1960 in rail transport

This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in 1960.

Events

January 1 – The New York Central Railroad drops its membership in the Railway Express Agency, citing large losses.
January 3 – Washington, D.C., ends suburban and overhead trolley car operations.
January 5 – Closure of Swansea and Mumbles Railway in Swansea (by now operated by electric trams).[1]
January 20 – The Cartier Railway opens Canada's northernmost railway to date between Port Cartier and Gagnon, Quebec.[2]
January 21 – The Settle rail crash in England kills 5 people.

February 22 – Canadian Pacific Railway operates its last steam locomotive powered train in regular service as freight train number 76, led by 4-6-2 number 1262, arrives in Montreal.[3]

March 18 – Western Region of British Railways 2-10-0 standard class 9F 92220 Evening Star is named at Swindon Works to commemorate its completion as the last steam locomotive built for B.R.
March 20 – The Pioneer Zephyr trainset makes its final revenue run on a trip from Lincoln, Nebraska, to Kansas City, Missouri. It then continues through Galesburg, Illinois, to Chicago, Illinois, in preparation for its final disposition.
March 27 – The last regularly scheduled steam-powered passenger train on a major U.S. railroad runs from Durand to Detroit, Michigan, on the Grand Trunk Western Railway. Grand Trunk Western runs this train in two sections, due to the many people who want to see and ride history. Grand Truck Western Class 4-8-4 Class U3b #6319 pulls the first section, and #6322 the second.[4]

April 25 – Canadian National Railway operates its last steam locomotive in regular service, 4-8-2 #6043, on train No. 76 from The Pas to Winnipeg.

May 22 – The St. Louis–San Francisco Railway (the "Frisco") combines the Firefly with the Sunnyland.
May 26 – The Pioneer Zephyr trainset is donated to Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry.[5]

June 18 – The Middleton Railway, at Leeds in England, becomes the first standard gauge line in Great Britain to be operated by volunteers as a preserved railway, initial services being worked by a diesel locomotive.[6]

August 1 – München Hauptbahnhof station reconstruction completed.
August 7 – The Bluebell Railway, in Sussex, England, begins regular operation as the first standard gauge steam-operated passenger preserved railway in the world.[7]

September – Grand Trunk Railway loses its New England railway post office and discontinues passenger service between Montreal and Portland, Maine except seasonally from Dominion Day to Labor Day.[8]
September 1 – Disgruntled railroad workers effectively halt operations of the Pennsylvania Railroad in the United States, marking the first shutdown in the company's history (the event lasts two days).
September 6 – Last Gull passenger service between Boston and the Maritimes over the Boston & Maine, Maine Central, Canadian Pacific and Canadian National railroads.[9]
September 10 – Last slip coach working, at Bicester North on the Western Region of British Railways.[10]
September 12 – Official inauguration by the London Midland Region of British Railways of electric services between Crewe and Manchester Piccadilly at the new standard for main line electrification, 25 kV overhead wire at 50 cycles.[11]

October 15 – The Erie Railroad and the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad merge to form the Erie Lackawanna Railroad; Harry W. Von Miller, former Erie president, is chosen as the president of the new railroad.[12]
October 25 – Barges collide with one of the columns of the Severn Railway Bridge (England) in heavy fog, causing two of its twenty-two spans to collapse. The steel and cast iron bridge is never repaired.
October 29 – Last State of Maine Express passenger service between New York City and Portland, Maine over the New Haven and Boston & Maine railroads.[9]

November 1 – The Chicago and North Western Railway acquires the assets of the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway.
November 14 – Stéblová train disaster, Czechoslovakia: 117 are killed and 110 injured in a head-on collision.

December 27 – The Romanian Railways officially start the electrification of the Predeal to Brașov line, by mounting the first catenary pole in Predeal station.

A new Soo Line Railroad is formed through a merger of the original Soo Line, Wisconsin Central Railway and the Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway.
The Dade County, Florida, Metropolitan Transit Authority (operator of Miami-Dade Transit) is formed.
Operating losses increase for low ridership trains in the United States when railway post office service is discontinued.
Completion of reconstruction of Napoli Centrale railway station in Italy (designed by Pier Luigi Nervi and others) and the Finland Station (Finlyandsky vokzal) in Leningrad, Soviet Union.

"The Mumbles train – world's first railway service". Archived from the original on June 26, 2007. Retrieved July 15, 2007.
"Significant dates in Canadian railway history". Colin Churcher's Railway Pages. August 16, 2005. Archived from the original on January 25, 2006. Retrieved January 20, 2006.
"Significant dates in Ottawa railway history". Colin Churcher's Railway Pages. February 17, 2006. Archived from the original on February 17, 2006.
Grand Trunk - last steam powered passenger run. March 27, 1960 – via YouTube.
Gordon-Gilmore, Randy (2002). "Pioneer Zephyr". Archived from the original on March 7, 2005. Retrieved February 24, 2005.
Bushell, J. (1975). The World’s Oldest Railway: a history of the Middleton Railway. Sheffield: Turntable Publications. ISBN 0-902844-27-X.
Cole, T. C. (1970). Bluebell Railway – Steaming On!. Sheffield Park: Bluebell Railway.
Holt, Jeff (1985). The Grand Trunk in New England. Railfare. p. 111. ISBN 0-919130-43-7.
Johnson, Ron (1985). The Best of Maine Railroads. Portland Litho. p. 112.
Fryer, C. E. J. (1997). A History of Slipping and Slip Carriages. Usk: Oakwood Press. ISBN 978-0-85361-514-9.
Gillham, J. C. (1988). The Age of the Electric Train: Electric Trains in Britain since 1883. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-1392-6.
"Erie Railroad presidents". Archived from the original on March 18, 2005. Retrieved March 15, 2005.

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