1812 in rail transport.html



This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in 1812.

Events

July events

• July 6 - The Kilmarnock and Troon Railway becomes the first public railway line to open in Scotland. It began life as a 9.5 mile (16 km), double track 4 ft (1,219 mm) gauge, horse-drawn waggonway to carry coal from Kilmarnock to Troon harbour; the engineer was William Jessop.¹

August events

• August 12 - The Middleton Railway, serving coal pits at Leeds in England, becomes the first to use steam locomotives successfully in regular service. The first locomotive, The Salamanca, is also the first to use two cylinders and has a rack railway mechanism devised by John Blenkinsop and built by Matthew Murray.²

Births

August births

• August 15 - William Kimmel, director for Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (d. 1886).

December births

• December 12 - James Grant, first president of Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, 1851-1854 (d. 1891).

Unknown date births

• William F. Harnden, the first person to send an express shipment by rail (d. 1845).

Deaths

References

• Rivanna Chapter, National Railway Historical Society (2005), This Month in Railroad History: March. Retrieved March 30, 2005.
• White, John H., Jr. (Spring 1986). "America's most noteworthy railroaders". Railroad History 154: pp. 9-15. OCLC 1785797. ISSN 0090-7847. 

1. ^ Robertson, C. J. A. (1983). The Origins of the Scottish Railway System 1722-1844. Edinburgh: John Donald Publishers. ISBN 0-85976-088-X. 
2. ^ Bushell, J. (1975). The World’s Oldest Railway: a history of the Middleton Railway. Sheffield: Turntable Publications. ISBN 0-902844-27-X.