These are events that relate to the health, welfare, and advancement of the railroad industry as a whole.

Please contact me with additional events you think should be included. Also, please help refine dates and correct errors.

Date	Event
Feb 22, 1804	First steam tramway (road, as opposed to railroad) locomotive in Wales.
1814	George Stephenson built first steam railway locomotive (Blucher) for Stockton & Darlington Railway.
1815	First North American railroad charter for Camden & Amboy.
Mar 8, 1817	New York Stock & Exchange Board organized.
1819	Panic of 1819, often blamed on the Second Bank of the United States tightening credit, but probably the result of long-declining agricultural prices.
Oct 7, 1826	First horse-powered railroad (3 miles long) completed in United States at Quincy, MA granite quarry.
Feb 28, 1827	First railroad, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, chartered in the United States.
May, 1827	Mauch Chunk (9 miles long) gravity railroad built near Carbondale, PA.
Dec 22, 1828	Baltimore & Ohio completes first section of horse-drawn rail service.
Aug 8, 1829	Delaware & Hudson Canal Co runs first steam-powered locomotive "Stourbridge Lion" near Carbondale, Pennsylvania.
Aug 28, 1830	Peter Cooper operates "Tom Thumb" - the first locomotive manufactured in the United Stares - on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.
1830	John Stevens invents T-Rail.
Nov 14, 1832	John Mason starts first horse-drawn streetcar service along Bowery Street in New York.
1835	Samuel Morse uses earlier technology (Joseph Henry, 1830) to create telegraph.
1836	First railroad in Canada opens - Champlain & St Lawrence.
May 10, 1837	Banks in New York City stopped payment in gold and silver, precipitating the Panic of 1837. Six-year depression follows.
1837	First railroad in Cuba (Havana to Guines.)
1842	Brokers begin trading stocks too small for listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Since they had no offices, and merely traded on Broad Street, they became known as "Curbstone Brokers" and "New York Curb Market." This outdoors arrangement lasted until 1921.
Mar 24, 1844	First message transmitted over telegraph line completed between Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
Apr 13, 1846	Pennsylvania Railroad chartered.
1846	British government adopts "standard gauge" of 4' 8-1/2", the same as the Stockton & Darlington road.
Sep 16, 1850	First railway in Mexico opens - 11 km between Veracruz and Molino.
Sep 20, 1850	President Millard Fillmore signs Land Grant Act.
1851	Trains dispatched by telegraph.
Feb 20, 1852	First rail connection between East Coast and Chicago.
Jul, 1854	Stock market crash caused by discoveries of fraudulent stock issuances in New York & New Haven RR, Harlem Co, and Vermont Central Ry
Jan 28, 1855	Panama Railroad completed across Isthmus of Panama.
Apr 21, 1856	Chicago Rock Island & Pacific train crosses first railroad bridge across Mississippi River between Rock Island, Illinois and Davenport, Iowa.
Sep 21, 1856	Illinois Central Railroad completed between Chicago and Cairo, IL.
Apr, 1857	Severe Baltimore & Ohio Railroad labor strike with several deaths
Aug 24, 1857	New York branch of Ohio Life Insurance & Trust Co fails, precipitating the Panic of 1857.
Oct 14, 1857	Run on bank deposits forced suspension of withdrawals on Wall Street banks. Numerous bank failures.
1857	St Louis connected by rail to East Coast.
Oct, 1861	Overland Telegraph and Pacific Telegraph complete transcontinental system and quickly merge into Western Union.
Jul 1, 1862	Congress passes Pacific Railway act, authorizing construction of Transcontinental railroad. Act creates Union Pacific Railroad Company.
Jan 10, 1863	First subway opens in London.
Jan 29, 1863	New York Stock & Exchange Board changes name to New York Stock Exchange.
Aug, 1864	Gold hits $261.75
1864	George Pullman invents Pullman sleeping car.
Nov 6, 1865	Milwaukee & Prairie Du Chien Railway Co stock "cornered"; price driven from 40 to 210 and back to 110; many brokerages failed because of inability to cover short sales.
Dec 9, 1865	New York Stock Exchange occupies new building.
Dec 25, 1865	Giant Union stockyards open in Chicago.
1865	Smelters in Chicago mill first steel rails.
Apr, 1866	Michigan Southern RR stock "cornered"; price driven from 84 to 104 and back to 80 with 24 hours. Heavy speculation and "corners" in Reading, Chicago & Rock Island, Hudson River, Cleveland & Pittsburg and Northwestern.
Dec 7, 1867	Charles T Harvey successfully demonstrates first cable-pulled elevated railway in New York.
Jan 16, 1868	William Davis patents refrigerator car.
Apr 20, 1868	New York legislature gives full control of Erie (first Gould railroad) to Jay Gould and James Fisk; Commodore Vanderbilt defeated.
Jul 1, 1868	West Side Elevated opened between Cortlandt Street and Battery Place in New York.
Jul, 1868	Jay Gould becomes preident of Erie Railway
Feb 1, 1869	New York Stock Exchange requires shares of all listed companies to be officially registered (anti stock-watering decree)
Apr 13, 1869	George Westinghouse patents automatic air brake.
May 10, 1869	Union Pacific and Central Pacific drive "Golden Spike" at Promontory Point, Utah, completing the transcontinental railroad.
Sep 24, 1869	Jay Gould and James Fisk precipitate "Black Friday" gold market crash after driving gold to 162; U.S. government announced it would sell gold and prices fell to 135 within 15 minutes.
Jan 17, 1871	Andrew Smith Hallidie patents first cable car.
Apr 20, 1871	First steam-powered elevated railway operation in New York City.
Jan 6, 1872	Edward Stokes murders James Fisk in Grand Central Hotel, New York.
Mar 15, 1872	Jay Gould forced to resign from board of Erie; replaced by John Dix.
Sep 4, 1872	New York Sun begins exposing Credit Mobilier financing which culminates in huge railroad financing scandal.
Nov 20, 1872	Gould, Schell and Clark corner Erie stock and drive price from $83.75 on the 20th to $230 on the 23rd. Prices quickly fell back to $85, seriously hurting Drew and Smith.
1872	Canadian railroads converted lines to standard gauge of 4' 8-1/2".
1872	Vanderbilt interests acquire sufficient Union Pacific stock to install Horace Clark as president.
Apr 29, 1873	Eli H. Janney patents knuckle coupler.
Jun, 1873	Jay Gould acquires first Union Pacific shares upon death of Horace Clark.
Aug 1, 1873	First cable car opens for operation in San Francisco.
Sep 18, 1873	Jay Cooke & Co brokerage fails because of problems financing the Northern Pacific. Failure of Cooke and 37 additional brokerages and banks precipitates the Panic of 1873. New York Stock Exchange closed for 10 days. Five-year depression follows.
Mar, 1874	Jay Gould elected to Union Pacific board of directors.
Jul 4, 1874	Eads steel arch bridge at St Louis opens across the Mississippi.
Jul 14, 1877	Railroads decrease pay because of depression. Strikes, labor unrest, and violence follows. Labor unions increase in power.
Nov, 1879	W.H. Vanderbilt sold 250,000 shares of New York Central & Hudson River @$120/share to J.S. Morgan & Co.
Jan, 1880	Jay Gould acquires Missouri Kansas & Texas stock and becomes president.
Mar 13, 1882	To counter reports of financial hardship, Gould displayed $53 million in stocks and offered to show an additional $30 million.
Mar 21, 1882	Chicago Stock Exchange organized.
Aug 8, 1883	Southern Pacific and Atlantic & Pacific complete line from New Orleans to Pacific Coast at Needles, CA.
Sep 8, 1883	Northern Pacific Railroad drives last spike.
Nov 18, 1883	U.S. and Canadian railroads adopt four standard time zones.
Jul 3, 1884	Charles Dow creates stock average (precursor to Dow Jones Industrial Average) which includes nine railroad issues: Chicago Milwaukee & St Paul, Chicago & North Western, Delaware Lackawanna & Western, Lake Shore, Louisville & Nashville, Missouri Pacific, New York Central, Northern Pacific (preferred), and Union Pacific.
Feb 16, 1885	Charles Dow modifies "Dow Dozen" to include twelve railroads and two industries. New railroads include Central Pacific, Central RR of New Jersey, and Delaware & Hudson.
Jan 2, 1886	Two companies removed from Dow Average; constituents include Chicago Milwaukee & St Paul, Chicago & North Western, Delaware & Hudson, Delaware Lackawanna & Western, Lake Shore, Louisville & Nashville, Missouri Pacific, New York Central, Northern Pacific (preferred), and Union Pacific.
May 31, 1886	Standard gauge of 4'-8-1/2" adopted by the Southern railroads.
Feb 4, 1887	Interstate Commerce Act become law. Intended to insure reasonable rates, prevent pooling, and stop two-tiered pricing.
Sep 29, 1890	Congress passes law to require railroads to forfeit unused land grants.
Apr 19, 1892	Charles and Frank Duryea perfect first automobile.
Jan 6, 1893	Great Northern Railway drives last spike at Scenic, Washington.
Feb, 1892	Philadelphia & Reading Railroad fails with $125,000,000 debt, leading to collapse of stocks on New York market.
Jun 27, 1893	New York stock market collapses, resulting in 4-year depression.
Apr 9, 1894	Dow average modified; constituents include Chicago Burlington & Quincy, Chicago Milwaukee & St Paul, Chicago & North Western, Chicago Rock Island & Pacific, Delaware & Hudson, Delaware Lackawanna & Western, Louisville & Nashville, Missouri Pacific, Northern Pacific (preferred), and Union Pacific.
May 11, 1894	Pullman Palace Car Co slashes wages and causes workers to strike.
Jul 2, 1894	U.S. government issues injunction against striking Pullman Palace Car Co. workers.
Jul 3, 1894	President Cleveland sends U.S. troops to Chicago to enforce injunction. Two men are killed on July 6. Troops are withdrawn on July 20.
Jan 14, 1895	Trolley employees strike in New York. Riots follow, eventually stopped by New York and Brooklyn militia.
May 26, 1896	Dow creates Industrial Index and moves railroad stocks to Dow Jones Railroad Index.
May 26, 1896	Charles Dow creates Dow Jones Industrial Average. All roads moved to Dow Jones Railroad Average.
Sep 1, 1897	First electrified U.S. subway opens in Boston.
May 9, 1901	James Hill and J.P. Morgan fight with Edward Harriman and Kuhn Loeb over control of Great Northern and Northern Pacific. Stock hits $1000/share, causing panic and collapse in other stocks.
Nov 13, 1901	Northern Securities Co formed to control Great Northern and Northern Pacific. Near-monopoly in northern shipping follows, eventually resulting in major trust company.
Mar 10, 1902	Attorney General begins prosecution against Northern Securities Company for violating the Sherman Anti-Trust law.
Feb 19, 1903	Congress passes Elkins Act, outlawing all rebates on published railroad freight rates.
Mar 14, 1904	Supreme Court rules against Northern Securities Co. for violating the Sherman Anti-Trust law.
Oct 27, 1904	First New York subway opens.
May 21, 1906	Congress passes Hepburn Act, allowing the Interstate Commerce Commission to regulate railroad, pipeline, and terminal rates.
Jun 18, 1910	Congress passes Mann-Elkins Act allowing the Interstate Commerce Commission to begin proceedings against railroads, pipelines, terminals, telegraph, and telephone companies in violation of rate regulations.
Jul 31, 1914	New York Stock Exchange closes through November 27 upon declaration of war.
Jul 31, 1914	Chicago Stock Exchange closes through December 11 upon declaration of war.
Aug 29, 1916	Congress passes Army Appropriations Act which includes clause allowing the President to take control of any system of transportation during times of war.
Aug 10, 1917	Congress passes Priority Law authorizing President to make carriers give precedence to military defense traffic.
Dec 28, 1917	President Woodrow Wilson uses Federal Possession and Control Act to take possession of "each and every system of transportation...within the boundaries of the United States." U.S. Railroad Administration created.
Mar 19, 1918	United States adopts five standard time zones across the nation and Alaska.
Mar 21, 1918	Congress passes Railway Control Act to officially control U.S. railway system during World War I.
Feb 28, 1920	Congress passes Esch-Cummins Act, creating the Railroad Labor Board.
Mar 1, 1920	Government returns control of all railroads.
Apr 26, 1920	Stock Clearing Corporation established.
1921	"Curbstone Brokers" ("New York Curb Market") moves indoors.
Oct 4, 1922	Canada creates Canadian National Railway and nationalized system.
Dec, 1923	First diesel locomotive demonstrated.
1925	Diesel locomotives start production.
Oct 24, 1929	Stock prices collapse on New York Stock Exchange. This day becomes known as "Black Thursday." Forerunner of Great Depression.
1929	"Curbstone Brokers" ("New York Curb Market") renames itself the New York Curb Exchange.
Sep 3, 1930	Thomas Edison runs first experimental electric passenger train between Hoboken and Montclair, NJ.
Mar 6, 1933	President Roosevelt orders "Bank Holiday" from Mar 6 to Mar 9 (Executive Proclamation 2039). Banks and stock exchanges close.
Mar 9, 1933	President Roosevelt extends "Bank Holiday" indefinitely. (Executive Proclamation 2039.)
Mar 10, 1933	President Roosevelt orders banks reopened (Executive Order 6073.)
Apr 5, 1933	President Roosevelt orders confiscation of gold coins, gold certificates, and bullion (Executive Order 6102.)
Apr 19, 1933	President Roosevelt takes U.S. off gold standard.
May 27, 1933	Congress passes Federal Securities Act requiring full disclosure about stocks offered to the public.
Jun 5, 1933	Congress nullifies all U.S. contracts that promise to repay interest or principal in gold. (H.J. Res. 192, 73rd Congress, 1st Session. 'Joint Resolution to Suspend the Gold Standard and Abrogate the Gold Clause'.)
Jun 6, 1934	President Roosevelt signs Securities Exchange Act establishing the Commission to regulate exchanges and stock transactions.
Jun 7, 1934	Congress passes Corporate Bankruptcy Act allowing corporate reorganization with support of two-thirds of creditors.
May, 1934	Streamlined diesel locomotives appear. (CB&Q Pioneer Zephyr)
Jun 13, 1937	Mexico nationalizes railroads.
Dec 27, 1943	President Roosevelt orders (Executive Order 9412) Federal takeover of railroads to prevent shutdown by labor. Army controls railroads until Jan 18, 1944
Jan 18, 1944	Army returns control of railroads to private ownership.
May 17, 1946	President Truman (Executive Order 9727) authorizes Federal control of railroads to prevent collapse of transportation system during strike. Strike ends May 25.
May 10, 1948	President Truman (Executive Order 9957) authorizes Army to operate railroads.
Jul 9, 1948	Army terminates operation of railroads allowed on May 10.
Jun 5, 1950	United States Supreme Court decides that segregation in railroad dining is illegal (Henderson v United States.)
Aug 26, 1950	President Truman orders Army to operate railroads to prevent strike from crippling transportation. (Executive Order 10155.)
May 23, 1952	Army returns railroads to private control.
Jan 5, 1953	New York Curb Exchange renames itself the American Stock Exchange.
Apr 25, 1963	President Kennedy authorizes Department of Interior to operate Alaska railroads (Executive Order 11107.)
Jan, 1970	Dow Jones adds air lines to Railroad Index of 20 stocks. Renames average to Transportation Average.
Jun 21, 1970	Penn Central declares bankruptcy, the largest corporate bankruptcy in U.S. history at the time.
Oct 14, 1980	President Jimmy Carter signs Staggers Rail Act, deregulating railroads and leading to divestiture of thousands of miles of unprofitable lines.