Illinois Terminal Railroad’s Last Electric Car Departs, Ending an Era
Alton, IL – March 10, 2025 – Nearly seven decades ago, in March 1953, the last interurban car departed the Illinois Terminal Railroad’s depot on the Alton riverfront. This event signaled the end of an era for electric rail travel after nearly half a century of service.
Bus lines subsequently announced their plans to accommodate passengers formerly served by the electric line.
Today’s date is Monday, March 10, 2025.
Today in History
On March 10, 1959, thousands of Tibetans revolted against occupying Chinese forces in an effort to protect the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama later fled to India, where he remains in exile.
Other notable events that occurred on March 10 include:
- 1496: Christopher Columbus concluded his second voyage to the Western Hemisphere and departed Hispaniola for Spain.
- 1864: President Abraham Lincoln appointed Ulysses S. Grant to command the Armies of the United States.
- 1876: Alexander Graham Bell’s assistant, Thomas Watson, heard the first words transmitted by telephone: “Mr. Watson — come here — I want to see you.”
- 1913: Harriet Tubman, abolitionist and Underground Railroad “conductor,” died of pneumonia.
- 1969: James Earl Ray pleaded guilty to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
- 1993: Dr. David Gunn was killed by anti-abortion activist Michael Griffin.
- 2019: A Boeing 737 Max 8 operated by Ethiopian Airlines crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 157 people on board.
