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Railroad events timeline
These are events that relate to the health, welfare and advancement of the railroad industry as a whole.
Please contact me with additional events you think should be included. Also, please help refine dates and correct errors.
Date | Event |
---|---|
May 17, 1792 | Twenty-four securities brokers agreed on rules and created first organized New York stock market. |
Feb 22, 1804 | First steam tramway (road, as opposed to railroad) locomotive built in Wales. |
1814 | George Stephenson built first steam railway locomotive (Blucher) for Stockton & Darlington Railway. |
1815 | First North American railroad charter for Camden & Amboy. |
Mar 8, 1817 | New York Stock & Exchange Board organized; met under Buttonwood tree at 68 Wall Street. |
1819 | Panic of 1819, often blamed on the Second Bank of the United States tightening credit, but probably the result of long-declining agricultural prices. |
Oct 7, 1826 | First horse-powered railroad (3 miles long) completed in United States at Quincy, MA granite quarry. |
Feb 28, 1827 | First railroad, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, chartered in the United States. |
May, 1827 | Mauch Chunk (9 miles long) gravity railroad built near Carbondale, PA. |
Dec 22, 1828 | Baltimore & Ohio completed first section of horse-drawn rail service. |
Aug 8, 1829 | Delaware & Hudson Canal Co ran first steam-powered locomotive 'Stourbridge Lion' near Carbondale, Pennsylvania. |
1830 | Mohawk & Hudson became first railroad stock to be officially traded on NYS&E |
Aug 28, 1830 | Peter Cooper operated 'Tom Thumb' - the first locomotive manufactured in the United Stares - on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. |
1830 | John Stevens invented T-Rail. |
Nov 14, 1832 | John Mason started first horse-drawn streetcar service along Bowery Street in New York. |
1835 | Samuel Morse created telegraph based on earlier technology by Joseph Henry, 1830 |
1836 | First railroad in Canada opens - Champlain & St Lawrence. |
May 10, 1837 | Banks in New York City stopped payment in gold and silver, precipitating the Panic of 1837. Six-year depression follows. |
1837 | First railroad built in Cuba (Havana to Guines.) |
1842 | Brokers began trading stocks too small for listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Since they had no offices, and merely traded on Broad Street, they became known as 'Curbstone Brokers' and 'New York Curb Market.' This outdoors arrangement lasted until 1921. |
Mar 24, 1844 | First message transmitted over telegraph line completed between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. |
Apr 13, 1846 | Pennsylvania Railroad chartered. |
1846 | British government adopted 'standard gauge' of 4 ft 8-1/2 in, the same as the Stockton & Darlington road. |
Sep 16, 1850 | First railway in Mexico opened - 11 km between Veracruz and Molino. |
Sep 20, 1850 | President Millard Fillmore signed first Land Grant Act. |
1851 | Trains dispatched by telegraph. |
Feb 20, 1852 | First rail connection between East Coast and Chicago. |
Jul, 1854 | Stock market crash caused by discoveries of fraudulent stock issuances in New York & New Haven RR, Harlem Co, and Vermont Central Ry |
Jan 28, 1855 | Panama Railroad completed across Isthmus of Panama. |
Apr 21, 1856 | Chicago Rock Island & Pacific train crossed first railroad bridge across Mississippi River between Rock Island, Illinois and Davenport, Iowa. |
Sep 21, 1856 | Illinois Central Railroad completed between Chicago and Cairo, IL. |
Apr, 1857 | Severe Baltimore & Ohio Railroad labor strike resulted in several deaths |
Aug 24, 1857 | Failure of New York branch of Ohio Life Insurance & Trust Co precipitated the Panic of 1857. |
Oct 14, 1857 | Run on bank deposits forced suspension of withdrawals on Wall Street banks. Numerous bank failures. |
1857 | St Louis connected by rail to East Coast. |
Oct, 1861 | Overland Telegraph and Pacific Telegraph completed transcontinental system and quickly merged into Western Union. |
Jul 1, 1862 | Congress passed Pacific Railway act which authorized construction of Transcontinental railroad. Act created Union Pacific Railroad Company. |
Jan 10, 1863 | First subway opened in London. |
Jan 29, 1863 | New York Stock & Exchange Board changed name to New York Stock Exchange. |
Aug, 1864 | Gold hit $261.75 |
1864 | George Pullman invented Pullman sleeping car. |
Nov 6, 1865 | Investors cornered Milwaukee & Prairie Du Chien Railway Co stock price driven from $40 to $210 and back to $110; many brokerages failed because of inability to cover short sales. |
Dec 9, 1865 | New York Stock Exchange occupied new building. |
Dec 25, 1865 | Giant Union stockyards opened in Chicago. |
1865 | Smelters in Chicago milled first steel rails. |
Apr, 1866 | Investors cornered Michigan Southern RR stock; price driven from $84 to $104 and back to $80 within 24 hours. Heavy speculation and 'corners' in Reading, Chicago & Rock Island, Hudson River, Cleveland & Pittsburg and Northwestern. |
Nov 15, 1867 | NYSE introduced stock tickers |
Dec 7, 1867 | Charles T Harvey successfully demonstrated first cable-pulled elevated railway in New York. |
Jan 16, 1868 | William Davis patented refrigerator car. |
Apr 20, 1868 | New York legislature gave full control of Erie to Jay Gould and James Fisk; Commodore Vanderbilt defeated. |
Jul 1, 1868 | West Side Elevated opened between Cortlandt Street and Battery Place in New York. |
Jul, 1868 | Jay Gould became president of Erie Railway (the first Gould railroad) |
Feb 1, 1869 | New York Stock Exchange required shares of all listed companies to be officially registered (anti stock-watering decree) |
Apr 13, 1869 | George Westinghouse patented automatic air brake. |
May 8, 1869 | Open Board of Brokers merged with New York Stock Exchange |
May 10, 1869 | Union Pacific and Central Pacific drove 'Golden Spike' at Promontory Point, Utah and officially completed the transcontinental railroad. |
Sep 24, 1869 | Jay Gould and James Fisk precipitate 'Black Friday' gold market crash after driving gold to $162; U.S. government announced it would sell gold and prices fell to $135 within 15 minutes. |
Jan 17, 1871 | Andrew Smith Hallidie patented first cable car. |
Apr 20, 1871 | First steam-powered elevated railway operation in New York City. |
Jan 6, 1872 | Edward Stokes murdered James Fisk in Grand Central Hotel, New York. |
Mar 15, 1872 | Jay Gould forced to resign from board of Erie; replaced by John Dix. |
Sep 4, 1872 | New York Sun began exposing Credit Mobilier financing which resulted in huge railroad financing scandal. |
Nov 20, 1872 | Gould, Schell and Clark corner Erie stock and drive price from $83.75 on Nov 20 to $230 on Nov 23; prices quickly fell back to $85, seriously hurting Drew and Smith. |
1872 | Vanderbilt interests acquired sufficient Union Pacific stock to install Horace Clark as president. |
1872 | Canadian railroads converted lines to standard gauge of 4 ft 8-1/2 in. |
Apr 29, 1873 | Eli H. Janney patented knuckle coupler. |
Jun, 1873 | Jay Gould acquired first Union Pacific shares upon death of Horace Clark. |
Aug 1, 1873 | First cable car opened for operation in San Francisco. |
Sep 18, 1873 | Jay Cooke & Co brokerage failed because of problems financing the Northern Pacific; failure of Cooke and 57 additional brokerages and banks precipitated the Panic of 1873; New York Stock Exchange closed for 10 days; five-year depression followed.. |
Sep 30, 1873 | NYSE reopened. |
1874 | first commercial typewriters introduced |
Mar, 1874 | Jay Gould elected to Union Pacific board of directors. |
Jul 4, 1874 | Eads steel arch bridge across the Mississippi River opened at St Louis. |
Jan 4, 1877 | Cornelius 'Commodore' Vanderbilt dies, leaving 95% of his estate to eldest son William Henry Vanderbilt |
Jul 14, 1877 | Railroads decreased pay because of depression which resulted in strikes, labor unrest, and violence; labor unions increased power. |
Jan 28, 1878 | first commercial telephone exchange |
Nov, 1879 | William Henry Vanderbilt sold 250,000 shares of New York Central & Hudson River at 120 per share to J.S. Morgan & Co. |
Jan, 1880 | Jay Gould acquired Missouri Kansas & Texas stock and became president. |
Mar 13, 1882 | To counter reports of financial hardship, Gould displayed $53 million in stocks and offered to show an additional $30 million. |
Mar 21, 1882 | Chicago Stock Exchange organized. |
Aug 8, 1883 | Southern Pacific and Atlantic & Pacific railroads completed line from New Orleans to Pacific Coast at Needles, CA. |
Sep 8, 1883 | Northern Pacific Railroad completed. |
Nov 18, 1883 | U.S. and Canadian railroads adopted four standard time zones. |
May 6, 1884 | Grant & Ward, Metropolitan Bank and Marine Bank failed and precipitated failure of 15 additional brokers and banks |
Jul 3, 1884 | Charles Dow created stock average (precursor to Dow Jones Industrial Average) which included nine railroad issues (Chicago Milwaukee & St Paul, Chicago & North Western, Delaware Lackawanna & Western, Lake Shore, Louisville & Nashville, Missouri Pacific, New York Central, Northern Pacific (preferred), and Union Pacific). |
Sep 4, 1884 | telephone service between New York and Boston |
Feb 16, 1885 | Charles Dow modified 'Dow Dozen' to include twelve railroads and two industries. (New railroads: Central Pacific, Central RR of New Jersey, and Delaware & Hudson). |
Jan 2, 1886 | Two companies removed from Dow Average (constituents included Chicago Milwaukee & St Paul, Chicago & North Western, Delaware & Hudson, Delaware Lackawanna & Western, Lake Shore, Louisville & Nashville, Missouri Pacific, New York Central, Northern Pacific (preferred), and Union Pacific) |
May 31, 1886 | Standard gauge of 4 ft 8-1/2 in adopted by Southern railroads. |
mid-1880s, | typewriters common in offices |
Feb 4, 1887 | Interstate Commerce Act signed into law by Pres. Grover Cleveland; intended to insure reasonable rates, prevent pooling, and stop two-tiered pricing. |
Sep 29, 1890 | Congress passed law to require railroads to forfeit unused land grants. |
Apr 19, 1892 | Charles and Frank Duryea perfected first automobile. |
Oct 18, 1892 | telephone service between New York and Chicago |
Jan 6, 1893 | Great Northern Railway completed to Scenic, Washington. |
Feb, 1892 | Philadelphia & Reading Railroad failed with $125,000,000 debt and led to collapse of stocks on New York market. |
Jun 27, 1893 | New York stock market collapsed and began 4-year depression. |
Apr 9, 1894 | Dow average modified (constituents included Chicago Burlington & Quincy, Chicago Milwaukee & St Paul, Chicago & North Western, Chicago Rock Island & Pacific, Delaware & Hudson, Delaware Lackawanna & Western, Louisville & Nashville, Missouri Pacific, Northern Pacific (preferred), and Union Pacific). |
May 11, 1894 | Pullman Palace Car Co slashed wages and precipitated strike. |
Jul 2, 1894 | U.S. government issued injunction against striking Pullman Palace Car Co. workers. |
Jul 3, 1894 | President Cleveland sent U.S. troops to Chicago to enforce injunction; two men killed on July 6; troops withdrawn on July 20. |
Jan 14, 1895 | New York trolley employees begin strike; riots followed; strike eventually stopped by New York and Brooklyn militia. |
1896 | first American-made gasoline powered automobile (Duryea Motor Wagon C0) sold in United States |
May 26, 1896 | Charles Dow created Dow Jones Industrial Average; all railroads moved to Dow Jones Railroad Average. |
May 26, 1896 | Dow created Industrial Index and moved railroad stocks to Dow Jones Railroad Index. |
Sep 1, 1897 | First electrified U.S. subway opened in Boston. |
May 9, 1901 | James Hill and J.P. Morgan fought with Edward Harriman and Kuhn Loeb over control of Great Northern and Northern Pacific; stock hit $1000/share and precipitated panic and collapse in other stocks. |
Nov 13, 1901 | Northern Securities Co formed to control Great Northern and Northern Pacific. Near-monopoly in northern shipping follows, eventually resulting in major trust company. |
Mar 10, 1902 | Attorney General began prosecution against Northern Securities Company for violating the Sherman Anti-Trust law. |
Feb 19, 1903 | Congress passed Elkins Act and outlawed all rebates on published railroad freight rates. |
Mar 14, 1904 | Supreme Court ruled against Northern Securities Co. for violating the Sherman Anti-Trust law. |
Oct 27, 1904 | First New York subway opened. |
May 21, 1906 | Congress passed Hepburn Act which allowed the Interstate Commerce Commission to regulate railroad, pipeline, and terminal rates. |
Oct 1, 1908 | Ford Model T introduced |
Jun 18, 1910 | Congress passed the Mann-Elkins Act which allowed the Interstate Commerce Commission to begin proceedings against railroads, pipelines, terminals, telegraph, and telephone companies in violation of rate regulations. |
Jul 31, 1914 | New York Stock Exchange closed through November 27 upon declaration of war. |
Jul 31, 1914 | Chicago Stock Exchange closed through December 11 upon declaration of war (World War I). |
Jan 25, 1915 | first transcontinental telephone call New York to San Francisco |
Aug 29, 1916 | Congress passed Army Appropriations Act which included clause that allowed the President to take control of any system of transportation during times of war. |
Aug 10, 1917 | Congress passed Priority Law which authorized the President to force carriers to give precedence to military defense traffic. |
Dec 28, 1917 | President Woodrow Wilson useds Federal Possession and Control Act to take possession of 'each and every system of transportation...within the boundaries of the United States;' U.S. Railroad Administration created. |
Mar 19, 1918 | United States adopted five standard time zones across the nation and Alaska. |
Mar 21, 1918 | Congress passed Railway Control Act to officially control U.S. railway system during World War I. |
1918 | heavy usage of trucks grew throughout World War 1 |
Feb 28, 1920 | Congress passed Esch-Cummins Act and created the Railroad Labor Board. |
Mar 1, 1920 | Government relinquished control of all railroads. |
Apr 26, 1920 | Stock Clearing Corporation established. |
1920 | over one million trucks on American roads |
1921 | 'Curbstone Brokers' ('New York Curb Market') moved indoors. |
Oct 4, 1922 | Canada created Canadian National Railway and nationalized system. |
Dec, 1923 | First diesel locomotive demonstrated. |
1925 | Diesel locomotives production began. |
Jan 7, 1927 | transatlantic telephone service between New York and London |
Oct 24, 1929 | Stock prices collapsed on New York Stock Exchange; day became known as 'Black Thursday;' market collapse eventually forced widespread decrease in American commerce and became known as Great Depression. |
1929 | 'Curbstone Brokers' ('New York Curb Market') renamed New York Curb Exchange. |
Sep 3, 1930 | Thomas Edison ran first experimental electric passenger train between Hoboken and Montclair, NJ. |
Mar 6, 1933 | President Roosevelt ordered 'Bank Holiday' from Mar 6 to Mar 9 (Executive Proclamation 2039); banks and stock exchanges closd. |
Mar 9, 1933 | President Roosevelt extended 'Bank Holiday' indefinitely (Executive Proclamation 2039.) |
Mar 10, 1933 | President Roosevelt ordered banks reopened (Executive Order 6073.) |
Apr 5, 1933 | President Roosevelt ordered confiscation of all gold coins, gold certificates, and bullion (Executive Order 6102.) |
Apr 19, 1933 | President Roosevelt officially took U.S. off gold standard. |
May 27, 1933 | Congress passed Federal Securities Act which required full disclosure about stocks offered to the public. |
Jun 5, 1933 | Congress nullified all U.S. contracts that promised to repay interest or principal in gold. (House Joint Resolution. 192, 73rd Congress, 1st Session. 'Joint Resolution to Suspend the Gold Standard and Abrogate the Gold Clause'.) |
Jun 6, 1934 | President Roosevelt signed Securities Exchange Act which created the commission assigned to regulate exchanges and stock transactions. |
Jun 7, 1934 | Congress passed Corporate Bankruptcy Act which allowed corporate reorganization with support of two-thirds of creditors. |
May, 1934 | First streamlined diesel locomotives (CB&Q Pioneer Zephyr) put into service. |
1935 | intercity bus ridership exceeded railroad ridership |
Jun 13, 1937 | Mexico nationalized all railroads. |
Dec 27, 1943 | President Roosevelt ordered (Executive Order 9412) Federal takeover of railroads to prevent shutdown by labor. |
Jan 18, 1944 | U.S. Army returned control of railroads to private ownership. |
May 17, 1946 | President Truman (Executive Order 9727) authorized Federal control of railroads to prevent collapse of transportation system during transportationh strike; strike ended May 25. |
May 10, 1948 | President Truman (Executive Order 9957) authorized Army to operate railroads. |
Jul 9, 1948 | U.S. Army returned control of railroads. |
Jun 5, 1950 | United States Supreme Court decides that segregation in railroad dining is illegal (Henderson v United States.) |
Aug 26, 1950 | President Truman ordered U.S. Army to operate railroads to prevent transportation strike (Executive Order 10155.) |
May 23, 1952 | U.S. Army returned railroads to private control. |
Jan 5, 1953 | New York Curb Exchange renamed American Stock Exchange. |
Apr 26, 1956 | intermodal containerized shipping started |
Jun 29, 1956 | Interstate Highway System authorized |
Apr 25, 1963 | President Kennedy authorized Department of Interior to operate Alaska railroads (Executive Order 11107.) |
Jan, 1970 | Dow Jones added air lines to Railroad Index of 20 stocks and renamed average to Transportation Average. |
Jun 21, 1970 | Penn Central declared bankruptcy, the largest corporate bankruptcy in U.S. history at the time. |
Feb 5, 1976 | Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act |
Jul 1, 1980 | Motor Carrier Act partially deregulated trucking industry and increased numbers of trucking companies |
Oct 14, 1980 | President Jimmy Carter signed Staggers Rail Act which deregulated railroads and led to divestiture of thousands of miles of unprofitable lines. |
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