This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in 1839.
Events edit
January events edit
- January 1 – The New Jersey Railroad and Transportation Company opens its route between Trenton and New Brunswick, New Jersey.
March events edit
- March 4 – William F. Harnden, founder of Harnden and Company, becomes the first person to send an express shipment by rail when he ships an express package from Boston, Massachusetts, to Providence, Rhode Island, on the Boston and Providence Rail Road.
- March 5 – Bristol and Exeter Railway adopts 7 ft (2,134 mm) for its track gauge.
- March 12 – Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts Railroad is incorporated in Maine.
April events edit
- April 3 – Andover and Haverhill Railroad reorganizes and changes its name for a second time to Boston and Portland Railroad, reflecting plans to extend its line to Portland, Maine.
June events edit
- June 4 – The London and Southampton Railway is renamed the London and South Western Railway.
August events edit
- August 12
September events edit
- September 20 – Official opening of the first railway line in the Netherlands, locomotive De Arend, broad gauge (1945 mm).
- September 24 – The first railway line in the Netherlands, 19 km between Amsterdam and Haarlem, opens for the public.[1][page needed]
- September 26 – The Taunus Railway opens its route between the Free City of Frankfurt and Höchst, Duchy of Nassau.
October events edit
- October 3 – The first railway line in Italy, 7 km between Naples and Portici, opens.
- October 19 – George Bradshaw publishes the world's first collective railway timetable book in Manchester, England.
- October – Eleazer Lord succeeds James G. King for a second term as president of the Erie Railroad.[2]
Births edit
June births edit
- June 24 – Gustavus Franklin Swift, American founder of Swift and Company which pioneered the use of refrigerator cars in late 19th century America (died 1903).
July births edit
- July 17 – Ephraim Shay, American inventor of the Shay locomotive (died 1916).
- July 22 – David Moffat, Colorado railroad financier (died 1911).
August births edit
- August 20 – Gaston du Bousquet, French steam locomotive designer (died 1910).
December births edit
- December 8 – Alexander J. Cassatt, president of the Pennsylvania Railroad 1899–1906 (died 1906).[3]
Deaths edit
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References edit
- 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: 9–15. ISSN 0090-7847. JSTOR 43523785. OCLC 1785797.
- ^ Marshall, John (1989). The Guinness Railway Book. Enfield: Guinness Books. ISBN 0-8511-2359-7. OCLC 24175552.
- ^ Stratton, Fred. "Erie Railroad presidents". Archived from the original on 18 March 2005. Retrieved 2005-03-02.
- ^ Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (2005). "RPI: Alumni hall of fame: Alexander J. Cassatt". Retrieved 2005-02-22.