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 – Homer Ramsdell succeeds Benjamin Loder as president of the Erie Railroad.^[5]

November events

• 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.

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, dies (b. 1811).

August deaths

• August – George Bradshaw, English cartographer, printer and publisher and the originator of the railway timetable (b. 1801).

References

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

1. ↑ Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (1970; reprinted by the Rock Island Technical Society, 1996), Yard Clerical Manual: A Brief Historical Overview of the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railroad. Retrieved February 5, 2006
2. ↑ Saxena, R. P. (2008). "Indian Railway History Time Line". 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 – 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.