Oldest railroads in North America


This is a list of the earliest railroads in North America, including various railroad-like precursors to the general modern form of a company or government agency operating locomotive-drawn trains on metal tracks.

Railroad-like entities (1700s–1810s)

; Granite, coal and cotton railroads
, incorporated in 1826 and opened in 1831
While private railroads are legally free to choose their jobs and customers, common carriers must charge fair rates to all comers.
Any effort to arrange early common-carrier railroads in chronological order must choose among various possible criterion dates, including applying for a state charter, receiving a charter, forming a company to build a railroad, beginning construction, opening operations, and so forth.
NameCharteredStateOpenedNotes
Union Canal Company of PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaChartered on May 30, 1811 to build a canal; authorized to build a railroad on March 3, 1826
Granite RailwayMassachusettsOnly authorized to carry freight until April 16, 1846
Delaware and Hudson Canal CompanyPennsylvaniaChartered on March 13, 1823 to build a canal; authorized to build a railroad on April 5, 1826
Danville and Pottsville RailroadPennsylvania
Mohawk and Hudson RailroadNew YorkCarried only passengers for first few years of operation due to competition from the adjacent Erie Canal.
Baltimore and Ohio RailroadMarylandFirst common carrier in America, chartered from its inception to haul freight and passengers on timetabled trains over vast distances with steam power, first to open for public service
South Carolina Canal and Railroad CompanySouth CarolinaOperated first steam hauled passenger train in America on a schedule. Known to the public as the Charleston & Hamburg Railroad.
Ithaca and Owego RailroadNew York
Mill Creek and Mine Hill Navigation and Railroad CompanyPennsylvania
Tioga Navigation CompanyPennsylvaniaChartered on February 20, 1826 to build a canal or slack-water navigation; authorized to build a railroad on February 7, 1828
Baltimore and Susquehanna RailroadMaryland
Chesterfield RailroadVirginia
New Castle and Frenchtown Turnpike and Railroad CompanyMarylandChartered on January 6, 1810 as the New Castle and Frenchtown Turnpike Company to build a turnpike; renamed and authorized to build a railroad on March 14, 1828
Philadelphia and Columbia RailroadPennsylvaniaPart of the state-owned Main Line of Public Works
Schuylkill Valley Navigation CompanyPennsylvaniaChartered on March 20, 1827 to build a canal; authorized to build a railroad on April 14, 1828; renamed Schuylkill Valley Navigation and Railroad Company on January 15, 1829
Schuylkill East Branch Navigation CompanyPennsylvaniaChartered on February 20, 1826 to build a lock navigation; authorized to build a railroad on April 14, 1828; renamed Little Schuylkill Navigation, Railroad and Coal Company on April 23, 1829
Mine Hill and Schuylkill Haven RailroadPennsylvania
Northern Liberties and Penn Township RailroadPennsylvania
Mount Carbon RailroadPennsylvania
Tuscumbia RailwayAlabama
Pontchartrain RailroadLouisiana
Lexington and Ohio RailroadKentucky
Camden and Amboy Railroad and Transportation CompanyNew Jersey
Petersburg RailroadVirginia
Lykens Valley Railroad and Coal CompanyPennsylvania
Beaver Meadow Railroad and Coal CompanyPennsylvania
Canajoharie and Catskill RailroadNew York
Boston and Lowell RailroadMassachusetts
Petersburg RailroadNorth Carolina
Paterson and Hudson River RailroadNew Jersey
Elizabethtown and Somerville RailroadNew Jersey
Saratoga and Schenectady RailroadNew York
West Chester RailroadPennsylvania
West Feliciana RailroadLouisiana
Philadelphia and Columbia RailroadPennsylvaniaPart of the state-owned Main Line of Public Works
Southwark RailroadPennsylvania
Cumberland Valley RailroadPennsylvania
Philadelphia and Delaware County RailroadPennsylvaniaRenamed Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad on March 14, 1836
Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown RailroadPennsylvaniaFirst common carrier in Pennsylvania. Earlier railroads were operated to haul minerals like coal and iron, but later in the decade would become modern common carrier systems hauling passengers and public goods.
Winchester and Potomac RailroadVirginia
New York and Harlem RailroadNew York
Boston and Providence RailroadMassachusetts
Boston and Worcester RailroadMassachusetts
Clinton and Vicksburg RailroadMississippiReorganized as the Commercial and Railroad Bank of Vicksburg on December 25, 1833
Mad River and Lake Erie RailroadOhio
Tuscumbia, Courtland and Decatur RailroadAlabama
Wilmington and Susquehanna RailroadDelaware
Lawrenceburg and Indianapolis RailroadIndiana
Ohio and Indianapolis RailroadIndianaRenamed Jeffersonville Railroad on February 3, 1849
Philadelphia and Trenton RailroadPennsylvania
Baltimore and Port Deposit RailroadMaryland
New Jersey Railroad and Transportation CompanyNew Jersey
Portsmouth and Roanoke RailroadVirginia
New Jersey, Hudson and Delaware RailroadNew JerseyMerged into the New Jersey Midland Railway on April 26, 1870
Franklin RailroadPennsylvania
Delaware and Maryland RailroadMarylandMerged into the Wilmington and Susquehanna Railroad on April 18, 1836
York and Maryland Line RailroadPennsylvania
Liggett's Gap RailroadPennsylvaniaRenamed Lackawanna and Western Railroad on April 14, 1851
Rensselaer and Saratoga RailroadNew York
Saratoga and Fort Edward RailroadNew YorkReorganized as the Saratoga and Washington Railroad on May 2, 1834
New York and Albany RailroadNew YorkSold to the New York and Harlem Railroad on March 9, 1846
Watertown and Rome RailroadNew York
Tonawanda RailroadNew York
New York and Erie RailroadNew York
Brooklyn and Jamaica RailroadNew YorkLeased by the Long Island Rail Road from opening
Hudson and Berkshire RailroadNew York
Boston, Norwich and New London RailroadConnecticutMerged into the Norwich and Worcester Railroad on June 22, 1836
New York and Stonington RailroadConnecticutMerged into the New York, Providence and Boston Railroad on July 1, 1833
Portsmouth and Lancaster RailroadPennsylvaniaRenamed Harrisburg, Portsmouth, Mountjoy and Lancaster Railroad on March 11, 1835
Williamsport and Elmira RailroadPennsylvania
Strasburg Rail RoadPennsylvaniaStill in operation as a shortline freight hauler and tourist railroad. Recognized as the oldest, continuously operating railroad in the United States as it still operates under its original 1832 charter.
New York, Providence and Boston RailroadRhode Island
Detroit and St. Joseph RailroadMichiganSold to the Central Railroad of Michigan on April 22, 1837

Selected railroads chartered since 1832: