1846 in rail transport

This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in 1846.

Events

Furness Railway No. 3, entered service February 1846 in the north of England

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.

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).