1846 in rail transport

Years in rail transport

* 1845 in rail transport
* 1846 in rail transport
* 1847 in rail transport

Timeline of railway history

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

## Events

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

### January events

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* 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

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* March 26 – John M. Forbes becomes president of the Michigan Central Railroad.[4]

### June events

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* 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

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* 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

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* 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

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* 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

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* November 10 – Portland Company established by John A. Poor and Septimus Norris of the Norris Locomotive Works.[12]

### December events

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* December 17 – The Lancaster and Carlisle Railway is opened throughout to Carlisle.

## Births

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### April births

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* April 13 – Lucius E. Johnson, president of the Norfolk and Western Railroad 1904–1921 (d. 1921).

### October births

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* October 6 – George Westinghouse, American inventor; developed the Westinghouse air brake (d. 1914).

## References

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1. ^ Walker, Charles (1969). Thomas Brassey, Railway Builder. London: Muller. pp. 48–9\. ISBN 0-584-10305-0.
2. ^ "Venice Railroad Bridge". Structurae. Retrieved 2011-06-17.
3. ^ Kalla-Bishop, P. M. (1971). Italian Railways. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 20\. ISBN 0-7153-5168-0.
4. ^ "Timeline of Old Plank Road Trail history and development". Archived from the original on 2005-02-14. Retrieved 2005-03-01.
5. ^ Thomas, John (1969). The North British Railway, vol. 1. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-4697-0.
6. ^ Marshall, John (1989). The Guinness Railway Book. Enfield: Guinness Books. ISBN 0-8511-2359-7. OCLC 24175552.
7. ^ Reed, M. C. (1996). The London & North Western Railway: a history. Penryn: Atlantic. ISBN 0-906899-66-4.
8. ^ "Furness Railway". John Speller's Web Pages - Other Railways. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
9. ^ "Railway Archive". Archived from the original on 20 August 2007. Retrieved 7 July 2007.
10. ^ Lewin, Henry Grote (1936). The Railway Mania and its aftermath, 1845–1852. London: Railway Gazette.
11. ^ Friends of Carnforth Station. "The History Of Carnforth Railway Station (and surrounding area)". Archived from the original on 2004-11-16. Retrieved 2005-09-21.
12. ^ Holt, Jeff (1985). The Grand Trunk in New England. Railfare. p. 124\. ISBN 0-919130-43-7.