1916 in rail transport

This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in 1916.

Events

April events

• April - Motor Rail deliver the first of over 900 petrol engined 60 cm narrow gauge railway locomotives for the British War Department Light Railways on the Western Front (World War I); substantially the same design is in production until the 1980s.^[1][2]
• April 13 - Oris Paxton Van Sweringen and his younger brother Mantis James Van Sweringen purchase a 75% controlling interest in the Nickel Plate Road from William Kissam Vanderbilt for $8.5 million.

May events

• May 6 - Rome and Fiuggi Rail Road opens for service.

July events

• July 16 - Much of the Southern Railway's mainline in North and South Carolina is damaged or destroyed by flooding.^[3]

August events

• August 24 - After a bankruptcy, the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad is reorganized as the St. Louis - San Francisco Railway (often called the "Frisco").
• August 24 - Due to several serious accidents caused by broken red lenses in its signals, the New York Central Railroad discontinues white lights as indications to proceed. The new color is green.

September events

• September 11 - The almost-completed Quebec Bridge collapses for the second time.^[4]
• September 30 - Construction is completed on the Hell Gate Bridge in New York City.

November events

• November 16 - The two-story station opened by the California Southern Railroad in San Bernardino, California, is destroyed by fire.^[5]
• November 24 - German sleeping and dining car operator Mitropa is founded.

Unknown date events

• Opening of Amur River line completes through rail communication on Trans-Siberian Railway.
• The Chesapeake and Ohio Northern Railway opens the Sciotoville Bridge across the Ohio River. It has a continuous truss across two 775-foot (236 m) spans, the world's longest until 1945.
• The Pennsylvania Railroad adopts the motto "the Standard Railroad of the World".
• The first I1s 2-10-0 "Decapod" locomotive is completed.
• The Pennsylvania Railroad's first A5s 0-4-0 and B6sb switching locomotives enter service.
• Joel Coffin purchases Lima Locomotive Corporation; the company is renamed Lima Locomotive Works.
• The first all-steel fish car is built for use on American railroads.^[6]
• Underground Electric Railways Company of London, operator of the London Underground, adopts Johnston (typeface) as part of its corporate identity.^[7][8]
• Early Summer - The Fairbourne Railway, in Wales, is converted from a horse-drawn tramway into a 15 in (381 mm) gauge steam railway.^[9]

Births

September births

• September 10 – Michael Cobb, British railway historian, is born (d. 2010).

Unknown date births

• Benjamin F. Biaggini, president of the Southern Pacific Company 1964–1976 (died 2005).

Deaths

March deaths

• March 18 – Karl Gölsdorf, Austrian steam locomotive designer (born 1861).^[10]

April deaths

• April 19 - Ephraim Shay, inventor of the Shay locomotive (born 1839).

May deaths

• May 12 - Fred T. Perris, Chief Engineer of the California Southern Railroad, dies (born 1836).^[11][12]
• May 29 - James J. Hill, American financier who gained control of the Great Northern Railway and the Northern Pacific Railway (born 1838).

References

• White, John H., Jr. (Spring 1986). "America's most noteworthy railroaders". Railroad History 154: pp. 9–15. ISSN 0090-7847. OCLC 1785797. 

1. ↑ Davies, W.J.K. (1967). Light Railways of the First World War. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. 
2. ↑ "War Department Light Railways". Archived from the original on 22 July 2007. Retrieved 10 August 2007. 
3. ↑ Southern Railway Historical Association. "This Date in Southern Railway History". Retrieved 2005-07-12. 
4. ↑ Middleton, William D. (2001). The Bridge at Québec. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. p. 158. ISBN 0-253-33761-5. Retrieved 2011-08-16. 
5. ↑ San Bernardino Associated Governments (2004). "A Brief History of the Santa Fe Depot". Archived from the original on 2006-09-23. Retrieved 2006-07-17. 
6. ↑ U.S. Government Printing Office (1979). "The Fish Car Era of the National Fish Hatchery System". Archived from the original on 7 April 2005. Retrieved 2005-03-28. 
7. ↑ Green, Oliver; Rewse-Davies, Jeremy (1995). Designed for London: 150 years of transport design. London: Laurence King. pp. 81–2. ISBN 1-85669-064-4. 
8. ↑ Howes, Justin (2000). Johnston’s Underground Type. Harrow Weald: Capital Transport. ISBN 1-85414-231-3. 
9. ↑ Milner, W. J. (1996). Rails through the Sand: an illustrated history of the Fairbourne Miniature Railway 1916-1985. Chester: RailRomances. ISBN 1-900622-00-9. 
10. ↑ Marshall, John (2003). Biographical Dictionary of Railway Engineers (2nd ed.). Oxford: Railway and Canal Historical Society. ISBN 0-901461-22-9. 
11. ↑ Serpico, Philip C. (1988). Santa Fé Route to the Pacific. Palmdale, California: Omni Publications. pp. 18–24. ISBN 0-88418-000-X. 
12. ↑ City of Perris, California. "A Brief History of the Perris Valley". Archived from the original on 2006-08-27. Retrieved 2006-07-09.