Events January events January 7 – The Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road opens its first section, , in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. January 9 – Ground is broken in Charleston, South Carolina, for the first railroad to use steam locomotives in South Carolina, the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road. February events February 4 – The Camden and Amboy Rail Road, the first railroad to be built in New Jersey, is chartered. March events March 15 – The New Orleans, Louisiana, City Council approves the right of way for the construction of the Pontchartrain Rail-Road. May events May 3 – Ceremonial opening of the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway in England. The steam locomotive Invicta is used on a level section of the route. May 22 – The Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road completes construction on the line between Baltimore and Ellicott's Mills, Maryland. May 24 – The first revenue trains on the Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road operate between Baltimore and Ellicott's Mills, Maryland, a distance of . August events Construction begins on the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad between Albany and Schenectady, New York. August 28 – In a race between the Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road's Tom Thumb and a stagecoach near Ellicott's Mills, Maryland, the horse and coach wins. September events September 15 – The Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the world's first purpose built passenger railway operated by steam locomotives, opens in England from Liverpool Road, Manchester, to Edge Hill, Liverpool. September 18 – Robert Stephenson is appointed to survey the London and Birmingham Railway. November events November 11 – The first transit of mail via railways occurs between Liverpool and Manchester, England. December events December 25 – The South Carolina Canal and Rail Road begins operations. Unknown date events The Boston and Maine Railroad is formed to build a railroad between Boston, Massachusetts, and Portland, Maine. Births January births January 2 – Henry Morrison Flagler, visionary and builder of Florida East Coast Railway (d. 1913). January 30 – Thomas Fremantle, director of London, Brighton and South Coast Railway from 1868 and chairman 1896–1908 (d. 1918). April births April 5 (probable date) – Robert F. Fairlie, Scottish-born steam locomotive designer (d. 1885). July births July 29 – Robert Harris, president of Northern Pacific Railway 1884-1888 (d. 1894). Deaths September deaths September 15 – William Huskisson, the popular MP for Liverpool, at the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway,