Oldrailroad museums
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The history of the railroad in the United States:
Following is the history of Railroads in United States in form of years.
1810s-1830s: Various inventors and entrepreneurs make suggestions about building model railways in the United States. Other railroads soon follow, including the Camden and Amboy by 1832.
1830s-1860s: Enormous railway building booms in the United States of America. Railroads replace canals as a primary mode of transportation.
1865: George Pullman becomes well-known for luxury sleeping cars, called Pullman cars in his honor, after he loans one of his cars to house the coffin of Abraham Lincoln after Lincoln's assassination.
1869: Union Pacific and Central Pacific complete first transcontinental railway link at Promontory Summit.
1887: The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) is created to regulate railroads, to ensure fair prices. 1891: Webb C. Ball establishes first Railway Watch official guidelines for Railroad chronometers.
1901: Eight locomotive manufacturing companies are combined in a merger to form the American Locomotive Company (ALCO).
1902: Twentieth Century Limited inaugurated by the New York Central railroad.
1910s: Pennsylvania Railroad builds Pennsylvania Station in New York City; New York Central Railroad builds current version of Grand Central Terminal.
1916: US railway reaches peak length.
1920s and 1930s: Automobiles and airplanes contribute to a decline in ridership and mileage, as well as the Great Depression.
1934: Burlington railroad's Pioneer Zephyr completes its inaugural run from Denver, Colorado to Chicago, Illinois, first diesel-powered streamliner in America. May 12,
1936: The Santa Fe railroad inaugurates the all-Pullman Super Chief between Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California.
1949: The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad and Western Pacific Railroad jointly launch the California Zephyr between Chicago, Illinois, and San Francisco, California, as the first passenger train to include Vista Dome cars in regular service.
1950s and 1960s: Drastic decline in railroad travel in the United States of America, due to automobiles, trucks, and airplanes, as first jetliners take to the air.
1967: The New York Central's Twentieth Century Limited makes last run.
1968: Pennsylvania Railroad and New York Central merge to form Penn Central.
1970: Penn Central declares Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
1971: President Richard Nixon and the United States Congress create Amtrak and eliminate several passenger routes.
1970: The CB&Q, D&RGW and WP railroads' California Zephyr on its last run, arrives in Oakland, CA from Chicago, Illinois; however the train name will soon be resurrected by Amtrak on a train travelling almost the same route as the original 1970s: Conrail, a freight railroad, founded from the remains of the bankrupt Penn Central and a number of other bankrupt railroads in the Northeastern US.
1970s and 1980s: Amtrak introduces double-deck Superliner rolling stock. Auto-Train Corporation begins running as independent line (1971), but fails in 1981.
1986: The Milwaukee Road is merged into the Soo Line Railroad in the largest railroad bankruptcy proceedings to date in America.
1990s: Amtrak funding comes under heavier scrutiny by Congress, while Amtrak creates new trains such as the Talgo and the Acela Express.
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