Portal:Trains/Anniversaries/May 6

The southern entrance to the Channel Tunnel near Coquelles, France, in 2008

1856 – The newly constructed sidewheeler Effie Afton runs into one of the supports for the first railroad bridge across the Mississippi River, causing a fire that destroys the bridge just two weeks after it had opened.^[1]
1862 – The bill that would become the Pacific Railroad Act authorizing construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad is passed by the United States House of Representatives.
1983 – The last Georgia Railroad mixed train is operated by the Seaboard System Railroad.
1994 – The Channel Tunnel (pictured) linking England and France officially opens after a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by both French and British heads of state.

References[edit]

^ Willard, John (January 31, 2006). "Dinner marks 150th birthday of the first railroad crossing on the Mississippi". Quad City Times. Retrieved January 31, 2006.