1780s in rail transport explained

1770s ^. 1780s in rail transport ^. 1790s
Other topics: archaeology

This article lists events relating to rail transport that occurred during the 1780s.

1780

Births

January births

• January 26 – John Urpeth Rastrick, English steam locomotive builder and partner in Foster, Rastrick and Company (died 1856).^[1]

October births

• October 25 – Philip Hone, first president of Delaware and Hudson Railway 1825–1826 (died 1851).

1781

Births

June births

• June 9 – George Stephenson, English steam locomotive builder.

1782

Births

Unknown date births

• Joseph Treffry (born Joseph Austen), railway promoter in Cornwall, England (died 1850).^[2]

1783

Events

• Halbeath Railway opens from the colliery at Halbeath to the harbour at Inverkeithing, Scotland.^[3]

1784

Births

• December 30 – Stephen H. Long, American steam locomotive mechanical engineer who helped build the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (died 1864).

1785

Births

Unknown date births

• Sir William Cubitt, civil engineer on the South Eastern and Great Northern Railways of England (died 1861).^{[4] [5]}

1786

Births

December births

• December 22 – Timothy Hackworth, English steam locomotive builder (died 1850).^[6]

Unknown date births

• William T. James, American inventor of the link motion and spark arrester (died 1865).

1787

Events

Unknown date events

• First production of all-iron edge rail (for underground colliery use), at Plymouth Ironworks, Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales.^[7]
• First introduction of plateway (for underground use), at Sheffield Park Colliery, Yorkshire, England, by John Curr.^[8]

Births

October births

• October 18 – Robert Livingston Stevens, president of the Camden and Amboy Railroad, the first railroad built in New Jersey (died 1856).^[9]

1788

Events

Unknown date events

• First introduction of plateway for surface use, at Wingerworth Iron Foundry, Derbyshire, England, by Joseph Butler.^[10]

1789

Events

Unknown date events

• Oliver Evans is awarded a U.S. patent for his "steam carriage," a design that is believed by some historians to have influenced Richard Trevithick's work on early steam locomotives.

Births

October births

• October 8 – John Ruggles, awarded for improved driving wheels (died 1874).

Unknown date births

• Gridley Bryant, inventor of many basic railroad technologies including track and wheels (died 1867)

See also

• Years in rail transport

Notes and References

1. Web site: John Urpeth Rastrick . steamindex.com . 31 March 2024 . 12 August 2012.
2. Simmons, Jack. Treffry, Joseph Thomas. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. 2004. 10.1093/ref:odnb/38076. http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/38076. 2010-01-12.
3. Web site: Halbeath Railway. Mark. Poustie. RailScot. 2009-12-16.
4. Book: Marshall, John. A Biographical Dictionary of Railway Engineers. Oxford. Railway and Canal Historical Society. 2003. 2nd. 0-901461-22-9.
5. Web site: Peter . Brown . Sir William Cubitt (1785-1861) . 2009-12-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20091224022458/http://www.peter-quita.demon.co.uk/cubitt.htm . 24 December 2009 . live .
6. Web site: Timothy Hackworth . steamindex.com . 23 January 2013 . 31 March 2024 .
7. Book: van Laun, John. Early Limestone Railways. Newcomen Society. London. 2001. 0-904685-09-8. 203–4.
8. none. Railway and Canal Historical Society, Early Railway Group. Occasional Paper. 184,192.
9. Today in Science History: October 18. Retrieved October 18, 2005.
10. Book: Farey, John. John Farey Sr. . General View of the Agriculture and Minerals of Derbyshire. 3. London. Board of Agriculture. 1817.