The railroad network had the effect of physically linking the nation and psychologically impacted the way people looked at the country. Other developments like the telegraph to communicate when tracks were open, double-tracking, and then the block signal made railroad travel safer.ĭespite advances, accidents and tragedies on the track were not uncommon. Pullman Palace Cars (luxury passenger cars) were built and were very popular for travelers.The Westinghouse air brake was invented which was much more efficient and safe. Steel was stronger, lasted longer, and didn't rust as fast as iron.Ī standardized gauge (distance between tracks) made things uniform. Vanderbilt began to use steel rails, instead of iron. The results of railroad consolidation were cheaper fares/rates and faster travel times. This meant he bought up the little railroad lines into his one company. Cornelius Vanderbilt began consolidating the New York Central line. Oftentimes, tracks were laid that turned out to go "from nowhere to nothing." Bankruptcy usually followed.īack east where railroads were already built, changes were occurring. Some communities waged all they had on a railroad line increasing the value of the town. There were drawbacks to railroad construction as well. He built railroads with a sense of public duty and shipped in cattle for the locals. Hill, perhaps the greatest railroad constructor. The Great Northern linked Duluth, MN to Seattle. The Southern Pacific line went from New Orleans to San Francisco. The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe from Kansas to California. The Northern Pacific Railroad from Lake Superior to Puget Sound. The nation was connected by two ribbons of steel from coast to coast.īy 1900, four more transcontinental lines had been constructed. As a symbolic measure, a golden spike was driven into the track. The transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869 near Ogden, Utah. He and his partners made fabulous profits but kept themselves clean and bribe-free. Leland Stanford headed up the railroad efforts from California.The Central Pacific Railroad started in California and pushed eastward. Irish workers ("Paddies") did most of the labor on the Great Plains. They also bribed Congressmen to look the other way. Insiders in the company managed ridiculous profits for themselves through sneaky deals. The Crédit Mobilier company made fantastic profits. With the South seceding from the nation, the North would get the railroad.Ĭongress commissioned the Union Pacific Railroad to push westward from Omaha, Nebraska to California.įor their efforts, the Union Pacific got (a) pay, (b) free land, (c) loans for more land or building. The only question had been whether to build the transcontinental railroad in the North or South. The ultimate goal for the rails was a transcontinental railroad (from coast to coast). And, the value of the railroads themselves to the nation was undeniable. Others said the railroads were what gave the land most of its value. He felt this system was wrong and ended it. People said giving land for railroad companies to profit just wasn't right. Since it adjoined the track, it's value likely increased and the railroad company would then sell it for a huge profit. The land given to the railroad companies was in a checkerboard fashion along the track. The total acreage was greater than the size of Texas. Track mileage increased from 35,000 miles in 1865 to over 192,000 miles by 1900.Ĭongress encouraged this boom by giving millions of acres of land to the railroad companies. Railroads skyrocketed after the Civil War.
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