1979 in rail transport
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| 1978, 1979, 1980 |
| Years in rail transport |
| 1978 in rail transport 1979 in rail transport 1980 in rail transport |
This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in 1979.
Contents |
[edit] Events
[edit] January events
- January - An electrical fire erupts aboard a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train traveling in the transbay tube; the fire kills one firefighter and closes the system for more than two months.
[edit] February events
- February 1 - The Southern Railway's Southern Crescent becomes Amtrak's Crescent as Southern discontinues independent passenger train service.
[edit] March events
- March 17 - The Penmanshiel Tunnel in the UK collapses, killing two workers.
[edit] May events
- May 1 - The Jubilee line on the London Underground opens between Stanmore and Charing Cross.
[edit] June events
- June 23 - New South Wales Premier Neville Wran officially opens the Eastern Suburbs Railway in Sydney. It operates as a shuttle between Central & Bondi Junction until full integration with the Illawarra Line during 1980.
[edit] August events
- August 20 - San Diego's Metropolitan Transit Development Board (MTDB) purchases the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway Company in restored condition for $18.1 million.
- August 20 - The East Coast Main Line rail route between England and Scotland is restored when the Penmanshiel Diversion opens.
- August 29 - Bangor and Aroostook Railroad discontinues hauling potatoes; it was for this business that the railroad painted many of their boxcars in a distinctive red, white and blue "State of Maine" livery.
[edit] September events
- September 8 - Restored Nickel Plate 765 is unveiled.
[edit] October events
- October 1 - Hong Kong's first MTR line, from Shek Kip Mei to Kwun Tong, is opened.
- October 22 - The Invergowrie rail crash, in Invergowrie, Scotland, occurs when a track signal fails to switch to a stop indication that would have protected a stalled passenger train; a second passenger train collides with the stalled train, resulting in 5 fatalities.
- October 23 - Amtrak's Dearborn, Michigan, station opens.[1]
- October 30 - Amtrak introduces double decker Superliner coaches on the Empire Builder passenger train.
[edit] November events
- November 10 - A CP Rail train develops a hot box and derails 24 cars carrying hazardous materials near Mississauga, Ontario; almost 250,000 people are evacuated for up to five days at a time while cleanup commences. See 1979 Mississauga train derailment.
- November 17 - The first stage of Brisbane Suburban Electrification between Ferny Grove and Darra is commissioned by the Queensland Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen. It is the first section of electrification in Australia to use 25,000 volts 50 Hz overhead power supply.
[edit] December events
- December - Amtrak discontinues the Floridian, Lone Star and North Coast Hi passenger trains.
- December - Union Pacific 3985, a 4-6-6-4 steam locomotive, is moved from static display in Cheyenne, Wyoming, for inspection and eventual restoration for operations.
- December - Nickel Plate 765, a 2-8-4 steam locomotive, operates under its own power after 21 years of static display.
[edit] Unknown date events
- Alan Furth succeeds Denman McNear as president of the Southern Pacific Company, parent company of the Southern Pacific Railroad.
- Amtrak's first AEM-7 locomotives enter service.
- The Federal Government of the United States relinquishes control of the Panama Railway, transferring the railway to the government of Panama.
[edit] Births
[edit] Deaths
[edit] May deaths
- May 9 - Cyrus S. Eaton, president of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway in the 1950s (b. 1883).
- May 16 - A. Philip Randolph, who organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in 1925 (b. 1889).
[edit] References
- Colin Churcher's Railway Pages (August 16, 2005), Significant dates in Canadian railway history. Retrieved November 8, 2005.
- Rivanna Chapter National Railway Historical Society (2005), This Month in Railroad History: August. Retrieved August 29, 2005.
- Rivanna Chapter National Railway Historical Society (2005), This Month in Railroad History: October. Retrieved October 28, 2005.
- ^ Railroad History Timeline: 1970-1979. Retrieved on 2006-10-23.
