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 . 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