The railroad era in the US, from the 1840s to early 1900s, saw rapid economic and geographic expansion facilitated by railroads. They transported goods and people quickly, enabling economic growth and development. However, there were issues such as bankruptcy, takeovers, and monopolies, which were criticized by society. The railroad era ended with the rise of trucks as a means of transportation.
The railroad era was a time of rapid geographic and economic expansion in the United States facilitated by the growth of railroads between the 1840s and early 1900s. During this period, a number of railroads large and small grew throughout the country to provide services to communities in remote areas. They enabled the rapid transport of goods such as timber, grain and livestock, along with the movement of people. Railroads continued to be an important means of transportation until they started being replaced by trucks.
The development of steam engines was an important moment in human history, and the United States was an early adopter of railway technology. In part, this was due to the sheer size of the nation; it could take weeks to transport goods across the country in pack animals, a method that was also very inefficient, compared to days with a train. Numerous railroads sprang up to meet the growing demand, as did businesses to support them, including iron and steel, agricultural and mining companies.
During the railroad era, tracks were built across the United States, bringing opportunities for economic growth and development in its wake. In some small communities, the railroad was the major employer and gave rise to a number of companion industries. With trains came the need for accommodations, restaurants, and entertainment, along with shipping warehouses, grain elevators, railroad agents, and similar services. The timing was especially apt for major historical events like the Gold Rush and the Civil War, both of which would have been vastly different without the trains.
Railroad boomtowns were an especially common phenomenon in the West, where populations were historically low and communities were often very isolated. As the railroad era facilitated growth, westward expansion was easier, and communities began producing crops, livestock, and other goods. Such economic development was not feasible when the only methods of transporting products were slow and expensive.
This period of US history hasn’t been without its snags. Debates about track gauge and size, for example, created problems such as trains not being allowed to switch to different tracks as the railways debated which gauge to use. Railroads were also prone to bankruptcy and takeovers as some tried to expand faster than they could actually grow, so fortunes could be ruined overnight as well as made. Monopolies were common and came under criticism from politicians, journalists, and other members of society concerned about the stranglehold railroads held on economic growth. Frank Noriss’s 1901 novel The Octopus explored these railroad-era issues in fictional format as a form of social commentary.
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