Events
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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 3.2 km (2.0 mi) 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, 233.5 mi (375.8 km) with a capital of £5,600,000, the largest single scheme ever approved by Parliament.[6][page needed]
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.[7]
August events
- August 11 – First section of Furness Railway in England opens to mineral traffic; passengers are first carried on December 1.[8]
- August 18 – Gauge Act passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom[9] 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.[10]
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.[11]
- 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.[12]
December events
- December 17 – The Lancaster and Carlisle Railway is opened throughout to Carlisle.