1885 in rail transport

February events

 * February 8 – The Midland Railway of England opens its extension to Birmingham New Street station.
 * February 12 – The Kansas City, Clinton and Springfield Railway is incorporated in Missouri.
 * February 17 – The Southern Pacific Railroad and Central Pacific Railroad are combined under a single holding company, the Southern Pacific Company.

April events

 * April 1 – The Southern Pacific Railroad takes over operations of the Central Pacific Railroad.
 * April 6 – The Meriden and Cromwell Railroad, a Connecticut predecessor of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, opens.

June events

 * June – John J. Hagerman gains control of Colorado Midland.

July events

 * July 19 – The Zanesville and Ohio River Railway enters receivership.
 * July 20
 * The Hull & Barnsley Railway opens in Yorkshire, England. It is intended to challenge the near-monopoly on export coal traffic in its region of the North Eastern Railway.
 * Opening of first railway in Vietnam, Saigon to Mỹ Tho.

August events

 * August – International Railway Congress Association established in Brussels to provide an international forum for technical discussion.

November events

 * November – First train crosses Garabit viaduct in the Massif Central of France.
 * November 6 – Phase 3 of the Novara–Varallo railway in Italy opens connecting Grignasco to Borgosesia.
 * November 7 – The last spike on the Canadian Pacific Railway is driven at Craigellachie, British Columbia, Canada.
 * November 9 – The last spike is driven on the California Southern Railroad between Barstow and San Bernardino through Cajon Pass, completing the connection to the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad.
 * November 12 – The first train to travel the entire route of California Southern Railroad's track through Cajon Pass carries rails from Barstow to Riverside.
 * November 17 – The first through train from Chicago via Santa Fe lines arrives in San Diego.
 * November 29 – The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway leases trackage rights over the Southern Pacific Railroad from San Bernardino to Los Angeles at $1,200 per mile per year.

Unknown date events

 * Cornelius Vanderbilt II is promoted to president of the New York Central system.
 * The New Zealand Government Railways become the first major railway to place a 2-6-2 steam locomotive into service, having ordered ten V class from Nasmyth, Wilson & Company of Manchester, England.

Unknown date births

 * Richard M. Dilworth, General Motors Electro-Motive Division chief engineer credited with developing the diesel-electric locomotive concept in the 1930s (d. 1968).

January deaths

 * January 12 – John B. Jervis, Chief mechanical engineer of the Mohawk & Hudson Railroad, pioneer of the use of the leading truck on steam locomotives (b. 1795).

July deaths

 * July 31 – Robert F. Fairlie, Scottish steam locomotive builder (b. 1831).

December deaths

 * December 6 – Robert Gerwig, German civil engineer, designer of the Schwarzwaldbahn and the Höllentalbahn in the Black Forest (b. 1820).
 * December 8 – William Henry Vanderbilt, son of Cornelius Vanderbilt and president of the New York Central system (b. 1821).