1851 in rail transport
Events February events February 4 – The Cincinnati, Wilmington and Zanesville Railroad is incorporated in Ohio. February 7 – The Chicago & Rock Island Railroad, the earliest predecessor of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, is incorporated. February 10 – The Illinois Central Railroad is chartered. February 25 – The first passenger train on the Milwaukee Road operates over what is then known as the Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad between Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. April events April 19 – The Albany and Susquehanna Railroad, in New York state, is chartered. May events May 17 – Opening of first railway in Peru, linking the Pacific port of Callao and the capital Lima ( of standard gauge), later part of the Ferrocarril del Centro. June events June – The first "refrigerated boxcar" enters service on the Northern Railroad (New York). July events July 4 – Groundbreaking ceremonies are held for the Pacific Railroad Company, a railroad later to become the Missouri Pacific Railroad August events August 2 – The Staten Island Railway is incorporated. November events November 1 – Saint Petersburg–Moscow Railway officially opened in Russia. December events December 22 – The first railway operates in India, hauling construction material