Post-war Railroads Timeline

1945:

New York, Susquehanna & Western becomes the first Class 1 railroad to embrace diesel technology. Other railroads are quick to follow.

The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad debuts Silver Dome, the first dome car, on its popular Chicago-Twin Cities Twin Zephyr.

1947:

General Motors' four-car, all-dome Train of Tomorrow, a product of its highly competitive Electro-Motive Division, is unveiled at Soldier Field in Chicago on May 28.

Alton Railroad becomes part of the Gulf, Mobile & Ohio.

1948:

Santa Fe's Chicago-to-Los Angeles Super Chief, successfully inaugurated in 1936 and streamlined in 1937, begins daily service.

New York Central fields the all-new Twentieth Century Limited; rival Pennsylvania Railroad counters with a new Broadway Limited.

1949:

Burlington, Rio Grande, and Western Pacific launch the Vista-Dome California Zephyr between Chicago and Oakland, California; however, for the first time in history, airline passenger-miles exceed those of the Pullman Company.

1950:

President Truman orders U.S. troops to the aid of South Korea.

1953:

Norfolk & Western's Roanoke Shops build the last steam locomotive in the United States, an 0-8-0 switcher.

1955:

Santa Fe is an early convert to diesel technology, partly due to the scarcity of water on its desert lines.

1959:

When an 0-6-0 switcher drops its fires at Camden, New jersey, the Pennsylvania Railroad is dieselized.

1960:

Grand Trunk Western pulls its Northerns out of local service in Michigan, putting an end to regularly scheduled passenger steam service in the United States.