Portal:Trains/Anniversaries/June 2

1859 – The organization that is to become the Chicago and North Western Railway purchases the assets of the bankrupt Chicago, St. Paul and Fond du Lac Railroad.
1873 – Construction begins on Clay Street in San Francisco, California, for the first cable railway in the world, the Clay Street Hill Railroad (later to become part of the San Francisco cable car system; pictured).
1916 – Lake Superior and Ishpeming (LS&I) 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type No. 29(Or No. 14 at the time) was pulling an iron ore train down a 1.6% grade outside of Negaunee, when it and several of it's hoppers rolled down on their sides on a steep embankment. The reason for this significance is because No. 29 is now the only LS&I steam locomotive to ever experience a catastrophic accident and still live to pull another train.
1982 – The Soo Line Railroad purchases the Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern Railway in Minnesota.
2005 – Railroad workers across France go on strike to demand better wages and jobs. The strike, which began at 18:00 GMT on Wednesday, is expected to last through 6:00 GMT Friday. Nearly 40% of all TGV schedules are dropped for the duration of the strike.