James D. Porterfield

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A Railroad Chronology

August 8, 1829
Honesdale, Pennsylvania: The "Stourbridge Lion" becomes the first steam locomotive to operate in the United States.

December 25, 1830
Charleston, South Carolina: The first scheduled passenger train operates on the South Carolina Railroad.

June 6, 1833
Ellicott's Mills, Maryland: Andrew Jackson becomes the first President of the United States to ride a train.

November 24, 1842
Boston, Massachusetts: A rail route to Buffalo, New York, opens to connect the east coast with the Great Lakes.

January 23, 1853
Chicago, Illinois: A all-rail route to several eastern cities connects the east coast with this important mid-western rail center.

April 21, 1856
Davenport, Iowa: The first railroad bridge to span the Mississippi River opens to connect the east coast with the west bank of the Mississippi.

September 1, 1859
Bloomington, Illinois: The first Pullman sleeping car makes an overnight trip to Chicago.

April, 1868
Aurora, Illinois: The first dining car, the Delmonico, is placed in service by the Pullman Company.

May 10, 1869
Promontory, Utah: The driving of a Golden Spike marks the completion of the United States' first transcontinental railroad.

May 26, 1934
Denver, Colorado: The first Diesel-electric powered streamlined train, the Zephyr, arrives non-stop from Chicago, traveling a distance of 1015 miles at an average speed of 77.6 miles-per-hour.

May 1, 1971
Washington, DC: The National Rail Passenger Corporation, better known as Amtrak, begins operation.

Events

2006

April

21: “A Moveable Feast: From The Farm To the Table By Train” at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania (www.rrmuseumpa.org, 717.687.8628)

May

2-8: American Orient Express Pacific Coast Culinary Explorer, Los Angeles-Seattle (www.americanorientexpress.com, 877.854.3607)

9-15: American Orient Express Pacific Coast Culinary Explorer, Seattle-Los Angeles (www.americanorientexpress.com, 877.854.3607)

June

8-11: Penn State Altoona Railroad Heritage Conference, Strasburg, Pennsylvania (www.aa.psu.edu/railroad, 814.949.5041)

July

21: National Railway Historical Society 2006 Annual Convention; New Philadelphia, Ohio (www.buckeyerails2006.org)

September

5-11: American Orient Express Pacific Coast Culinary Explorer, Seattle-Los Angeles (www.americanorientexpress.com, 877.854.3607)

October

7-9: “A Moveable Feast: From The Farm To the Table By Train” at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania (www.rrmuseumpa.org, 717.687.8628)

November

14-20: American Orient Express Pacific Culinary Explorer, Los Angeles-Seattle (www.americanorientexpress.com, 877.854.3607)


Selected Works

Cookbooks
From the Dining Car
The Recipes and Stories Behind Today's Greatest Rail Dining Experiences
Dining by Rail
The History and the Recipes of America's Golden Age of Railroad Cuisine
Other
Set Up Running
The Life of a Pennsylvania Railroad Engineman: 1904-1949
Railfan & Railroad
A monthly magazine



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