19th century

• 1846 – The town of Kendal, England, declares a public holiday for the opening of the Kendal, Oxenholme and Lancaster section of the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway; the first revenue trains are operated on September 22.
• 1856 – Illinois Central Railroad connects Chicago to Cairo, Illinois, completing 700 miles (1,100 km) of track to become the longest railway in the United States.
• 1869 – The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway leases the Kalamazoo, Allegan and Grand Rapids Railway in Michigan.
• 1884 – The Arlberg railway in Austria, Europe's hardest mountain railway, is completed.

20th century

• 1906 – A Grand Trunk Railway passenger train hits a stopped freight train at a crossover in Napanee, Ontario; the engineer stayed at the controls trying to slow his train as much as possible and became the only fatality. The train's passengers later erected a monument in the engineer's honor.
• 1982 – Takabata Station in Nakagawa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, is opened.

21st century