1961 in rail transport

Years in rail transport

* 1960 in rail transport
* 1961 in rail transport
* 1962 in rail transport

Timeline of railway history

This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in 1961.

## Events

[edit]

### January events

[edit]

* January – The American Car and Foundry Company delivers the last passenger car it will build, an R28 (New York City Subway car).[1][2]
* January 4 – Lokomotivbau Elektrotechnische Werke delivers the first electric locomotives built in the German Democratic Republic to Deutsche Reichsbahn.
* January 16 – Eastern Region of British Railways takes delivery of D9001, the first production "Deltic" class diesel locomotive.

### February events

[edit]

* February 4 – Lehigh Valley Railroad discontinues its Black Diamond passenger train service.
* February 6 – The first automatic level crossing on British Railways is installed at Spath, Staffordshire.

### March events

[edit]

* March 27 – Black demonstrators stage a "ride-in" on Charleston, South Carolina, streetcars.
* March 28 – Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line opens between Minami-senju and Naka-okachimachi.[3] The first railway line in the world without any lineside signals.

### April events

[edit]

* April – D5151, the first Sulzer Type 2 diesel locomotive, later British Rail Class 25, is completed at B.R. Darlington Works.
* April 9 - The Long Beach Line, the last operating service of the former Pacific Electric Railway, is replaced by buses.[4]
* April 25 - Osaka Loop Line, circular line system start operation in Japan.[citation needed]

### May events

[edit]

* May 24 – The Milwaukee Road's Olympian Hiawatha passenger train makes its final run between Chicago, Illinois, and Seattle, Washington.
* May 28 – The Orient Express makes its last run between Paris, France, and Bucharest, Romania.

### June events

[edit]

* June – The last of the Bradshaw railway timetables, first published by George Bradshaw in 1839, is published in Britain.
* June 1 – Dr Richard Beeching takes office as chairman of the British Transport Commission and British Railways Board.
* June 17 – A Paris–Strasbourg train derails near Vitry-le-François; 24 are killed, 109 injured.

### August events

[edit]

* August 31 – Portland, Maine's Union Station is demolished to make room for a shopping plaza.[5]

### September events

[edit]

* September 23 – Maritime, Coal Railway and Power Company, in Nova Scotia, ceases operations.[6]
* September 30 – Southern Pacific Railroad closes the Centerville (SP station).

### October events

[edit]

* October 18 – General Motors Electro-Motive Division completes construction of the first GP30 diesel locomotive.
* October 26 – Two cars of a commuter train operated by Oita Traffic Company are involved in a mudslide during a massive rainstorm at Ōita, eastern Kyūshū, Japan, 31 killed, 36 injured. Most of the passengers are senior high school students.
* October 28 – Bangor and Aroostook Railroad ends passenger service.[5]
* October – Work starts on demolition of Euston Arch in London.[7]

### November events

[edit]

* November 20 – Union Pacific 844 makes its first excursion run following retirement from regular revenue service on the Union Pacific Railroad.

### Unknown date events

[edit]

* Atlantic Coast Line's headquarters are moved from Wilmington, North Carolina, to Jacksonville, Florida.
* Construction is completed on Mexico's Chihuahua al Pacífico which linked the city of Chihuahua, Chihuahua, to the town of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, near the Pacific coast.
* Nationalization of rail transport in Paraguay.
* The first eight DC powered VL10 (i.e. Vladimir Lenin class) freight locomotives built at Tbilisi.
* The introduction in Sweden of the first SJ T43 locomotives opens the way for the phasing out of steam power on Swedish railways.
* The world's last Mallet locomotive is built in Japan, BB84 for the Indonesian State Railway Corporation's 750 mm (2 ft 5+1⁄2 in) gauge Atjeh Tramway on Sumatra.[8]

## Accidents

[edit]

* v
* t
* e

Railway accidents in 1961 (1961)

Location and date|

* Lancashire, United Kingdom (16 July)
* Catanzaro, Italy (23 December)

1960 1962

## Births

[edit]

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (July 2010)

|

## Deaths

[edit]

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (July 2010)

|

## References

[edit]

* Rivanna Chapter, National Railway Historical Society (2005), This Month in Railroad History: October. Retrieved October 18, 2005.
* Rivanna Chapter, National Railway Historical Society (2005), This month in railroad history – November. Retrieved November 20, 2005.

1. ^ "IRT SMEE delivery dates". R36 Preservation, Inc. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
2. ^ "R26/R28/R29". NYCSubway.org. 2005. Archived from the original on December 2, 2007. Retrieved December 3, 2007.
3. ^ "History". tokyometro.jp. Archived from the original on June 5, 2023. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
4. ^ "Blue Line At 20: Looking Back At Early Service Between Los Angeles And Long Beach (1902-1961)". LACMTA. July 8, 2010. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
5. ^ a b Johnson, Ron (1985). The Best of Maine Railroads. Portland Litho. p. 112.
6. ^ Smith, Ivan (March 29, 2005). "History of Railway Companies in Nova Scotia". Archived from the original on September 12, 2005. Retrieved September 23, 2005.
7. ^ Hillier, Bevis (2004). Betjeman: the bonus of laughter. London: John Murray. ISBN 0-7195-6495-6.
8. ^ Joy, David (2012). Engines that Bend: narrow gauge articulated locomotives. Southend: Atlantic Publishers. p. 52\. ISBN 978-1-902827-23-0.

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template