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Events
January events
- January 1 –
- , in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan, is renamed to .
- Société des Chemins de fer vicinaux du Mayumbe, the company that built and operated the Mayumbe line beginning in 1898, is merged with the Office des Transports Coloniaux (OTRACO).
- January 13 – Première of British documentary film Night Mail made by the GPO Film Unit.
- January 29 – The Sørland Line in Norway takes electric traction into use between Kongsberg and Hjuksebø.
March events
- March 20 – The 1936 flood ends train service on the Maine Central Railroad Rangeley branch north of Rumford, Maine.
- March 25 – The mirror blank for the Palomar Observatory begins its cross-country trip aboard a special railroad car.
May events
- May 7 – The Bratsberg Line in Norway takes electric traction into use.
November events
- November 8 – Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad inaugurates the Denver Zephyr passenger train.
December events
- December 9 – The Østfold Line in Norway takes electric traction into use between Oslo East Station and Ljan.
Accidents
Births
- January 12 – William McAlpine, British businessman and railway enthusiast (died 2018).
Deaths
June deaths
- June 8 – Alfred de Glehn, English-born French designer of steam locomotives (born 1848).
November deaths
- November 9 – Henry Clay Hall, American commissioner for Interstate Commerce Commission beginning in 1914, chairman of same 1917-1928 (born 1860).
- November 22 – Oris Paxton Van Sweringen, American financier who, with his brother Mantis, controlled the Nickel Plate Road and other eastern United States railroads (born 1879).