2013 Event A railway under the sea, first proposed by Ottoman Sultan Abdulmejid 150 years ago is completed; the sea tunnel, connecting Europe and Asia is the deepest submerged railway tunnel of its kind in the world 2012 Event A section of China's high-speed railway collapses after it underwent test runs; the collapse may have resulted from heavy rains 2011 Event A recent crash on the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway prompts a halt in service and an inspection of all sections of the track 2010 Event In the Swiss Alps, final breakthrough occurs on the east bore of the Gotthard Base Tunnel, now the world's longest railway tunnel 2005 Event Qinghai-Tibet Railway is completed in China 1995 Death Geoffrey Freeman Allen, railway writer, dies at 73 1994 Death Oswald "Ossie" Stevens Nock, railway Writer, dies at 69 1980 Event Polish railway workers block railway to Russia 1977 Event U.S. Railway Post Office final train run, New York to Washington D.C. 1972 Event Keswick to Penrith railway officially closes 1970 Event Tanzania begins building railway Lusaka-Drone ash Salaam 1967 Event Mount Washington cog railway train derails, kills 8 in New Hampshire 1945 Event RAF bomb cuts railway link Hannover-Hamm 1945 Event LA Railway (with 5 streetcar lines) forced to close 1943 Event Burma railway opens 1942 Event Resistance bombs Rotterdam railway 1939 Event Municipal Railway and Market St. RR begin service to Transbay Terminal 1937 Event Los Angeles Railway Co. starts using PCC streetcars 1935 Event Market Street Railway starts using trackless trolley coaches 1932 Event U.S. railway unions accept 10% wage reduction 1931 Event Trans African Railway in use (Benguela, Angola-Jadotville, Congo) 1926 Death David Lobo, Dutch actor, dies in railway accident 1926 Death Greta Lobo-Braakensiek, Dutch actress in railway accident 1926 Event Railway Labor Act became law 1925 Birthday Oswald "Ossie" Stevens Nock, railway writer 1922 Birthday Geoffrey Freeman Allen, railway writer 1920 Birthday Dinah Sheridan, actress, Genevieve, Railway Children 1914 Event Tanganyika Railway opens 1912 Event SF Municipal Railway starts operation at Geary St. (MUNI) 1912 Event Lord Kitchener opens Khartoum-El Obeid (Nyala) railway 1909 Death Ernest F Cambier, Bel colonial pioneer (1st Congo railway), dies at 65 1908 Event 1st Dutch electric railway in use (Rotterdam-The Hague) 1908 Event 1st tunnel under Hudson River (railway tunnel) opens 1905 Event Cairo-Capetown railway opens 1905 Event Paramaribo-Dam railway opens in Suriname, never used 1904 Event After 13 years, the 4,607-mile Trans-Siberian railway is completed 1903 Event Definitive treaty for construction of Baghdad railway drawn 1902 Event Underground railway (U-Bahn) 1899 Event Tentative Turkish and German treaty on construction of Baghdad railway 1898 Death John Fowler, English engineer (London Metropolitan Railway), dies 1898 Event Dutch railway Alkmaar-Receiver opens 1898 Event Henry Huntington buys LA Railway 1897 Event W B Purvis patents electric railway switch 1895 Event Delagoa Bay Railway opens in South Africa 1895 Event Los Angeles Railway established to provide streetcar service 1894 Event American Railway Union under Eugene V Debs goes on strike 1893 Event Great Northern Railway connects Seattle with east coast 1891 Event Granville T. Woods patents electric railway 1891 Event Work on trans-Siberian railway begins 1889 Event Oahu Railway begins public service in Hawaii 1888 Event Dutch Railway Deventer-Almelo opens 1885 Event Canadian Pacific Railway completed at Craigellachie 1883 Event International cantilever railway bridge opens at Niagara Falls 1883 Event 1st commercial electric railway line begins operation in Chicago 1881 Event Haarlem-Zandvoort Railway opens 1880 Event Gotthard railway tunnel between Switzerland and Italy completed 1879 Event North British Railway's train falls as Firth bridge collapses (Scot) 1879 Event 1st electric railway opens at Berlin Trades Exposition 1876 Event Amersfoort-Zutphen railway opens 1871 Event Railway bridge over Dutch Deep opens 1871 Event Mont Cenis railway tunnel Switzerland opens 1870 Event Transcontinental Railway actually completed in Colorado 1870 Event Ground broken for Northern Pacific Railway near Duluth, Minn 1869 Death Frederik W. Conrad, hydraulic engineer/railway pioneer, dies at 68 1866 Event Dutch Eindhoven-Venlo railway opens 1865 Event De Clear-Alkmaar railway opens 1865 Event Maastricht-Venlo railway in Netherlands opens 1865 Event Zutphen-Fishing Dutch railway opens 1864 Event Grand Trunk Railway accident; 100 killed 1863 Event Dutch railway to Harlingen opens 1863 Event Dutch Breda-Tilburg railway opens 1863 Event Utrecht-Swells railway opens 1863 Event 1st underground railway opens in London 1862 Event North Beach and Mission Railway Company organized in SF 1861 Event Luik-Vise-Maastricht railway opens 1860 Death Joseph Locke, railway engineer, dies 1858 Birthday Edith Nesbit, England, children books author, Railway Children 1856 Event Arnhem-Oberhausen railway in Netherlands opens 1855 Event Rotterdam-Gouda railway opens 1855 Event Antwerp-Rotterdam railway opens 1855 Event 1st train crosses 1st U.S. railway suspension bridge, Niagara Falls 1854 Event Antwerp-Roosendaal railway goes into use 1853 Event Maastricht-Aken railway in Netherlands opens 1852 Birthday Edouard baron Empain, Belgian railway builder, Paris Metro 1847 Event Rotterdam-Hague Railway opens 1847 Event Rotterdam-Hague Railway opens 1845 Event Utrecht-Arnhem Railway opens 1844 Birthday Ernest F Cambier, Belgian colonial pioneer, 1st railway Congo. 1843 Event Amsterdam-Utrecht railway opens 1837 Event Floridsdorf-Deutsch Wagram railway in Austria opens 1835 Event German railway Neurenberg-Furth opens 1835 Event St. Etienne-Lyons railway opens in France 1835 Event King Leopold opens Brussels-Mechelen railway 1834 Event Belgian parliament accept railway laws 1832 Event 1st streetcar railway in America starts operating (New York City) (12 cent fare) 1832 Event 1st railroad accident in U.S., Granite Railway, Quincy, Mass-1 dies 1831 Birthday Eliza Ann Gardner, underground railway conductor 1831 Birthday George M. Pullman, inventor of the railway sleeping car 1830 Event Duke of Wellington opens Liverpool and Manchester Railway 1828 Event Philadelphia and Columbia Railway (1st state owned) authorized 1826 Event Granite Railway (1st chartered railway in U.S.) begins operations 1826 Event 1st U.S. Railroad chartered, Granite Railway in Quincy, Massachsetts 1817 Birthday John Fowler, English engineer, London Metropolitan Railway 1807 Event 1st railway passenger service began in England 1800 Birthday Frederik W. Conrad, Dutch hydraulic engineer/railway pioneer 1780 Birthday August L Crelle, German inventor/mathematician, 1st Prussian Railway
