The Railroad Encourages Economic Growth
To many Native Americans, the railroad was a terrifying monster, an “iron horse” belching black smoke and moving at stunning speeds. However, for the people of mining towns, railroads meant supplies, new townsfolk, and a rapid means of transporting their gold and silver. The West needed a transportation system that could carry heavy loads over great distances at a cost low enough to guarantee a profit. It is no wonder, then, that railroad companies raced to lay track to the mines and boomtowns. In time, the new technology of railroad transport opened the West and fostered economic growth for the nation.
The Transcontinental Railroad In 1863, two companies began a race to build the first transcontinental railroad. A transcontinental railroad is one that stretches across a continent from coast to coast. The Union Pacific Railroad started building a rail line westward from Omaha, Nebraska. The Central Pacific Railroad began in Sacramento, California, and built eastward. A local paper reported:
“With rites appropriate to the occasion … ground was formally broken at noon for the commencement of the Central Pacific Railroad—the California link of the continental chain that is to unite American communities now divided by thousands of miles of trackless wilderness.”To build railroads, workers first had to lay wooden beams, or ties, then a layer of gravel to hold the ties in place. Finally, they used spikes to nail the rails to the ties.
The federal government helped the railroad companies because it felt that rail lines in the West would benefit the entire nation. The government's aid came in the form of subsidies.
A subsidy is financial aid or a land grant from the government. Congress lent money to the railroad companies and gave them land. For every mile of track completed, the railroad companies received twenty sections of land in the states along the route and forty sections per mile in the territories. By the time the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads were completed, they had received about 45 million acres of land. Often, both business and government ignored the fact that Native Americans lived on the land.Building the Transcontinental Railroad Both companies had trouble getting workers. Labor was scarce during the Civil War. Also, the work was backbreaking and dangerous, and the pay was low.
The railroad companies hired immigrant workers, who accepted low wages. The Central Pacific brought in thousands of workers from China. The Union Pacific hired newcomers from Ireland. African Americans and Mexican Americans also worked for each line.
The railroad workers faced a daunting task. The Central Pacific had to carve a path across the rugged Sierra Nevada.
The Union Pacific had to cut through the towering Rocky Mountains. Snowstorms and avalanches killed workers and slowed progress. At times, crews cutting tunnels through rock advanced only a few inches a day.The completion of the transcontinental railroad was marked by the Golden Spike Ceremony, shown here. Rail travel was now possible from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean to the shores of the Pacific.
Building the railroad forced workers to adapt to or modify environments as varied as forests, deserts, and mountains. In some places, the railroad was built around mountains. In other places, however, workers blasted tunnels through mountains with new technologies such as specialized tools and explosives to achieve their goals.
Railroads Encourage Urban and Rural Growth The Central Pacific and Union Pacific met at Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1869. Leland Stanford, president of the Central Pacific, dropped a solid-gold spike into a pre-drilled hole in the rail. In doing so, he joined the two tracks and united the country. The nation's first transcontinental railroad was complete.
With the Civil War fresh in their minds, people cheered this new symbol of unity. The words that were engraved on the golden spike expressed their feelings:
“May God continue the unity of our Country as the Railroad unites the two great Oceans of the world.”
—Engraved on the Golden Spike
Before long, other major rail lines linked the West and the East. The railroads brought economic growth and new settlement all across the West. They enabled people, supplies, and mail to move quickly and cheaply across the plains and mountains. Wherever rail lines went, settlements—“railroad towns”—sprang up along the tracks. The largest towns and cities developed where major railroad lines met. Cities where sea and land transportation met, such as Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, experienced huge population growth with the coming of the railroads. Western cities, such as Denver, Cheyenne, and Wichita, grew when railroads were joined to the great cattle trails. Thus the railroad—the most advanced transportation system of its day—had a major impact on the urbanization of the United States.
Based on reading this text answer this question Explain how railroads helped the West develop.Please
The railroads helped the West develop in several ways. Firstly, the construction of railroads provided a means of transportation for supplies, people, and goods to mining towns and other settlements in the West. This allowed for the rapid growth and development of these areas, as they were no longer isolated and could receive necessary resources more easily.
Secondly, the federal government's subsidies and grants of land to the railroad companies encouraged further expansion and settlement in the West. The land provided to the companies for every mile of track laid attracted settlers and businesses to establish themselves along the rail lines.
Thirdly, the completion of the transcontinental railroad connected the East and West coasts of the country, promoting unity and facilitating trade and communication between the two regions. This led to economic growth and development on a national scale.
Overall, the railroads played a crucial role in opening up the West for settlement, encouraging economic growth, and connecting the different regions of the United States.
A National Transportation System Early railroads were short lines that served local communities. Many lines ran for no more than 50 miles. When passengers and freight reached the end of one line, they had to move to a train on a different line to continue their journey.
Even if the lines had been connected, the problem would not have been eliminated. Different lines used tracks of different gauges, or widths. As a result, the trains from one line could not run on the tracks of another line. In general, the tracks of northern lines used different gauges from those of southern lines.
In 1886, railroads in the South decided to adopt the northern gauge. On May 30, southern railroads stopped running so that work could begin. Using crowbars and sledgehammers, crews worked from dawn to dusk to move the rails a few inches farther apart. When they had finished, some 13,000 miles of track had been changed.
Once the track was standardized, American railroads formed a network, or system of connected lines. The creation of a rail network brought benefits to shippers. Often, rail companies arranged for freight cars on one line to use the tracks of another. For example, goods loaded in Chicago could stay on the same car all the way to New York, instead of being transferred from one car to another. As a result, the shipper had to pay only one fare for the whole distance.
New rails knit the sprawling nation together. By 1900, there were more miles of tracks in the United States than in Europe and Russia combined.
Westinghouse Brakes and Pullman Cars New inventions helped make railway travel safer and faster. On early trains, each railroad car had its own brakes and its own brake operator.
If different cars stopped at different times, serious accidents could result. In 1869, George Westinghouse began selling his new air brake. Westinghouse's air brake allowed a locomotive engineer to stop all the railroad cars at once. The air brake increased safety and allowed for longer, faster trains.
Long distance travel also became more comfortable. In 1864, George Pullman designed a railroad sleeping car. Pullman cars had convertible berths for sleeping as well as lavatories. Rail lines also added dining cars. Porters (who carried baggage), conductors, and waiters attended to the needs of passengers.The Railroads and Economic Growth The growth of the railroads in the 1800s was one way in which a market economy led to greater prosperity. As William Vanderbilt pointed out, the railroads “are built for men who invest their money.” That is, the railroads were built to make money for the people who invested in them. Yet the railroads benefited many other people: the workers who laid the tracks, the employees who ran the trains, the passengers who rode the rails, and the businesses that filled cars with cargo. People who lived in the towns that sprouted up along the rail lines also benefited. Ultimately, the railroads benefited the country as a whole.
The expansion of the railroads brought significant changes in ways of producing, distributing, and consuming goods. Businesses brought raw materials on railroads to factories. Finished goods from those factories could be shipped far and wide for a reasonable price. Consumers—especially those far from cities—could now have access to more goods than ever before. The same held true for farm goods: farmers had wider markets, and consumers had more food choices.
Consolidation Brings Efficiency As railroads grew, they looked for ways to operate more efficiently. Small lines were often costly to run, so many companies began to consolidate, or combine. Larger companies bought up smaller ones or forced them out of business. The Pennsylvania Railroad, for example, consolidated 73 companies into its system.
Tough-minded business people led the drive for consolidation. Cornelius Vanderbilt was among the most powerful of these leaders. The son of a poor farmer, Vanderbilt earned one fortune in steamship lines. He then began to buy up railroad lines in New York State.
Vanderbilt sometimes used ruthless tactics to force smaller owners to sell to him. In the early 1860s, he decided to buy the New York Central Railroad. The owners refused to sell. Vanderbilt then announced that New York Central passengers would not be allowed to transfer to his trains. With their passengers stranded and business dropping sharply, the New York Central owners gave in and sold their line to Vanderbilt.
Vanderbilt then bought up most of the lines between Chicago and Buffalo. By the time of his death in 1877, his companies controlled 4,500 miles of track and linked New York City to the Great Lakes region.
Other consolidations were soon underway. Before long, the major railroads of the United States were organized into a number of systems directed by a handful of wealthy and powerful men.After making a fortune in the steamship business, Cornelius Vanderbilt turned his attention to railroads. He bought up most of the rail lines between Buffalo, New York, and Chicago, Illinois.
After reading this answer this question Analyze how railroad services became more efficient over time
Railroad services became more efficient over time through a combination of technological advancements, standardization of infrastructure, and consolidation of companies.
1. Standardization: Initially, different rail lines used tracks of varying gauges, which made it difficult for trains to transition between different lines. The adoption of a standardized gauge in the late 19th century allowed for a more interconnected rail network. This standardization enabled freight cars to travel seamlessly across different lines, reducing the need for transfers and improving efficiency in transporting goods.
2. Technological Advancements: Innovations such as the Westinghouse air brake and the Pullman sleeping cars improved the safety and comfort of railroad travel. The air brake allowed for quicker and more synchronized braking of all cars on a train, reducing the risk of accidents. Pullman cars provided passengers with comfortable sleeping accommodations and amenities, making long-distance travel more convenient and appealing.
3. Consolidation: As railroads grew in size and complexity, many companies began to consolidate and merge with larger entities. This consolidation led to larger and more efficient railroad systems that could streamline operations and offer more extensive services. Companies like the Pennsylvania Railroad, under the leadership of individuals like Cornelius Vanderbilt, acquired smaller lines to create vast network systems that could operate more effectively and profitably.
Overall, the combination of standardization, technological advancements, and consolidation helped to make railroad services more efficient over time. These improvements facilitated the growth of the rail industry, enhanced the transportation of goods and people, and contributed to the overall economic development of the United States.