deregulated; ICC abolished. [removed]// <![CDATA[ var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-17009172-1']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement(‘script’); ga.type = ‘text/javascript’; ga.async = true; ga.src = (‘https:’ == document.location.protocol ? ‘https://ssl’ : ‘http://www’) + ‘.google-analytics.com/ga.js’; var s = document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[0]; s[removed].insertBefore(ga, s); })();
// ]]>[removed] Now checkout your options to Travel by Train!
About the Author
I have worked in many industries during my career. I have also worked overseas in New Zealand. My experience is Eclectic and varied to say the least. From your Basic Office Manger, to owning an Indoor Sports Center in New Zealand. I am Curently building my website, If you have any advice or comments, I wholeheartedly welcome them! thanks so much!
www.Help-Me-Find-A-Ride.com and www.Help-Me-Find-A-Car.com
|
|
Art Poster, Ride the Pioneer Zephyr – 12×18 $14.95 This high quality, durable art poster measures 12×18 inches and arrives ready to frame. Posters are printed on heavy-stock, semi-matte paper producing the best possible combination of color vibrancy and durability. All posters from ClassicPix.com are made on demand one-at-a-time, just for you — not mass-produced. Flat shipping rate $5.95 within the U.S. — no extra charge for additional art poste… |
|
|
MOTOR TRAIN STREAMLINED LOCOMOTIVE THE ZEPHYR BURLINGTON ROUTE UNION PACIFIC AMERICAN LARGE VINTAGE POSTER REPRO $14.85 THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL / GREAT QUALITY REPRODUCTION VINTAGE POSTER !!! THE POSTERS ARE PRINTED ON HEAVYWEIGHT PROFESSIONAL MATTE PAPER USING **GICLEE** TECHNIQUE. THE QUALITY OF THE IMAGES IS JUST AMAZING!!! 100% SATISFACTION GUARANTEE!!! IF YOU ARE NOT SATISFIED JUST RETURN THE POSTER, NO QUESTIONS ASKED!!! IMAGE SIZE IS 20″ X 30″ INCHES – PAPER SIZE IS 24″ X 36″ INCHES. THIS POSTER WILL MAKE … |
|
|
1936 Ad Budd Steel Twin Zephyrs Train Burlington Route – Original Print Ad $42.95 This is an original 1936 black and white print ad for the Edward G. Budd Manufacturing Company with a great illustration of the Twin Zephyrs of the Burlington Route…. |
|
|
Twin Cities Hot Spots, The Railroads of Minneapolis and St. Paul $32.95 Features the railroad action in the and around Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. The railroads of the Twin Cities metro area covered in this DVD include some now fallen flags: Burlington Northern, Soo Line, CP Rail, Chicago & NorthWestern, Twin Cities & Western, Minnesota Commercial, Minnesota Valley, Dakota Rails, Wisconsin Central, Minnesota Zephyr, Amtrak, Osceola & St. Croix, Canadian Nat… |
|
|
Lionel Chicago, Burlington and Quincy GP-9 Diesel Locomotive $299.97 Original packaging, never been removed from the box! The formal color scheme of the 2380 “Way of the Zephyrs”, featured in the Lionel Classic Trains 1998 Catalog, will truly enhance your layout. A unique opportunity! Original packaging, never been removed from the box. Recently located in distributor’s warehouse where it has been in storage since 1998. Pullmor AC motor, Magne-Traction. Command con… |
|
|
Design Sign Company Metal Sign – Burlington Route Zephyr Signs are approximately 6×10, 8×8 or 8×10 depending on the shape of the design…. |
|
|
Motorbooks Burlington Zephyrs This authoritative, illustrated history of the Zephyr fleet examines the trains, their motive power and landmark streamlined designs, rolling stock (including the Vista-Dome, generally considered the first successful dome car), and services. Dozens of black-and-white archival images and period color photographs depict Zephyrs along routes throughout the Midwest, Rocky Mountains, Pacific Coast, and… |
|
|
Burlington’s Zephyrs $36.95 This authoritative, illustrated history of the Zephyr fleet examines the trains, their motive power and landmark streamlined designs, rolling stock (including the Vista-Dome, generally considered the first successful dome car), and services. Dozens of black-and-white archival images and period color photographs depict Zephyrs along routes throughout the Midwest, Rocky Mountains, Pacific Coast, and… |
|
|
The Pioneer Zephyr: America’s First Diesel-Electric Stainless Steel Streamliner $18.95 Swift, stylish and so sophisticated, The Burlington Railroad’s God of the West Wind, the Pioneer Zephyr, was a 104-ton, three-car streamlined speedster, setting a record of 13 hours, four minutes on the 1,015-mile run between Chicago and Denver. In April of 1934, the Zephyr posed for its official photo, then went on an exhibition tour that visited 46 cities where nearly half a million people saw i… |
|
|
Way of the Zephyrs: The Postwar Years $22.56 “In this companion volume to his “Burlington Route – The Early Zephyrs”, the author traces the postwar Zephyr fleet from the birth of the modern dome car in 1945 through to the Burlington Northern merger of 1970. Along the way, readers are introduced to such streamlined passenger train icons as the 1949 California Zephyr and the 1956 Denver Zephyr, as well as lesser lights from teh CB&Q’s timetabl… |
