1938 in rail transport

1937 1938 1939

Years in rail transport

1937 in rail transport 1938 in rail transport 1939 in rail transport

This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in 1938.

Contents 1 Events 1.1 January events 1.2 February events 1.3 March events 1.4 May Events 1.5 June events 1.6 July events 1.7 October events 1.8 November events 1.9 December events 1.10 Unknown date events 2 Births 2.1 Unknown date births 3 Deaths 3.1 February deaths 3.2 October deaths 3.3 December deaths 4 References

Events

January events

• January 1 - Creation of the following European railway networks under government control:
  • SNCF (Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français), bringing the principal railway companies of France together.
  • NS (Nederlandsche Spoorwegen), merging the Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij (HSM) and the Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Staatsspoorwegen (SS) in the Netherlands.^[1]

February events

• February - A second all-lightweight trainset enters service on the Super Chief.

March events

• March 27 - Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway inaugurates San Diegan passenger train service between Los Angeles and San Diego.^[2]

May Events

• May 15
  • The Lake Shore Electric Railway in Ohio ceases operations.
  • Inauguration of a major Nederlandse Spoorwegen electrification scheme in the central Netherlands, centred on Utrecht.

June events

• June 15 - New York Central Railroad introduces an all-streamlined consist on the 20th Century Limited and also introduces the New England States passenger train between Chicago and Boston.
• June 16 - The Pike's Peak Cog Railway in Colorado operates gasoline-powered railcar number 7, the first rack railcar in the world, for the first time.^[3]
• June 30 - London Underground 1938 Stock enters public service, on Northern line.^[4]

July events

• July 3 - The London and North Eastern Railway 4-6-2 Mallard reaches a speed of 126 mph (203 km/h), the highest certified speed for a steam locomotive.

• July 31 - The Pennsylvania Railroad, in its public timetable issued today, boasts that “19% of all passengers are carried on the Pennsylvania Railroad.”

October events

• October - Electro-Motive Corporation introduces the EMC E4.

November events

• November 1 - Passenger service ends on the Maine narrow gauge Monson Railroad.^[5]

December events

• December 13 - The Reading Railroad's Crusader passenger train is introduced.
• December 15
  • The first diesel locomotives in the southeast United States, EMC E4s, appear on the Orange Blossom Special.
  • The second section of the Itō Line, connecting Ajiro to Itō in Japan, opens.
• December 23 - Jean Renoir's film of La Bête Humaine released in France.

Unknown date events

• Pennsylvania Railroad's Broadway Limited is completely re-equipped based on an industrial design by Raymond Loewy.
• Overhead wire on the Pennsylvania Railroad's mainline from New York City reaches Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
• The first passenger car equipped with fluorescent lights is operated on the New York Central Railroad.

Births

Unknown date births

• John H. Kuehl, editor of Private Varnish magazine, passenger car historian and photographer (d. 2005).^[6]

Deaths

February deaths

• February 2 - Frederick William Vanderbilt, director of the New York Central system (b. 1856).
• February 9 - Arturo Caprotti, Italian inventor of Caprotti valve gear for steam locomotives (b. 1881).^[7]

October deaths

• October 16 - Sir Henry Fowler, Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Midland Railway 1909–1923 and the London, Midland and Scottish Railway 1925–1931 (b. 1870).

December deaths

• December 1 - David Blyth Hanna, first president of Canadian National Railway (b. 1858).

References