This is a work in progress. Click the links as we go …
1860 – L&N railroad chartered in 1860 by the Commonwealth of Kentucky
In 30 years grew from 300 miles of track to 6000 miles
1863 – Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers founded
1865 – Civil War ends April 9th 1865
Song – Railroading On the Great Divide
1868 – The Fort Laramie Treaty The treaty includes an article intended to “ensure the civilization” of the Lakota, financial incentives for them to farm land and become competitive.
1869 – Gold Spike Driven by Leland Stanford of the Central Pacific railroad. Spike is on display at Stanford University (Cantor Arts Museum)
1874 – Gold Discovered in Black Hills
1891 – Haymarket in Louisville established
STOP – Competition in Agriculture
1893 – American Railway Union – First and Largest Industrial Union formed.
1893 – Strike of the Great Northern Railway.
1894 – Pullman Strike
STOP – Industrial Unionism and Eugene V. Debs
1900 – Feb 3rd William Goebel Shot (only US governor ever assassinated)
1900 – Casey Jones incident in Mississippi
Song – Original Casey Jones song written by Mrs. Jones
1905 – IWW
1906 – Federal Employers Liability Act Enacted
STOP – Behavior Based Safety
1917 – WWI – Railroads Nationalized until 1920
1922 – The Great RR Shop Strike
STOP – Carl Braden’s father
1926 – Railway Labor Act
1941 – WW2
Song – The Fields Have Turned Brown
1956 – National Interstate and Defense Highways Act
1962 – Haymarket closes (I65 ramp construction)
1971 – L&N Railroad purchased by Seaboard Coastline
Song – The L&N Don’t Stop Here Anymore
1977 – Wendell Berry publishes Unsettling of America
1979 – L&N sells Union Station to TARC. TARC spends 2 million to renovate
1979 – NY Dock Railway v. I.C.C
1980 – Staggers Act – Railroad Deregulation enacted and sponsored by Democrat Harley Staggers
1985 – First Farm Aid Concert in Champaign Il.
STOP – Just Transition
Song – Leave the Lights On For Me
1986 – CSXT railroad
2010 – Berkshire Hathaway offers $26 Billion to purchase BNSF railroad (Largest Acquisition)
END OF THE LINE
