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Explore the rise of railroads as the first major businesses, their impact on American politics, and the growth of the railroad network in the 19th century. Learn about the origins of railroads, early steam engines, the eclipse of canals, and the development of trunk lines. Discover how railroads transformed transportation and commerce in the United States.
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Railroads as Big Business Railroads Were the First Big Businesses Because they were Spread out Geographically and were Complex to Manage and Run
Railroads and American Politics • Agenda for Topic 3: Railroads as Big Business • The Origin of Rail Roads • 2. The Early Steam Railroads • 3. The Railroads Eclipse the Canals • 4. The Railroad Decade: 1850 – 1860 • 5. The Trunk Lines as Big Business
1803: First Steam Locomotive to run on rails
James Watt (1736 - 1819)
The Sun-and-Planet-Gear produces a continuous revolving motion to an axle or shaft
The double action steam engine
The first true railroad -- the Stockton and Darlington Railroad -- was opened in England on 27 September 1825
In the United States the first regularly scheduled public steam train was run in Charleston, South Carolina on 25 December 1830.
August 1830, the Tom Thumb made a 13 mile run from Baltimore to Ellicott’s Mills pulling a single car carrying the Directors of the B&O.
On 9 August 1831 the DeWitt Clinton pulled a train between Albany and Schenectady, New York
1839: Philadelphia & Columbia 41.25 lb Iron T RailCamden & Amboy 42 lb Iron T Rail
Railroads Cross the Mississippi River at Rock Island
Between 1850 and 1860 22,500 miles (36,000 km) of railroad line were built increasing the total mileage from 7,500 in 1850 to 30,000 in 1860 (in kilometers 12,000 and 52,000 respectively). Of the total built in this decade, 10,000 miles (16,000 km) were built in the Midwest.
In 1849 Chicago only had one short line. By 1854 Chicago was the leading rail center in the U.S. with 11 Railroad lines serving Chicago. • In 1856 a railroad bridge is built across the Mississippi river at Rock Island between Iowa and Illinois allowing the shipment of Midwestern grains directly to Chicago via rail.
4. In 1851-52 the Erie Railroad, the Pennsylvania Railroad, and the B&O reached Dunkirk, New York, Pittsburgh, and Wheeling, VA respectively and telegraphic control first used. In 1856 The Pennsylvania acquired working control of a 468-mile route from Pittsburgh to Chicago, the recently completed Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne, and Chicago RR.
5. Before 1850 the great majority of the agricultural products of the Mississippi valley went south through New Orleans. By 1860 the railroads had largely taken over this traffic from the Mississippi river and the western canals. By 1860 Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin replace Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio as the leading wheat growing states.
6. As the railroads grow larger, they capture an increasing percentage of the freight business and their productivity grows by leaps and bounds. In the 1830s freight rates were about $.075 per ton mile and passenger rates were about $.05 per mile. By 1859 these rates had fallen to $.0258 and $.0244 respectively. During this period the 8-wheel freight car is introduced, rail weights increase from 13.5 pounds per foot to 59.5 pounds per foot (still iron rails – steel rails began to be used extensively in the 1870s), locomotives got larger, and overall, the capital/output ratio goes form 10:1 to 5:1.
7. By 1860 on the eve of the Civil War rail passengers could travel from St. Louis to Boston in 48 hours or from New York to Charleston, South Carolina, in 62 hours.
The Railroad Network in 1860
The Trunk Line Railroads
