1958 in rail transport explained

Events

January

• January
  • Unable to keep his promises to shareholders, Robert Ralph Young suspends dividends on New York Central stock, a factor in his subsequent suicide on January 25.
  • Last steam locomotive operated by Nederlandse Spoorwegen.
• January 1  - The Chicago & North Western Railway acquires the Litchfield and Madison Railway.

February

• February 4  - Canada's Kellog Commission releases a report on the use of firemen as part of diesel locomotive crews.^[1]
• February  - The Alaska Railroad sells six ex-USATC S160 Class 2-8-0 locomotives to the standard gauge Ferrocarril de Langreo in northern Spain, where they are used on a new diversion built to avoid a cable railway. This will be the third Transatlantic crossing for #3410.^[2]

March

• March 4  - The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority begins operating the remnant passenger services of the Pacific Electric and Los Angeles Railway.^[3]
• March 13  - Queensland BB18¼ class locomotive No. 1089, completed by Walkers, Maryborough, Queensland, is the last main-line steam locomotive built in Australia.^[4]

April

• April 20  - The Key System discontinues streetcar service.^[5]
• April 26
  • Last day of regularly scheduled passenger service on the Maine Central Railroad Mountain Division.^[6]
  • Last run of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Royal Blue.

May

• May 24  - The Pacific Electric Bellflower Line, then being operated by the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority, ceases passenger operations, relegating the West Santa Ana Branch to a freight line.

June

• June 22  - The Chicago Transit Authority Congress Branch opens for service in the median of the Eisenhower Expressway, pioneering the first use of rail rapid transit and a multi-lane automobile expressway in the same grade-separated right-of-way. It replaced the 1895-built Garfield Park 'L' route and alignment from Des Plaines Avenue, Forest Park to the Loop.
• June 25  - The Pennsylvania Railroad discontinues the Afternoon Steeler passenger train between Pittsburgh and Cleveland.

July

• July  - General Motors Electro-Motive Division introduces the EMD SD24.
• July 7  - The Hudson & Manhattan Railroad reintroduces women-only cars on the railroad's commuter trains in New York City.^[7]
• July 17  - The Railway Enthusiasts Society is formed to promote rail transportation and preservation in New Zealand
• July 25  - Pacific Great Eastern Railway completes construction of the line to Fort St. John, British Columbia.

August

• August 9  - The Moccasin, the longest running named passenger train in Canada thus far, is discontinued.
• August 12  - The Transportation Act of 1958 passes in the US, loosening Interstate Commerce Commission regulation and guaranteeing loans to railroads.

September

• September  - On the Drachenfels Railway, Königswinter, Germany, a rack railway train derails, killing 17.
• September 15  - A Central Railroad of New Jersey commuter train plunges off the Newark Bay Bridge while raised for water traffic, killing 48.

October

• October  - After building only 59 examples of the type, Fairbanks-Morse and Canadian Locomotive Company discontinue construction of the H-24-66 model Train Master diesel locomotive.
• October 1  - Northern Ireland's Ulster Transport Authority and the Republic of Ireland's Córas Iompair Éireann take over from the Great Northern Railway Board in running the remaining cross-border route (Dublin–Belfast) of the Irish railway system. The GNR assets are split between the two state companies.

November

• November 1  - The Strasburg Rail Road is purchased by a non-profit group.

December

• December 31  - The Harcourt Street railway line between Dublin and Bray, Ireland, closes.

Unknown date

• South African Railways takes delivery of its last steam locomotives for the gauge, GMAM class Garratt locomotives.^[8]
• Last Garratt locomotive to be built in Manchester by Beyer, Peacock & Company is delivered as South African Railways NGG16 class no. 143 (gauge).^{[9] [10] [11]}
• SNCF electrifies its Paris - Lille line in France.
• Ernest S. Marsh succeeds Fred Gurley as president of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway.

Deaths

January deaths

• January 25 – Robert Ralph Young, financier and controlling stockholder of the New York Central commits suicide after suspending company dividends (born 1897)

References

• (April 3, 2005), Significant dates in Canadian railway history. Retrieved July 22, 2005 and August 9, 2005.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Colin Churcher's Railway Pages . August 16, 2005 . Significant dates in Canadian railway history . February 4, 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060202004341/http://www.railways.incanada.net/candate/candate.htm . February 2, 2006 . dead .
2. Book: Tourret, R.. United States Army Transportation Corps Locomotives. Abingdon. Tourret Publishing. 1977. 0-905878-01-9. 63–64.
3. News: Transit Authority Begins Operating LATL and Metro: Public Now Owns Big Bus Lines . . March 4, 1958 . B1 . . subscription . April 10, 2021 . June 30, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170630235113/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/doc/167260104.html . live . .
4. Web site: Heritage Services. QR Corporate. January 15, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20091025182105/http://www.corporate.qr.com.au/about_qr/heritage/heritage.asp. October 25, 2009. dead. mdy-all.
5. Web site: East Shore & Suburban Railway & other El Cerrito Railroad Chronology . El Cerrito Historical Society . 18 October 2020.
6. Book: Johnson, Ron. The Best of Maine Railroads. Portland Litho. 1985. 112.
7. Web site: Klapouchy, B.. 2005. Hudson and Manhattan Railroad – Hudson Tubes – PATH: Operation History. July 7, 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20050908135514/http://www.hudsoncity.net/tubesenglish/3-operatinghistory.html. September 8, 2005. dead.
8. Book: Hills, R. L.. Patrick, D.. Beyer, Peacock, locomotive builders to the world. Glossop. Venture Publications. 1982. 978-1-898432-05-0.
9. Book: Durrant, A. E.. Garratt Locomotives of the World. Newton Abbot. David & Charles. 1981. 978-0-7153-7641-6.
10. Book: Holland, D. F.. Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways, vol. 2. Newton Abbot. David & Charles. 1972. 978-0-7153-5427-8.
11. Web site: NGG16 no. 143. Project Rheiffordd Eryri. January 22, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20081224111306/http://whr.bangor.ac.uk/143.htm . December 24, 2008. dead.