1853 in rail transport

This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in 1853.

Events

January events

• January 25 – The Cincinnati, Cambridge and Chicago Short Line Railway, a predecessor of Pennsylvania Railroad, is incorporated in Indiana to build from New Castle southeast via Cambridge to the Ohio state line.
• January – The Memphis and Little Rock Railroad, the first railroad built in Arkansas is chartered.

February events

• February 5 – The Mississippi and Missouri Railroad, a predecessor of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, is established in Iowa to build a railroad between Davenport and Council Bluffs.^[1]

April events

• April 2 – The New York Central Railroad is formed through the merger of ten smaller railroads in the New York area.
• April 16 – The first passenger train in India is inaugurated between Bori Bunder, Bombay (edge of site of modern-day Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai), and Thana covering a distance of 34 km (21 mi).
• April 20 – Lord Dalhousie, Governor-General of India, resolves that trunk rail development in that country will be by private enterprise under close government supervision.^[2]

May events

• May 6 – The Norwalk rail accident is the first major US railroad bridge disaster, killing 48.^[3]
• May 17 – The New York Central Railroad is formed through the merger of ten smaller railroads in New York under the direction of Erastus Corning.

July events

• July 8 – The Northern Indiana Railroad is formed through the merger of several smaller railroads in Indiana and Ohio.
• July 18 – The Portland gauge Grand Trunk Railway is completed from Montreal to the ice-free seaport of Portland, Maine.^[4]

August events

• August 1 – The original Acton station (renamed in 1920 to Acton Central) near London, England, opens.
• August 19 – The Lake Erie, Wabash and St. Louis Railroad, a predecessor of the Wabash Railroad, is incorporated in Indiana.

September events

• September 20 – Indianapolis's Union Station, the first union station in the United States, opens.

October events

• October 1 – Bristol and Exeter Railway's Yeovil branch line is fully opened for passenger traffic.
• October 26 – Bristol and Exeter Railway's Yeovil branch line is fully opened for goods traffic.
• October – Homer Ramsdell succeeds Benjamin Loder as president of the Erie Railroad.^[5]

November events

• November 1 – Canada West Railroad opens its first division connecting Niagara Falls to Hamilton, Ontario.^[6]
• November 7 – The Arkansas Midland Railroad is created by an act of the Arkansas legislature.
• November 10 – Canada's Great Western Railway opens the line from Hamilton, Ontario, to the suspension bridge at Niagara Falls.

December events

• December 17 – The Brooklyn City Railroad, the oldest streetcar line in Brooklyn, New York, is incorporated.

Unknown date events

• The Monon Railroad opens its 300-mile (480 km) route between Chicago, Illinois, and Louisville, Kentucky
• American steam locomotive builder Manchester Locomotive Works opens.

Accidents

Births

April births

• April 25 – John Frank Stevens, chief engineer and general manager of Great Northern Railway, vice president Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (d. 1943).

October births

• October 6 – Thomas George Shaughnessy, president of Canadian Pacific Railway Limited 1899–1918 (d. 1923).
• October 14 – John William Kendrick, chief engineer 1888–1893, general manager 1893–1899 and vice president 1899–1911 of Northern Pacific Railway and vice-chairman of the board for Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (d. 1924).

Deaths

July deaths

• July 24 – Hezekiah C. Seymour, chief engineer for Ontario, Huron and Lake Simcoe Railroad (b. 1811).

September deaths

• September 6 – George Bradshaw, English cartographer, printer and publisher and the originator of the railway timetable (b. 1800).

References

1. Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (1996) [1970]. Yard Clerical Manual: A Brief Historical Overview of the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railroad (reprint by the Rock Island Technical Society ed.). Archived from the original on February 24, 2006. Retrieved February 5, 2006.
2. Saxena, R.P. (2008). "Indian Railway History Time Line". Archived from the original on February 29, 2012. Retrieved December 21, 2009.
3. Haine, Edgar A. (1994). "The first of many railroad bridge disasters: South Norwalk, Conn–May 1853–56 dead". Railroad Wrecks. p. 34. ISBN 9780845348444 – via Google Books.
4. Holt, Jeff (1985). The Grand Trunk in New England. Railfare. p. 47. ISBN 0-919130-43-7.
5. "Erie Railroad presidents". Archived from the original on March 18, 2005. Retrieved March 15, 2005.
6. "Canada West Railroad". Daily Free Democrat. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. November 8, 1853. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.

• Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department (May 2002). "Arkansas state rail plan 2002" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2007. Retrieved September 19, 2006.
• "Significant dates in Canadian railway history". Colin Churcher's Railway Pages. August 16, 2005. Archived from the original on April 24, 2006. Retrieved November 8, 2005.
• "History of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway Company". Archived from the original on March 29, 2006. Retrieved July 7, 2005.
• Missouri Pacific Historical Society (2005). "St. Louis Iron Mountain & Southern (SLIMS)". Archived from the original on October 1, 2005. Retrieved November 7, 2005.
• Morris, J. C., ed. (December 31, 1902). Annual report of the Commissioner of Railroads and Telegraphs; Part II, History of the railroads of Ohio. Retrieved August 16, 2005.