Events January events January 1 – Coming into force of international convention on the transport of goods by rail in the principal contiguous states of Western Europe. January 2 – Introduction by Webb C. Ball of the General Railroad Timepiece Standards in North America, leading to significance of the railroad chronometer. January – Under the direction of James J. Hill the third transcontinental railway, Great Northern, in the United States is completed to the Pacific Northwest. February events February 4 – Official opening of main section of Liverpool Overhead Railway, the first electrified suburban line in Britain, and the first (third rail) electrified overhead railway in the world. February 23 – Rudolf Diesel receives a patent for the diesel engine. March events March 1 – The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (the New Haven Railroad) leases the Old Colony Railroad. March 2 – The US Railroad Safety Appliance Act is enacted, mandating that all cars in interchange service be equipped with air brakes, automatic couplers and grab irons. April events April 17 – The train station located at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago is opened. April 22 – The John Bull arrives in Chicago, Illinois, for the World's Columbian Exposition after traveling under its own power from Jersey City, New Jersey. May events May 1 – The World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago's Jackson Park is opened to the public with the Intramural Railway, a 2.7-mile elevated third rail electric railroad system providing transportation throughout the fair grounds. A total of 72 motor and trailer coaches were assigned to the line all built by the Jackson and Sharp Company of Wilmington, Delaware. May 10 – New York Central locomotive number 999 pulls a passenger train between Batavia and Buffalo, New York, reaching 112.5 mph (181 km/h); this is the first time an American train breaks 100 mph (161 km/h). May 12 – Chicago's premier rapid transit line, the South Side Elevated Railway, is extended to the World's Columbian Exposition in Jackson Park. June events June 20 – The Wengernalpbahn mountain railway in Wengen, Switzerland (Canton of Bern) is opened. June 22 – Robert S. Lovett succeeds Leland Stanford as the president of the Southern Pacific Company, parent company of the Southern Pacific Railroad, after Stanford's death. The Chairmanship position vacated by Stanford remains vacant for another 16 years. July events July 1 – William Mackenzie purchases the Toronto