This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in 1962.

Events[edit]

January events[edit]

• January 4 – New York City Subway introduces a driverless train.
• January 8 – The Harmelen train disaster, the worst railway accident in the history of the Netherlands, occurs when one passenger train driver misses a warning signal and passes a red signal to collide nearly head-on with another passenger train. 93 are killed.
• January 28 – The last lines of streetcars in Washington, D.C., end operations.^[1][2]

February events[edit]

• February 1 – The Nordland Line in Norway is completed and opened to Bodø.

March events[edit]

• March 15 – Canadian Pacific Railway receives authorization to discontinue passenger train service between Ottawa and Chalk River.^[3]

May events[edit]

• May 3 – Mikawashima train crash in Japan kills 160.
• May 22 – SNCF in France completes electrification from Strasbourg through to Paris.
• May 23 – Drilling for the new Montreal Metro system commences.

June events[edit]

• June 30 – The Norfolk and Western Railway discontinues electrification on the former Virginian Railway.^[4]

July events[edit]

• July 17 – Canadian National Railway debuts a new paint scheme on its transcontinental passenger train, the Super Continental.

September events[edit]

• September 1 – Port Authority Trans-Hudson assumes operation of the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad.^{[5]: 58 [6]}
• September 7 – The Buckfastleigh, Totnes and South Devon Railway, in England, is closed by the Western Region of British Railways.

October events[edit]

• October 11 – Colorado and Southern Railway 2-8-0 number 641 pulls the last steam locomotive-operated regular daily service revenue train on a standard gauge railroad in the United States when it pulls a train from Leadville to Climax, Colorado.
• October 28 – The Lake Street Elevation of the Chicago Transit Authority rail system is placed in operation, relocating 2.6 miles of the former at-grade portion of the route onto the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company's elevated right-of-way, with new stations at Central, Austin, Ridgeland, Oak Park and Harlem. The improvement eliminated a total of 22 grade crossings in Chicago, Oak Park and Forest Park.

Unknown date events[edit]

• Railway extended to Wau, South Sudan.
• New York Central purchases the first electric multiple unit passenger cars from Pullman-Standard for use on the Metro-North railroad.
• Union Pacific 3985, a Challenger locomotive, is removed from revenue service on the Union Pacific Railroad.
• First Indian Railways Class WDM-2, from ALCO, introduced. The class will eventually exceed 2,800 units.^[7]
• ALCO closes the ALCO Thermal Products Division (formerly Brooks Locomotive Works) plant in Dunkirk, New York.
• Harry A. deButts is succeeded by D. William Brosnan as president of the Southern Railway.
• The Northern Refrigerator Car Line is combined with Merchants Despatch.

Accidents[edit]

Births[edit]

Deaths[edit]

• February 2 – Ralph Budd, president of the Great Northern Railway 1919–1932 and Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad 1932–1949 (b. 1879).

References[edit]

• "American Experience / Streamliners / People & Events / Ralph Budd". PBS. 2000. Archived from the original on March 9, 2005. Retrieved February 22, 2005.
• "Norfolk Southern Railway". Archived from the original on February 6, 2005. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
• President and Fellows of Harvard College (2004). "20th century great American business leaders – Ralph Budd". Archived from the original on February 5, 2005. Retrieved February 22, 2005.
• Rivanna Chapter, National Railway Historical Society (2005). "This Month in Railroad History – October". Retrieved October 11, 2005.
• "Significant dates in Canadian railway history". April 3, 2005. Archived from the original on January 25, 2006. Retrieved July 12, 2005.
• White, John H. Jr. (Spring 1986). "America's Most Noteworthy Railroaders". Railroad History. 154: 9–15. ISSN 0090-7847. JSTOR 43523785. OCLC 1785797.