1920 in rail transport

This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in 1920.

Events

January events

• January 28 – Groundbreaking commences to begin construction of the Cincinnati Subway. ^[1]

February events

• February 23–March 4, May 4–29 - 1920 French railway strikes. ^[2]

March events

• March 1 – Control of American railroads is returned to private ownership and administration with the disbandment of the USRA.
• March 18 – Fruit Growers Express (FGE) is incorporated in the United States.

April events

• April 1 – Deutsche Reichseisenbahnen merges the German state railways.

May events

• May 15 – The Ministry of Railways of Japan is established.

June events

• June 13 – Baltimore and Ohio Railroad inaugurates passenger service to Detroit's Fort Street Union Depot as the first passenger train departs for Washington, DC. ^[3]

July events

• July 5 – Portland–Lewiston Interurban carries its heaviest passenger load with trains to the Maine Statehood Centennial Exposition.

October events

• October 1 – Palestine Railways established to manage lines within British Mandatory Palestine, including the Jezreel Valley railway.

November events

• November – H. P. M. Beames succeeds Charles Bowen-Cooke as Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London and North Western Railway.
• November 20 – Work begins on the State Railway of Thailand to convert all 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) track to meter gauge. ^[4]

December events

• December 23 – The Kirkenes–Bjørnevatn Line in Norway takes electric traction into use. ^[5]

Unknown date events

• William Sproule succeeds Julius Kruttschnitt as president of the Southern Pacific Company, parent company of the Southern Pacific Railroad. This is Sproule's second term as president.
• Government of India accepts recommendation of Sir William Acworth's East India Railway Committee that the government should take over management of the country's railways. ^[6]
• Partition of the Ottoman Empire leads to abandonment of the Hejaz railway.

Births

April births

• April 16 – Alan Pegler, British railway preservationist (died 2012).
• April 17 – James B. McCahey, Jr., president of Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad (died 1998). ^[7]

Deaths

July deaths

• July 22 – William Kissam Vanderbilt, heir to Cornelius Vanderbilt and president of the New York Central system (born 1849).

October deaths

• October 18 – Charles Bowen-Cooke, Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London and North Western Railway 1909–1920 (born 1859).

November deaths

• November 17 – T. Jefferson Coolidge, president of Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway 1880–1881 (born 1831). ^[8]

December deaths

• December 1 – Edward Ponsonby, 8th Earl of Bessborough, director of London, Brighton and South Coast Railway from 1895 and chairman of same from 1908 (born 1851).

See also

• List of rail accidents (1920–1929)

References

1. "The Cincinnati Subway System". Ohio Exploration. Archived from the original on February 23, 2010. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
2. Shorter, Edward; Tilly, Charles (1974). Strikes in France 1830-1968. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   9780521202930 . Retrieved September 3, 2018.
3. "Railroad history timeline – 1920–1929". MichiganRailroads.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2006. Retrieved June 13, 2005.
4. "Historical background". State Railway of Thailand. Archived from the original on November 10, 2004. Retrieved November 20, 2005.
5. "Railway Statistics 2008" (PDF). Norwegian National Rail Administration. 2009. p. 34. Archived from the original (pdf) on November 22, 2010. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
6. Saxena, R. P. (2008). "Indian Railway History Time Line". Archived from the original on February 29, 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2009.
7. "Politicians in Railroading in Illinois". The Political Graveyard. March 10, 2005. Archived from the original on July 9, 2011. Retrieved December 30, 2005.
8. "Politicians in Railroading in Massachusetts". The Political Graveyard. March 10, 2005. Archived from the original on June 18, 2006. Retrieved December 29, 2005.