1846 in rail transport explained

Events

January events

• January 9 – Barentin Viaduct on the Paris–Le Havre railway collapses soon after its completion by English engineers.^[1]
• January 13 – Opening of the Milan–Venice railway's 3.2km (02miles) bridge over the Venetian Lagoon between Mestre and Venice in Italy.^{[2] [3]}

March events

• March 26 – John M. Forbes becomes president of the Michigan Central Railroad.^[4]

June events

• June 14 – The first Gare du Nord station in Paris, France, is opened.
• June 20 – The Paris–Lille railway is opened in France.
• June 22 – The North British Railway is opened to public traffic between Edinburgh and Berwick-upon-Tweed, the first line to cross the border between Scotland and England. Waverley Station is opened.^[5]
• June 26 – The Great Northern Railway (Great Britain) is authorised by Act of Parliament with powers to construct a direct line from London to York with a loop via Boston, 233.5miles with a capital of £5,600,000, the largest single scheme ever approved by Parliament.

July events

• July 1 – The Leeds and Bradford Railway opens between Leeds and Bradford, West Yorkshire, England.
• July 15 – The first railway line in Hungary opens between Pest and Vác.
• July 16 – The London and North Western Railway is formed in England by amalgamation of the London and Birmingham Railway, Grand Junction Railway and Manchester and Birmingham Railway.^[6]

August events

• August 11 – First section of Furness Railway in England opens to mineral traffic; passengers are first carried on December 1.^[7]
• August 18 – Gauge Act passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom^[8] rules that new railways in Great Britain should be built to standard gauge and 5 ft 3 inches in Ireland unless otherwise authorised.
• August 28 – Railway Mania reaches its zenith as the Parliament of the United Kingdom closes its session having passed 272 Acts setting up new railway companies.^[9]

September events

• September 21 – The town of Kendal, England, declares a public holiday for the opening of the Kendal, Oxenholme and Lancaster section of the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway; the first revenue trains are operated on September 22.^[10]
• September 28 – The East Lancashire Railway opens to the public from Clifton Junction to Rawtenstall in England.

November events

• November 10 – Portland Company established by John A. Poor and Septimus Norris of the Norris Locomotive Works.^[11]

December events

• December 17 – The Lancaster and Carlisle Railway is opened throughout to Carlisle.

Births

April births

• April 13 – Lucius E. Johnson, president of the Norfolk and Western Railroad 1904–1921 (d. 1921).

October births

• October 6 – George Westinghouse, American inventor; developed the Westinghouse air brake (d. 1914).

References

1. Book: Walker, Charles. Thomas Brassey, Railway Builder. Muller. 1969. London. 48–9. 0-584-10305-0.
2. Web site: Venice Railroad Bridge. Structurae. 2011-06-17.
3. Book: Kalla-Bishop, P. M.. Italian Railways. 1971. David & Charles. Newton Abbot. 0-7153-5168-0. 20.
4. Web site: Timeline of Old Plank Road Trail history and development. 2005-03-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20050214161136/http://oprt.org/history/timeline.html. 2005-02-14. dead.
5. Book: Thomas, John. The North British Railway, vol. 1. 1969. David & Charles. Newton Abbot. 0-7153-4697-0.
6. Book: Reed, M. C.. The London & North Western Railway: a history. 1996. Atlantic. Penryn. 0-906899-66-4.
7. Web site: Furness Railway. John Speller's Web Pages - Other Railways. 2020-05-01.
8. Web site: Railway Archive . 7 July 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070820043850/http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docSummary.php?docID=60 . 20 August 2007 . dead .
9. Book: Lewin, Henry Grote. The Railway Mania and its aftermath, 1845–1852. 1936. Railway Gazette. London.
10. Web site: The History Of Carnforth Railway Station (and surrounding area). Friends of Carnforth Station. 2005-09-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20041116091241/http://home.clara.net/gw0hqd/past/. 2004-11-16. dead.
11. Book: The Grand Trunk in New England. Holt, Jeff. Railfare. 1985. 0-919130-43-7. 124.