The permanent building at Amtrak's Dearborn, Michigan station opens. October 22 – The Invergowrie rail crash, in Invergowrie, Scotland, occurs when a track signal fails to switch to a stop indication that would have protected a stalled passenger train; a second passenger train collides with the stalled train, resulting in 5 fatalities. October 28 Amtrak opens Buffalo–Depew, replacing Buffalo Central Terminal. Amtrak introduces double decker Superliner coaches on the Empire Builder passenger train. November November 10 – 1979 Mississauga train derailment: A CP Rail train develops a hot box and derails 24 cars carrying hazardous materials near Mississauga, Ontario; almost 250,000 people are evacuated for up to five days at a time while cleanup commences. November 16 – The first line of the Bucharest Metro, Line M1, opens from Timpuri Noi to Semănătoarea in Bucharest, Romania. November 16 – The ER200 begins test runs with passengers between Moscow and Leningrad, the first high-speed train in the Soviet Union, reaching 200 km/h. November 17 – The first stage of Brisbane Suburban Electrification between Ferny Grove and Darra is commissioned by the Queensland Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen. It is the first section of electrification in Australia to use 25,000 volts 50 Hz overhead power supply. December December 20 – The Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line branch to station is opened. December – Amtrak discontinues the Floridian, Lone Star and North Coast Hiawatha passenger trains. December – Union Pacific 3985, a 4-6-6-4 steam locomotive, is moved from static display in Cheyenne, Wyoming, for inspection and eventual restoration for operations. December – Nickel Plate 765, a 2-8-4 steam locomotive, operates under its own power after 21 years of static display. Unknown date Alan Furth succeeds Denman McNear as president of the Southern Pacific Company, parent company of the Southern Pacific Railroad. The Federal Government of the United States relinquishes control of the Panama Railway, transferring the railway to the government of Panama. Accidents Births Deaths May deaths May 9 - Cyrus S. Eaton, president of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway in the 1950s (b. 1883). May 16 - A. Philip Randolph, who organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters in 1925 (b. 1889). References Colin Churcher's Railway Pages (August 16, 2005), Significant dates in Canadian railway history. Retrieved November 8, 2005. Rivanna Chapter National Railway Historical Society (2005), This Month in Railroad History: August. Retrieved August 29, 2005. Rivanna Chapter National Railway Historical Society (2005), This