Portal:Transport/Selected anniversaries/August 17
- 1849 – The Old Guarantee System providing land grants to English companies for railroad construction in India is finalized.
- 1886 – The 7 11 km (6.8 mi) long Lakeside and Marblehead Railroad is incorporated in Ottawa County, Ohio, United States.
- 1897 – Purvis is awarded a patent for an electric railroad switch.
- 1979 – Two Soviet Aeroflot jetliners collide in mid-air over Ukraine, killing 156.