Events January events January 8 – Ground is broken by the Central Pacific Railroad in Sacramento, California, on the western half of the First transcontinental railroad in North America. January 10 – The Metropolitan Railway, first section of the London Underground, opens from Paddington to Farringdon Street. February events February 20 – The London Pneumatic Despatch Company inaugurates its pneumatic tube atmospheric railway for parcels between Euston station and the G.P.O. North Western District sorting office in London, England ( of 2 ft (60 cm) gauge). March events March 2 – Clapham Junction railway station in England opens. March 6 – The final vote between construction of a rail line or a channel is taken with the result six to three in favor of the rail line, which would eventually become the Randsfjorden Line in Norway. March 16 – Berlin-Stettiner Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft in Germany opens its Szczecin–Pasewalk and Anklam–Pasewalk–Prenzlau–Angermünde lines. May events May 3 – The Atchison and Topeka Railroad officially changes names to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad to more closely match the railroad's goal of reaching Santa Fe, New Mexico, by rail. May 14 – The Great Indian Peninsula Railway line from Bombay (Mumbai) to Poonah (Pune) through the Bhor Ghat using zig zag and 28 tunnels is opened. June events June 11 – The Parliament of Norway passes the construction of what would become the Randsfjorden Line with 65 against 44 votes. July events July 1 – The Strathspey Railway opens from Dufftown to Abernethy, including Carron Bridge (River Spey), the last cast iron railway bridge to be built in Scotland. September events September The Kansas Pacific Railway begins construction in Kansas, building westward from Kansas City toward Colorado. The Western Railroad from Fayetteville to the coalfields of Egypt, North Carolina, is completed. October events October 5 – The Brooklyn, Bath and Coney Island Rail Road starts operations in Brooklyn, New York; this is now the oldest right-of-way on the New York City Subway, the largest rapid transit system in the United States and one of the largest in the world. October 17 – Thee San Francisco and San Jose Railroad begins excursion service between San Francisco and Menlo Park, California. October 23 – Festiniog Railway in North Wales introduces steam locomotives into general service, the first time this has been done anywhere in the world on a public railway of such a narrow gauge (2