Railroads in the Pre-Civil war era

Humble Beginnings:
As railroads first began appearing in the USA, no locomotives were actually produced in the United States.  Railroads relied on British mad locomotives and equipment to reconstruct and run railroads.  By 1829, B&O started developing the first American-built steam locomotive to run in the USA.  A domestic locomotive manufacturing industry quickly followed this event and American engineers began to copy British designs and railroad technology very closely.  By 1850, 9,000 miles of railroad lines stretched throughout the eastern United States and travel by railroad became one of the most common way to move both people and materials throughout the east.

A Powerful Industry:

As the railroad became a more popular method of transportation, soon it became a powerful rapidly expanding industry.  Railroads were discovered to be a more effective and reliable means of transportation that canals and turnpikes, so money began to pour into the construction of new railroads all over the United States.  By 1860, nearly every major city in the Midwest and North was linked in a vast network of railroads that ran throughout the East like a spider web.  The first Transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869 and marked an important event in the history of our nation.  Never before had the vast territory had the USA possessed been as unified and connected as when the Transcontinental railroad was completed.  A person could travel from New York to San Francisco in 6 days, uniting the country like never before.  Railroads also helped towns and cities that they passed through by bringing commerce and people to new places.  They helped jump start the economy of newly settled territories and allowed towns to sprout like plants all along the railroad lines that connected the nation

Technological Advancement:

With the success of the railroad came failure for those who had invested in canals, turnpikes, and to some extent river travel.  The railroad was more effective, faster, and wasn't restricted by weather as much as these other forms of travel and made them obsolete in American society.  The Railroad was one of the first monumental technological advancements and allowed the nation to industrialize and grow much more quickly than would have been possible without it.  Railroads are still an essential part of our society today, and it is important to understand how they developed and effected the time period we are currently studying in class.