1902, 1903, 1904

Years in rail transport

1902 in rail transport 1903 in rail transport 1904 in rail transport

This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in 1903.

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

[edit] Events

[edit] January events

• January 20 – The Grand Trunk Western Railroad opens a passenger depot in Lansing, Michigan.

[edit] April events

• April 7 – Apalachicola Northern Railroad, later to become AN Railway, is chartered.

[edit] May events

• May 3 – The Mersey Railway, operating between Birkenhead and Liverpool by tunnel beneath the River Mersey, England, converts from steam to electric traction.^[1]
• May 13 – The Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad (later to become part of Chicago and North Western Railway) begins passenger train service to Casper, Wyoming.^[2]
• May 25 – The Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley Railroad opens, becoming the first railroad in the United States to use an electrified third rail to power its trains.

[edit] July events

• July 1 – Opening of the Albula line of the Rhaetian Railway (RhB) (metre gauge) in Switzerland, passing through the Albula Tunnel, the highest of the principal Alpine tunnels at 1370 m.^[3]
• July 13 – Danbury Union Station in Danbury, Connecticut, on the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, opens.^[4]
• July 27 – Construction begins on the Baghdad Railway with the 200-kilometre (120 mi) segment between Konya and Bulgurlu in the Ottoman Empire (present day Turkey).^[5]

[edit] August events

• August 10 – Paris Metro train fire, France: fire on Paris Métro, 84 killed.
• August 17 – Great Western Railway of England becomes the first British railway company to operate its own "road motor services" (i.e. buses), between Helston and The Lizard in Cornwall.^[6]

[edit] September events

• September 27 – Wreck of the Old 97, Danville, Virginia, United States: A southbound Southern Railway passenger train derails on a trestle in Danville; 11 people are killed.

[edit] October events

• October – Experimental electric trains, built by AEG and Siemens & Halske, reach 210.2 km/h (130.6 mph) between Marienfelde and Zossen in Germany.
• October 1 – The first railway in Norway is rebuilt to double track, from Bryn to Lillestrøm on Hovedbanen, is opened.^[7]
• October 21 – Howard Elliott succeeds Charles Sanger Mellen as president of Northern Pacific Railway.^[8]

[edit] November events

• November 9 – The 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge Kalka-Shimla Railway opens in India.^[9]

[edit] Unknown date events

• Southern Pacific Railroad gains 50% control of the Pacific Electric system in Los Angeles, California.
• The provisions of the US Railroad Safety Appliance Act, enacted in 1893, are extended to include all railroad cars whether or not the cars themselves are used in interchange service.
• E. H. Harriman becomes president of the Union Pacific Railroad.
• George Whale succeeds Francis William Webb as Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London and North Western Railway.

[edit] Births

[edit] April births

• April 10 – Edward T. Reidy, last president of Chicago Great Western Railway 1957-1968.

[edit] Deaths

[edit] March deaths

• March 29 – Gustavus Franklin Swift, founder of Swift and Company which pioneered the use of refrigerator cars in late 19th century America (b. 1839)

[edit] July deaths

• July 27 – Frederick J. Kimball, American civil engineer who was instrumental in the formation of Norfolk and Western (b. 1844).

[edit] Unknown date deaths

• J. Elfreth Watkins, railroad civil engineer and first curator for the Smithsonian Institution's railroad artifacts including John Bull.

[edit] References