# 1853 in rail transport

This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in 1853.

## 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 34 km (21 mi).
* 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 300-mile (480 km) route between Chicago, Illinois, and Louisville, Kentucky
* American steam locomotive builder Manchester Locomotive Works opens.

## 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 – John William Kendrick, chief engineer 1888–1893, general manager 1893–1899 and vice president 1899–1911 of Northern Pacific Railway and vice-chairman of the board for Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (d. 1924).

## Deaths
### July deaths

* July 24 – Hezekiah C. Seymour, chief engineer for Ontario, Huron and Lake Simcoe Railroad (b. 1811).

### September deaths

* September 6 – George Bradshaw, English cartographer, printer and publisher and the originator of the railway timetable (b. 1800).