1979 In Rail Transport

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1979 In

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1979

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1979 In Rail Transport

EVENTS

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.

February events

February 1 - The Southern Railway 's '' Southern Crescent '' becomes Amtrak 's '' Crescent '' as Southern discontinues independent Passenger Train service.

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.

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 29 - Bangor And Aroostook Railroad discontinues hauling Potato es; it was for this business that the railroad painted many of their Boxcar s in a distinctive red, white and blue "State of Maine" livery.

September events

September 8 - Restored Nickel Plate 765 is unveiled.

October events

October - Hong Kong 's first Subway opens.

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 30 - Amtrak introduces Double Decker Superliner Coach es on the '' Empire Builder '' Passenger Train .

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.

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 Volt s 50 Hz overhead power supply.

December events

December - Amtrak discontinues the '' Floridian '', '' Lone Star '' and '' North Coast Hi '' Passenger Train s.

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.

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 EMD AEM7 locomotives enter service.

The Federal Government Of The United States relinquishes control of the Panama Railway , transferring the railway to the government of Panama .

BIRTHS

DEATHS

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 ).

REFERENCES

Colin Churcher's Railway Pages ( 2005 .

Rivanna Chapter National Railway Historical Society ( 2005 .

Rivanna Chapter National Railway Historical Society ( 2005 .