1878 in rail transport

This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in 1878.

Events

January events

• January 18 - Construction on The Ghan route south of Port Augusta, Australia, begins.

February events

• February 5 - The first train is operated on the Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad from Renton to Newcastle.^[1]

May events

• May 9 - The final segment of the Romanian railway between Varciorova in the south and Roman in the north opens.

June events

• June 1 - The North British Railway's Tay Bridge across the Firth of Tay in Scotland, is opened to public traffic, making it the longest in the world at that date.^[2]

July events

• July 2 - The Brooklyn, Flatbush & Coney Island Railway, original predecessor of the BMT Brighton Line, in modern Brooklyn, New York, opens to Brighton Beach on Coney Island.

August events

• August 24 - The narrow gauge Ballymena and Larne Railway starts passenger operations in County Antrim, the first on the Irish 3 ft narrow gauge.^[3][4]

December events

• December 4 - The first Shay locomotive is completed for the 3-foot narrow gauge Alleyton and Big Lake Railroad of Everett Township, Michigan.^[5]

Unknown date events

• Fred Harvey enters a partnership with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway to build and operate the Harvey House chain of restaurants and hotels that will serve the railroad's passengers.
• The Richmond and Danville Railroad acquires the Charlotte, Columbia and Augusta Railroad.
• The Canadian Engine and Machinery Company is reorganized after a bankruptcy as the Canadian Locomotive and Engine Company.
• The Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta Railroad, lessee of the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, declares bankruptcy.

Births

March births

• March 2 - William Kissam Vanderbilt II, heir to Cornelius Vanderbilt and president of the New York Central system (d. 1944).

Unknown date births

• Angus Daniel McDonald, president of the Southern Pacific Company, parent company of the Southern Pacific Railroad, 1932–1941 (d. 1941).^[6]

Deaths

March deaths

• March 29 - Mark Hopkins, a member of The Big Four group of financiers in California (b. 1813).

June deaths

• June 27 – Sidney Breese, U.S. senator from Illinois known as the "father of the Illinois Central Railroad," dies (b. 1800).

October deaths

• October 19 - Benjamin Henry Latrobe, II, designer of Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Thomas Viaduct (still in use today), dies (b. 1806).

Unknown date deaths

• Daniel McCallum, General Superintendent of New York and Erie Railroad 1855-1858 (b. 1815).

References

1. ↑ HistoryLink (2006), This week in state and local history. Retrieved February 5, 2006.
2. ↑ Thomas, John (1969). The North British Railway, vol. 1. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-4697-0. 
3. ↑ Baker, Michael H.C. (1999). Irish Narrow Gauge Railways: a View from the Past. Shepperton: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0-7110-2680-7. 
4. ↑ Patterson, Edward M. (1968). The Ballymena Lines. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 64. ISBN 0-7153-4183-9. 
5. ↑ Koch, Michael (1971). The Shay Locomotive: Titan of the Timber. The World Press. p. 385. 
6. ↑ Yenne, Bill (1985). The history of the Southern Pacific. New York: Bonanza.