1811 : George Magers designs .
1811 : George Magers builds a one - mile ( 1.6 km ) wooden gravity railroad between a gunpowder mill and its powder storage bunker at Falling 's Creek , Virginia .
1811 : George Magers designs and builds a one - mile ( 1.6 km ) wooden gravity railroad between a gunpowder mill and its powder storage bunker at Falling 's Creek , Virginia .