Portal:Trains/Anniversaries/January 16/More

19th century

 * 1836 – The Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, the oldest portion of what is to become the Chicago and North Western Railway, is chartered.
 * 1868 – William Davis, a fish merchant in Detroit, Michigan, is awarded a U.S. patent for his refrigerator car design.
 * 1889 – The Mito Railway begins passenger train operations on what is now the Jōban Line between Mito and Oyama, Japan.

20th century

 * 1928 – A group of investors led by Harvey C. Couch, who would later also control the Kansas City Southern Railway, gains control of the Louisiana and Arkansas Railway.
 * 1958 – The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority extends subway service to Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue in Queens.
 * 1969 – Penn Central introduces Metroliner passenger train services between Washington, D.C., and New York City.
 * 1990 – Canada's Minister of Transport approves the standardized Canadian Rail Operating Rules.

21st century

 * 2009 - A major derailment in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, disrupts the entire Metra North Central Service line for two days.

Births

 * 1825 – Carl Abraham Pihl, Norwegian civil engineer and director of the Norwegian State Railways (NSB) 1865–1897, is born (d. 1897).