1831 in rail transport

Years in rail transport

Timeline of railway history

This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in 1831.

Events[]

February events[]

February 18 – The West Chester Railroad is chartered in Pennsylvania.

April events[]

April 23 – the Pontchartrain Rail-Road begins operation.
April 25
- Matthias W. Baldwin displays a model steam locomotive at the Philadelphia City Museum a year before building his first full-size locomotive for a working railroad.^[1]
- The New York and Harlem Railroad is incorporated as a passenger carrier.^[2]

May events[]

May – Members of a Manchester (England) Sunday School are conveyed by a special train on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway to Liverpool, the first recorded private railway excursion.^[3]

June events[]

June 17 - The first boiler explosion in the United States occurs when the engineer on the Best Friend of Charleston ties the steam safety pressure release valve shut.^[4]
June 18 – The John Bull is constructed by Robert Stephenson and Company in England.
June 21 – The Boston and Providence Rail Road is incorporated and chartered to build a railroad connection between Boston, Massachusetts, and Providence, Rhode Island.
June 23 – The Boston and Worcester Railroad is chartered to build a railroad between its namesake cities in Massachusetts.

July events[]

July 1 – The first railroad built in Virginia, the Chesterfield Railroad, begins operations.
July 4 – Opening of first section of Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway in Scotland^[5] including St Leonards Tunnel, Scotland's earliest tunnel on a public railway.

The John Bull and train as it looked in 1831; drawn by Isaac Dripps in 1887.
(Image from the collection of the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, America On The Move exhibit, used with permission)

July 14 – The John Bull departs Liverpool aboard the steamship Allegheny bound for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

August events[]

August 9 – The Mohawk and Hudson Railroad, the first railroad built in New York state, opens.

September events[]

September 4 – The John Bull arrives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from Liverpool.
September 15 – The John Bull is operated for the first time on the Camden and Amboy Railroad.
September 24 – The Mohawk and Hudson Railroad opens between Albany and Schenectady, New York.

November events[]

November 12 – Robert L. Stevens, president of the Camden and Amboy Railroad hosts a demonstration run of the John Bull for New Jersey politicians and dignitaries.

Unknown date events[]

First rail carriage of United States mail, by South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company, according to some sources.^[6]
John B. Jervis becomes the chief engineer for the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad, a predecessor of the New York Central.

Births[]

January births[]

January 14 – William D. Washburn, first president of Soo Line Railroad 1883–1889, is born (d. 1912).

March births[]

March 3 – George Pullman, American inventor and industrialist, founder of the Pullman Company (d. 1897)

August births[]

August 26 – T. Jefferson Coolidge, president of Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway 1880–1881 (d. 1920).^[7]

Unknown date births[]

Eli H. Janney, inventor of the knuckle coupler (d. 1912).

Deaths[]

References[]

White, John H. Jr. (Spring 1986). "America's Most Noteworthy Railroaders". Railroad History. 154: 9–15. ISSN 0090-7847. JSTOR 43523785. OCLC 1785797.

^ Mitchell, Frank (March 1999). "M. W. Baldwin". Archived from the original on February 5, 2005. Retrieved February 15, 2005.
^ Valentine, David T. (1866). A Compilation of the Existing Ferry Leases and Railroad Grants Made by the Corporation of the City of New York. pp. 345–346
^ Thomas, R. H. G. (1980). The Liverpool & Manchester Railway. London: Batsford. p. 195. ISBN 0-7134-0537-6.
^ Rivanna Chapter, National Railway Historical Society (2005), This Month in Railroad History – June. Retrieved June 13, 2005.
^ Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Wellingborough: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-049-7.
^ Bigham, Truman C.; Roberts, Merrill J. (1952). Transportation: Principles and Problems. 2nd edn. New York: McGraw-Hill.
^ The Political Graveyard (March 10, 2005), Politicians in Railroading in Massachusetts Archived 2006-06-18 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 29, 2005.

[1] Mitchell, Frank (March 1999). "M. W. Baldwin". Archived from the original on February 5, 2005. Retrieved February 15, 2005.

[2] Valentine, David T. (1866). A Compilation of the Existing Ferry Leases and Railroad Grants Made by the Corporation of the City of New York. pp. 345–346

[3] Thomas, R. H. G. (1980). The Liverpool & Manchester Railway. London: Batsford. p. 195. ISBN 0-7134-0537-6.

[Rivanna_NRHS,_histjun-4] Rivanna Chapter, National Railway Historical Society (2005), This Month in Railroad History – June. Retrieved June 13, 2005.

[5] Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Wellingborough: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-049-7.

[6] Bigham, Truman C.; Roberts, Merrill J. (1952). Transportation: Principles and Problems. 2nd edn. New York: McGraw-Hill.

[MA_Politicians_in_Railroading-7] The Political Graveyard (March 10, 2005), Politicians in Railroading in Massachusetts Archived 2006-06-18 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 29, 2005.

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