1853 in rail transport
Events January events January 25 – The Cincinnati, Cambridge and Chicago Short Line Railway, a predecessor of Pennsylvania Railroad, is incorporated in Indiana to build from New Castle southeast via Cambridge to the Ohio state line. January – The Memphis and Little Rock Railroad, the first railroad built in Arkansas is chartered. February events February 5 – The Mississippi and Missouri Railroad, a predecessor of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, is established in Iowa to build a railroad between Davenport and Council Bluffs. April events April 2 – The New York Central Railroad is formed through the merger of ten smaller railroads in the New York area. April 16 – The first passenger train in India is inaugurated between Bori Bunder, Bombay (edge of site of modern-day Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai), and Thana covering a distance of . April 20 – Lord Dalhousie, Governor-General of India, resolves that trunk rail development in that country will be by private enterprise under close government supervision. May events May 6 – The Norwalk rail accident is the first major US railroad bridge disaster, killing 48. May 17 – The New York Central Railroad is formed through the merger of ten smaller railroads in New York under the direction of Erastus Corning. July events July 8 – The Northern Indiana Railroad is formed through the merger of several smaller railroads in Indiana and Ohio. July 18 – The Portland gauge Grand Trunk Railway is completed from Montreal to the ice-free seaport of Portland, Maine. August events August 1 – The original Acton station (renamed in 1920 to Acton Central) near London, England, opens. August 19 – The Lake Erie, Wabash and St. Louis Railroad, a predecessor of the Wabash Railroad, is incorporated in Indiana. September events September 20 – Indianapolis's Union Station, the first union station in the United States, opens. October events October 1 – Bristol and Exeter Railway's Yeovil branch line is fully opened for passenger traffic. October 26 – Bristol and Exeter Railway's Yeovil branch line is fully opened for goods traffic. October – Homer Ramsdell succeeds Benjamin Loder as president of the Erie Railroad. November events November 1 – Canada West Railroad opens its first division connecting Niagara Falls to Hamilton, Ontario. November 7 – The Arkansas Midland Railroad is created by an act of the Arkansas legislature. November 10 – Canada's Great Western Railway opens the line from Hamilton, Ontario, to the suspension bridge at Niagara Falls. December events December 17 – The Brooklyn City Railroad, the oldest streetcar line in Brooklyn, New York, is incorporated. Unknown date events The Monon Railroad opens its route between Chicago, Illinois, and Louisville, Kentucky American steam locomotive builder Manchester Locomotive Works opens. Accidents Births April births April 25 – John Frank Stevens, chief engineer and general manager of Great Northern Railway, vice president Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (d. 1943). October births October 6 – Thomas George Shaughnessy, president of Canadian Pacific Railway Limited 1899–1918 (d. 1923). October 14