1855, 1856, 1857

Years in rail transport

1855 in rail transport 1856 in rail transport 1857 in rail transport

This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in 1856.

Contents 1 Events 1.1 January events 1.2 April events 1.3 May events 1.4 July events 1.5 September events 1.6 October events 1.7 December events 1.8 Unknown date events 2 Births 2.1 February births 2.2 December births 3 Deaths 3.1 March deaths 3.2 April deaths 3.3 November deaths 4 References

[edit] Events

[edit] January events

• January – Opening throughout of first railroad in Africa and the Middle East, from Alexandria to Cairo, Egypt (208 km/129 mi).^[1][2]

[edit] April events

• April 21 - The first railroad bridge across the Mississippi River opens between Rock Island, Illinois, and Davenport, Iowa.^[3]

[edit] May events

• May - Saltaire station opens on the Midland Railway (formerly the Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway) north of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England.
• May 6 - The newly constructed sidewheeler Effie Afton runs into one of the supports for the first railroad bridge across the Mississippi River, causing a fire that destroys the bridge just two weeks after it had opened.^[3]

[edit] July events

• July 14 - The Rome and Frascati Rail Road opens for service.

[edit] September events

• September 16 – Tarragona-Reus line in Spain opens.
• September 21 – Illinois Central Railroad connects Chicago to Cairo, Illinois, completing 700 miles (1,126 km) of track to become the longest railway in the United States.

[edit] October events

• October 28 – Opening of first railway in Portugal, from Lisbon to Carregado (37 km/23 mi).^[1]

[edit] December events

• December 1 – Opening of first steam-operated passenger railways in Sweden, from Gothenburg to Jonsered (15 km/9.3 mi) and Malmö to Lund (17 km/11 mi).^[1]

[edit] Unknown date events

• Opening of first railway in Turkey, from İzmir to Aydın.
• After April 19 - Following Thomas Rogers's death, his son, Jacob S. Rogers, reorganizes Rogers, Ketchum and Grosvenor as Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works.

[edit] Births

[edit] February births

• February 2 – Frederick William Vanderbilt, director of the New York Central system (d. 1938).

[edit] December births

• December 30 – Sam Fay, General manager of the Great Central Railway of England, 1902-1922 (d. 1953).^[4]

[edit] Deaths

[edit] March deaths

• March 11 – James Beatty, Irish engineer who was involved in building the European and North American Railway and the Grand Crimean Central Railway (b. 1820).

[edit] April deaths

• April 19 – Thomas Rogers, American steam locomotive builder, dies in New York (b. 1792).^[5]
• April 20 – Robert L. Stevens, president of Camden and Amboy Railroad (b. 1787).

[edit] November deaths

• November 1 – John Urpeth Rastrick, English steam locomotive builder and partner in Foster, Rastrick and Company (b. 1780).

[edit] References

• Brief biographies of major mechanical engineers. Retrieved February 9, 2005.
• Rivanna Chapter National Railway Historical Society (2005), This month in railroad history: September. Retrieved September 21, 2005.
• White, John H., Jr. (1968). A history of the American locomotive; its development: 1830-1880. New York, NY: Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-23818-0.