| Years in rail transport |
This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in 1836.
Events
January events
- January 16 – The Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, the oldest portion of what is to become the Chicago and North Western Railway, is chartered.
February events
- February 5 – Henry R. Campbell of the Philadelphia, Germantown & Norristown Railroad patents the first 4-4-0, a steam locomotive type that will soon become the most common on all railroads of the United States.[1]
- February 8 - London and Greenwich Railway opens its first section, the first railway in London, England.[2]
March events
- March - The Syracuse and Utica Railroad, a predecessor of the New York Central Railroad, is chartered to build a railroad between its namesake cities in New York.
April events
- April – The first railroad car ferry in the U.S., the Susquehanna enters service on the Susquehanna River between Havre de Grace and Perryville, Maryland.[3]
May events
- May 5 – The Albany and West Stockbridge Railroad is chartered as the successor to the Castleton and West Stockbridge Railroad in Massachusetts and eastern New York.
- May 19 – The Bristol and Exeter Railway receives parliamentary authorization.
July events
- July 13 – John Ruggles is awarded U.S. Patent 1 for his improvements to railroad steam locomotive tires.[4]
- July 21 – The Champlain and St. Lawrence Railroad opens between St. John and La Prairie, Quebec, the first steam-worked passenger railroad in British North America.
August events
- August 1 – The Utica and Schenectady Railroad, a predecessor of the New York Central Railroad in New York, opens.
- August 8 – Andover and Wilmington Railroad opens its line to Andover, Massachusetts.
September events
- September 5 – The Lake Wimico and St. Joseph Canal and Railroad, the first steam railroad in Florida, opens.
October events
- The Louisa Railroad of Louisa County, Virginia, an early predecessor of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, begins construction.[5]
- October 25 – Construction begins on the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad in North Carolina. Due to a lack of support in Raleigh, the route is revised to run from Wilmington to the Petersburg Railroad in Weldon.[6]
December events
- December 14 – The London and Greenwich Railway opens throughout from London Bridge to Deptford.[7]
Unknown date events
- The Bangor and Piscataquis Canal and Railroad Company operates the first steam railroad in Maine with two 2-2-0 locomotives manufactured in England.
Births
January births
- January 2 - Fred T. Perris, Chief Engineer of the California Southern Railroad (d. 1916).[8][9]
February births
- February 9 – Franklin B. Gowen, president of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad 1866–1883 (d. 1889).
March births
- March 16 – Andrew Smith Hallidie, who developed the first practical cable car system for San Francisco, California (d. 1900).
May births
- May 21 – Francis William Webb, Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London and North Western Railway (d. 1906).[10]
- May 27 - Jay Gould, American financier who, with Jim Fisk, took control of the Erie Railroad (d. 1892).
September births
- September 17 - William Jackson Palmer, builder of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (d. 1909).
Deaths
January deaths
- January 7 – John Molson, established the Champlain and Saint Lawrence Railroad, the first railway into Canada (b. 1763).
References
- Pennsylvania Railroad Historical and Technical Society (June 2004), PRR Chronology, 1836 (PDF). Retrieved March 5, 2005.
- White, John H, Jr. (Spring 1986), America's Most Noteworthy Railroaders, Railroad History, 154, p. 9–15.
- ^ Balkwill, Richard; Marshall, John (1993). The Guinness Book of Railway Facts and Feats (6th ed.). Enfield: Guinness Publishing. ISBN 0-85112-707-X.
- ^ Thomas, R. H. G. (1972). London's First Railway – The London & Greenwich. London: Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-0468-X.
- ^ Marshall, John (1989). The Guinness Railway Book. Enfield: Guinness Books. ISBN 0-8511-2359-7. OCLC 24175552.
- ^ 9,957 unnumbered patents have been filed previously.
- ^ Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Company. The Chesapeake & Ohio Railway directory. 1882. pg. 17
- ^ "Railroad — Wilmington & Raleigh (later Weldon)". North Carolina Business History. CommunicationSolutions/ISI. 2006. Retrieved 2012-04-05.
- ^ Palmer, Alan; Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History. London: Century Ltd. pp. 260–261. ISBN 0-7126-5616-2.
- ^ Serpico, Philip C. (1988). Santa Fé Route to the Pacific. Palmdale, California: Omni Publications. pp. 18–24. ISBN 0-88418-000-X.
- ^ City of Perris, California. "A Brief History of the Perris Valley". Archived from the original on 2006-08-27. Retrieved 2006-07-09.
- ^ Marshall, John (2003). Biographical Dictionary of Railway Engineers. Oxford: Railway and Canal Historical Society. ISBN 0-901461-22-9.