railway gun used in combat pushed by a locomotive over the Richmond and York River line (later part of the Southern Railway) for the Battle of Savage's Station. July events July 1 - The Pacific Railroad Act is signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln. July 1 – The Union Pacific Railroad is incorporated. July 1 – Effective date of creation of Great Eastern Railway in England by amalgamation of Eastern Counties Railway, Eastern Union Railway, East Anglian Railway, Newmarket Railway and Norfolk Railway Companies. July 28 – The first railway post office car in North America is operated over the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, the mail being transferred to stagecoach in St. Joseph, Missouri, for the rest of the journey to California. July 29 – The Washington and Georgetown Railroad Company began streetcar operations on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. August events August 15 – Opening of first railroad in Algeria, from Algiers to Blida ( of 1445 mm gauge). September events September 1 – James Staats Forbes becomes General Manager of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway. October events October 3 – Kongsvingerbanen opens between Lillestrøm and Kongsvinger, Norway. October 13 – The Winchburgh rail crash in Scotland kills 15 people. October 28 – Portland gauge Maine Central Railroad is formed by merger of the Androscoggin and Kennebec Railroad with the Penobscot and Kennebec Railroad. November events November 10 – Chicago and North Western Railway reaches Green Bay, Wisconsin. December events December 9 – The Winona and St. Peter Railroad makes its first run between Winona and Stockton, Minnesota. Unknown date events Cornelius Vanderbilt acquires the New York and Harlem Railroad. Bergisch-Märkische Eisenbahn opens Essen Hauptbahnhof station. Patna–Digha Ghat line opens in British India. Births Deaths March 2 – Frederick W. Lander, Chief Civil Engineer for the Pacific Railroad (b. 1822). September 18? – Septimus Norris, steam locomotive designer often credited as designing the first 4-6-0 (b. 1818). References Cooper, Bruce C., CPRR.org (2004), Postal History of the First Transcontinental Railroad. Retrieved July 28, 2005.