Portal:Trains/Anniversaries/December 8

1885 – William Henry Vanderbilt (pictured), son of Cornelius Vanderbilt and president of the New York Central system, dies (b. 1821).
1896 – Railway workers across Germany unite in the nation's railway trade union, Verband der Eisenbahner, headquartered in Hamburg.
1908 – Groundbreaking ceremonies are held in Germany for the U4 line of Berlin's U-Bahn.
2005 – QJ 6988 pulls the world's last regularly scheduled steam locomotive powered freight train on a mainline railroad when it pulls a train between Daban and Chabuga, China.