1837 in rail transport
Encyclopedia
April events
- April 24 - The Leipzig-Dresdner Eisenbahn, the first major railway line to be built between important cities in GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, begins passenger operations. It orders locomotive Columbus from Ross WinansRoss WinansRoss Winans was an American inventor, mechanic, and builder of locomotives and railroad machinery. He is also noted for design of pioneering cigar-hulled ships. Winans, one of the United States' first multi-millionaires, was involved in politics and was a vehement states' rights advocate...
, the first exported from the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
July events
- July 4 - The Grand Junction RailwayGrand Junction RailwayThe Grand Junction Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed between 1833 and 1846 when it was merged into the London and North Western Railway...
, the first trunk railway to be completed in BritainGreat BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
is opened from BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
to Warrington, England (82 mi (132 km)), where it connects with other lines.
- July 20 - Euston stationEuston railway stationEuston railway station, also known as London Euston, is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden. It is the sixth busiest rail terminal in London . It is one of 18 railway stations managed by Network Rail, and is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line...
is opened as the first LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
terminus.
August events
- August 24 - Queen Marie Amélie and King Louis-PhilippeLouis-Philippe of FranceLouis Philippe I was King of the French from 1830 to 1848 in what was known as the July Monarchy. His father was a duke who supported the French Revolution but was nevertheless guillotined. Louis Philippe fled France as a young man and spent 21 years in exile, including considerable time in the...
officially open first section of the ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
–Saint-Germain-en-LayeSaint-Germain-en-LayeSaint-Germain-en-Laye is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris from the centre.Inhabitants are called Saint-Germanois...
line, the first steam-worked passenger railway in FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
October events
- October 30 - The first RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n railroad, between Saint PetersburgSaint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
and Zarskoje SeloTsarskoye SeloTsarskoye Selo is the town containing a former Russian residence of the imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the center of St. Petersburg. It is now part of the town of Pushkin and of the World Heritage Site Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments.-History:In...
with a length of 23 km (14.3 mi), opens. The locomotiveLocomotiveA locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
for the new railway was built by Englishman Timothy HackworthTimothy HackworthTimothy Hackworth was a steam locomotive engineer who lived in Shildon, County Durham, England and was the first locomotive superintendent of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.- Youth and early work :...
and the gaugeRail gaugeTrack gauge or rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the heads of the two load bearing rails that make up a single railway line. Sixty percent of the world's railways use a standard gauge of . Wider gauges are called broad gauge; smaller gauges, narrow gauge. Break-of-gauge refers...
is 1829 mm (6 ft). Because the track connected the pleasure sites of the nobility, it was called "the train to the pub."
November events
- November 10 - Opening of first railroad in CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
(and the Spanish EmpireSpanish EmpireThe Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
), HavanaHavanaHavana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
–GüinesGüinesGüines is a municipality and city in the Mayabeque Province of Cuba. It is located southeast of Havana, next to the Mayabeque River.- History :The city was founded in 1737 by the Spanish...
, principally for sugar traffic. - November 23 - Opening of first railroad in AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, the Kaiser Ferdinands Nordbahn, ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
–FloridsdorfFloridsdorfFloridsdorf is the 21st district of Vienna, Austria .Floridsdorf is located in the northern part of Vienna.The District Office and the centre of Floridsdorf are located round Am Spitz, at the junction of Prager Straße and Brünner Straße .Since 2004, Floridsdorf has had its own tower: the...
–Deutsch-WagramDeutsch-WagramDeutsch-Wagram is a city in Austria in the federal state of Lower Austria. It lies 15 km northeast of Vienna and has a population of 6,808 as of the 2001 census.- History :...
(17.7 km).
Unknown date events
- Rogers, Ketchum and Grosvenor receives the company's first order for new steam locomotiveSteam locomotiveA steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
s; the order for two locomotives is placed by the Mad River and Lake Erie RailroadMad River and Lake Erie RailroadThe Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad was the second railroad to be built and operated in the U.S. state of Ohio...
and is intended to be the beginning of the railroad's locomotive fleet.
April births
- April 17 - J. P. MorganJ. P. MorganJohn Pierpont Morgan was an American financier, banker and art collector who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation during his time. In 1892 Morgan arranged the merger of Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric...
, AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
financierFinancierFinancier is a term for a person who handles typically large sums of money, usually involving money lending, financing projects, large-scale investing, or large-scale money management. The term is French, and derives from finance or payment...
who helped to finance United States Steel Corporation (d. 1913).
May births
- May 6 - William Barstow Strong, president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe RailwayAtchison, Topeka and Santa Fe RailwayThe Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...
1881–1889 (d. 1914). - May 23 - Anatole MalletAnatole MalletJules T. Anatole Mallet was a Swiss mechanical engineer, who was the inventor of the first successful compound system for a railway steam locomotive, patented in 1874....
, inventor of the Mallet locomotiveMallet locomotiveThe Mallet Locomotive is a type of articulated locomotive, invented by a Swiss engineer named Anatole Mallet ....
type (d. 1919).
June births
- June 25 - Charles Tyson Yerkes, AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
financierFinancierFinancier is a term for a person who handles typically large sums of money, usually involving money lending, financing projects, large-scale investing, or large-scale money management. The term is French, and derives from finance or payment...
of rapid transitRapid transitA rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
systems in ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(d. 1905).
September births
- September 26 - Allen ManvelAllen ManvelAllen Manvel was the eleventh president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.Manvel was born in Alexander, New York. In 1859 he began employment with the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad as a clerk in the purchasing agent's office. He worked his way up through the ranks to...
, president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe RailwayAtchison, Topeka and Santa Fe RailwayThe Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often abbreviated as Santa Fe, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The company was first chartered in February 1859...
1889–1893 (d. 1893).
March deaths
- March 11 - William JamesWilliam James (railway promoter)William James was an English lawyer, surveyor, land agent and pioneer promoter of rail transport. "He was the original projector of the Liverpool & Manchester and other railways, and may with truth be considered as the father of the railway system, as he surveyed numerous lines at his own expense...
, EnglishEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
railway promoter (b. 1771).