1855 in rail transport - Definition and Overview

This article will list events related to rail transport that occurred in 1855.

Events

March events

• March - The Chicago, St. Paul & Fond du Lac Railroad, whose purchase formed the basis of the Chicago and Northwestern railroad, begins operations.

December events

• December - Rogers, Ketchum and Grosvenor completes a 4-4-0 steam locomotive named General; this locomotive will later become the main object in the Great Locomotive Chase of the American Civil War.

Unknown date events

• The Panama Railway becomes the first railroad to connect the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean by rail as its route across Panama is completed.
• The first railway in New South Wales, Australia, from Sydney to Parramatta, using 4 ft 8.5 in gauge (standard gauge) track opens.

Births

November births

• November 5 - Eugene V. Debs, labor leader, founding member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, founder of the American Railway Union, arrested during the Pullman strike in Chicago, Illinois.

Deaths