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1838 in rail transport
Events
January events
January 1 â The
United States
government contracts with the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
to carry
mail
; the B&O is the first railroad to be awarded such a contract in the U.S.
January 20 âÂÂ
Travelling Post Office
(with sorting of mail en route) introduced on
Grand Junction Railway
in
England
, initially on an experimental basis.
February events
February 12 â The
Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad
(PW&B),
Wilmington and Susquehanna Railroad
and
Baltimore and Port Deposite Rail Road
merge, keeping the PW&B name.
March events
March 28 âÂÂ
Jean-Claude-Républicain Arnoux
applies for a
patent
for his train
articulation
system that will come to be known as the
Arnoux system
.
June events
June 4 â First section of
Great Western Railway
of
England
opens from
London
Paddington
to
Maidenhead
(temporary stations).
June 18 âÂÂ
Newcastle and Carlisle Railway
opens, the first line across
England
.
July events
July 7 â An act of the
United States Congress
officially designates all railroads in the
United States
as
postal
routes.
September events
September 17 âÂÂ
London and Birmingham Railway
is opened throughout to its
terminus
at
Curzon Street railway station
,
Birmingham
, on completion of
Kilsby Tunnel
under the direction of Chief Engineer
Robert Stephenson
, the first trunk line in
England
.
September 22 âÂÂ
BerlinâÂÂPotsdam Railway
is opened from
Berlin-Zehlendorf
to
Potsdam
, the first railway in
Prussia
.
October events
October 31 âÂÂ
North Union Railway
in England opens from
Wigan
to
Preston
.
November events
November 16 â Final section of
Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway
(
Rajhrad
–
Brno
) in
Moravia
(
Austrian Empire
) opens for exhibition (preliminary) use.
Unknown date events
The first "bed-carriage" (
sleeping car
)
passenger car
s are introduced on the
London and Birmingham Railway
and the
Grand Junction Railway
in
England
.
Births
September births
September 16 âÂÂ
James J. Hill
,
American
financier who gains control of the
Great Northern Railway
and the
Northern Pacific Railway
(d. 1916).
Deaths
September deaths
Rhys Davies
,
British
mechanical engineer who helped form
Tredegar Iron Works
in
Richmond, Virginia
.
References
Association of American Railroads (January 2005),
This Month in Railroad History â January
. Retrieved May 23, 2005.