1797
The steam locomotive is invented in England.
1827
The first railroad in North America -- the Baltimore & Ohio -- is chartered by Baltimore merchants.
1830
The first regularly scheduled steam-powered rail passenger service in the U.S. begins operation in South Carolina, utilizing the U.S.-built locomotive "The Best Friend of Charleston."
1833
A total of 380 miles of rail track are in operation in the U.S.
1838
Five of the six New England states have rail service, as do such frontier states as Kentucky and Indiana.
1840
More than 2,800 miles of track are in operation.
1850
More than 9,000 miles of track are in operation in the U.S., as much as in the rest of the world combined.
1860
More than 30,000 miles of track are in operation in the U.S.
1861-1865
The Civil War becomes the first major conflict in which railroads play a major role as both sides use trains to move troops and supplies.
1862
President Abraham Lincoln signs the Pacific Railroad Act for the construction of the transcontinental railroad that will ultimately link California with the rest of the nation.
1865
The "golden age" of railroads begins. For nearly half a century, no other mode of transportation challenges railroads. During these years, the rail network grows from 35,000 to a peak of 254,000 miles in 1916.
1869
On May 10, at Promontory, in the Utah Territory, the "Golden Spike" joins the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads, marking completion of the first transcontinental railroad.
1872-1945
Presidents from Ulysses S. Grant to Franklin D. Roosevelt travel largely by train. For them, as for virtually every American, the railroad offers the fastest, safest means of travel.
1917
The federal government seizes control of the railroads for the duration of World War I. By the time they are returned to private ownership in 1920, they are in seriously run-down condition and in need of substantial maintenance and improvement.
1900-1940
Other modes of transportation grow from small beginnings to challenge rail dominance over freight and passenger transportation. By the eve of World War II, automobiles, large buses, trucks, planes and pipelines -- supported by government subsidies and less burdened by regulation than railroads -- have become full-fledged competitors to railroads.
1929-1940
The Great Depression exacts a heavy toll on the railroad industry, forcing substantial segments of the industry into bankruptcy.
1941-1945
Railroads remain under private control during World War II and move on average twice the monthly volume of both freight and passengers as during World War I.
1945-1970
Railroads enter the post-war era with a new sense of optimism that leads them to invest billions of dollars in new locomotives, freight equipment and passenger trains. That investment would see retirement of the last steam locomotive by the late 1950s in favor of diesel engines. In spite of this modernization, the decline in rail market share that began before the war resumes.
1945-1953
President Harry S Truman is the last "railroad President." His successors will rely mostly on planes and automobiles, using trains largely for campaign trips.
1955
Inter-modal freight -- the movement of containers and highway trailers by rail -- is reported as a separate category of freight for the first time. In that year, railroads moved 168,000 carloads of trailers and containers.
1970-1975
Burdened by regulation and faced with subsidized competition, nine Class I railroads, representing almost one-quarter of the industry's trackage, file for bankruptcy protection.
1970
The Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970 creates Amtrak to take over intercity rail passenger service. Amtrak officially begins service on May 1, 1971.
1980
The Staggers Rail Act reduces the Interstate Commerce Commission's regulatory jurisdiction over railroads and sparks competition that stimulates advances in technology and a restructuring of the industry, including creation of hundreds of new short line and regional railroads.
1987
Conrail is privatized in what -- at that time -- was the largest share offering in U.S. history as investors pay $1.9 billion to buy shares in the railroad.