1956

Timelines:	1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
Births:	1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
Deaths:	1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
Establishments:	1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
Disestablishments:	1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
Introductions:	1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
Accidents:	1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
Images:	1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959

By month

January

• January 5 – New York Central Railroad begins test runs of General Motors Electro-Motive Division's Aerotrain between Chicago and Detroit.
• January 8 – The last regular passenger train is run along the Bathgate and Coatbridge Railway route between Glasgow and Edinburgh, Scotland.
• January 10 – The Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railroad officially reorganizes as the Monon Railroad.
• January 22 – The RDCs making up San Diegan train No. 82 derail in a high-speed accident at Redondo Junction, just south of the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal, killing 30 and seriously injuring 117. This was the units' last run on the Surf Line. The radio reports of this accident were one of the first major uses of the Sigalert.
• January 29 – Virginian Railway discontinues passenger train service.

March

• March 5 – The last steam locomotive purchased new by Southern Pacific Railroad, cab forward class AC-12 4-8-8-2 number 4294, is retired from revenue service.

Unknown date

• The Lanqing railway, connecting Lanzhou to Xining, is designed.
• The last of Southern Pacific Railroad's GS-2 class of steam locomotives are retired from service.