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Transportation in britain 1750-1900
Transport in britain 1750-1900 essay
Transportation in britain 1750-1900
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The Development of the Railway System in Britain
The first railways in Britain were developed to transport raw
materials like coal and quarried stone from the extraction sites to
population / processing centres or to coastal ports for onward
distribution. The first commercial line was the Stockton and
Darlington Railway, opened in 1825 with steam haulage, with horse
transport considered as a back up. This was intended as an industrial
line, but it was soon realised that there was a call for passenger
service. The first passenger line was the Manchester and Liverpool
Railway, opened in 1830, with the famous locomotive 'The Rocket' as
the accepted principal design for haulage.
There followed a period of rapid expansion of local railways and
railways linking major centres of population, industry and raw
materials. This expansion was followed by a period of amalgamation by
which the larger companies absorbed smaller companies, sometimes in
one fell swoop, and sometimes by running powers moving into complete
operation and finally absorption. The golden age of railways was
arguably the Edwardian era from 1901 to 1911 (really 1914). Railways
had no serious competitors in long distance haulage, the electric tram
was providing some competition in short distance passenger routes in
the conurbation’s, but motor transport was only just emerging and at
that point was not a serious competitor.
The First World War brought the railways under direct government
control, and, as happens in wartime, maintenance was somewhat
neglected on locomotives, rolling stock and track. The result was that
the rail industry was in poor shape and competition in the form of
motor buses and lorries (wagons) became more serious both in town and
in the country routes near to the towns. In 1923 one hundred and
twenty three separate railway companies were made to amalgamate into
four separate companies, which was called 'The Big Four'. The LMS ran
from London through the Midlands, North - west of England and over
much of Scotland, particularly the West Coast. LNER ran from London,
the Midlands, and the East of England and into Scotland covering
To urban middle-class Americans of the late 19th century, nothing symbolized the progress of the American civilization quite as much as the railroad. Not only had the great surge in railroad construction after the Civil War helped to create a modern market economy, but the iron horse itself seemed to embody the energy, force, and technology of the new order. In fact, the fanning out of railroads from urban centers was an integral part of the modernizing process, tying the natural and human resources of rural areas to the industrializing core.
Purpose: The railroad was originally made to make to the traveling of goods and people faster and more efficient. In that respect, it has easily fulfilled the goals originally set for it.
There is one reason Chicago is as big as it is today and that is the fact that it is the largest rail city in the world. The railroad made Chicago what it is today, and although the canal was very important in the history of Chicago the railroads importance out weighs it by far. The canal was important because it was the vision of the first settlers of Chicago to have an all water trade route that would go through Chicago. What those first explorers saw was a way to make a canal so that they could transport goods from the St Lawrence River all the way to the Gulf of Mexico with less cost and with more efficiency. The canal was the reason Chicago was settled in the first place if not for it there might very well not be a city called Chicago. You could argue that the canal was the most important thing in Chicago's history but I think the railroads were much more important. The railroads enabled Chicago to become one of the biggest cities in the world by bringing in different business and all types of goods. Chicago is a very key location to have a railroad-shipping hub. This is because it is centrally located in the United States so goods can be shipped in almost any direction and received in a shorter amount of time. William Butler Ogden was the one who pushed for Chicago to adopt a large rail system and he should be known as the one who made this city boom. St. Louis or another centrally located city could have very well adopted the rail system and they would have reaped all the benefits.
In order to detail the rise of railroads throughout this era of technological boom, it is important to understand the Industrial Revolution, which was the start of this success; it paved the way for major changes in the modern society we live in today. This is the period between the 18th and 19th centuries when major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportatio...
Transportation improved from the market revolution through many new inventions, railroads, steamboats, and canals. Pressure for improvements in transportation came at least as much from cities eager to buy as from farmers seeking to sell. The first railroad built was in 1792, it started a spread throughout the states. Cumberland which began to be built in 1811 and finished in 1852, known to be called the national road stretched over five hundred miles from Cumberland to Illinois. By 1821, there were four thousand miles of turnpike in the United States. Turnpikes were not economical to ship bulky goods by land across long distance across America, so another invention came about. Robert Fulton created steam boats in 1807; he named his first one ‘Clermont.’ These steam boats allowed quick travel upriver against the currents, they were also faster and cheaper. The steamboats became a huge innovation with the time travel of five miles per hour. It also stimulated agricultural economy of west by providing better access to markets at lower cost. While steamboats were conquering the western rivers, canals were being constructed in the northeastern states. The firs...
Although not a natural resource, railroads were considered one of the key factors in almost every widespread industry. It allowed companies to quickly send products across the entire nation without using expensive and time-consuming caravans or wagons. Cornelius Vanderbilt was a prominent leader in the railroad industry at this time. He was already in his later years by the time the Gilded Age rolled around and didn't even get to see the uprising of some of the greatest leaders of the time. The railroad companies took advantage of their necessity by constantly overcharging customers, especially farmers. This led to one of the first labor unio...
One of the most important achievements of the Gilded Age was the creation of a network of railroads including the transcontinental railroad, which connected the United States from New York to California, facilitating transportation across the continent. During the Gilded Age the length of all the railroads combined increased threefold ("Second Industrial Revolution"). This was significant not only because it decreased travel time from the eastern to western parts of the U.S and vice versa down from months to weeks and allowed people to settle the central United States, but also opened new areas for commercial farming and gave an economic boost to steel...
Throughout the late nineteenth and the early twentieth century, the United States economy changed dramatically as the country transformed from a rural agricultural nation to an urban industrial gian, becoming the leading manufacturing country in the world. The vast expansion of the railroads in the late 1800s’ changed the early American economy by tying the country together into one national market. The railroads provided tremendous economic growth because it provided a massive market for transporting goods such as steel, lumber, and oil. Although the first railroads were extremely successful, the attempt to finance new railroads originally failed. Perhaps the greatest physical feat late 19th century America was the creation of the transcontinental railroad. The Central Pacific Company, starting in San Francisco, and the new competitor, Union Pacific, starting in Omaha. The two companies slaved away crossing mountains, digging tunnels, and laying track the entire way. Both railroads met at Promontory, Utah on May 10, 1869, and drove one last golden spike into the completed railway. Of course the expansion of railroads wasn’t the only change being made. Another change in the economy was immigration.
Seavoy, Ronald E. "Railroads." An Economic History of the United States: From 1607 to the Present. New York: Routledge, 2006. 188-200. Print.
There is no refuting that the railroad companies transformed business operations and encouraged industrial expansion. The raw materials required for construction of the transcontinental railroad directly resulted in the expansion of the steel, lumber and stone industries. (Gillon p.652) The railroad stimulated growth in manufacturing and agriculture providing an efficient manner to ship raw materials and products throughout the country. Which in turn, increased consumerism and introduced t...
The Underground Railroad despite occurring centuries ago continues to be an “enduring and popular thread in the fabric of America’s national historical memory” as Bright puts it. Throughout history, thousands of slaves managed to escape the clutches of slavery by using a system meant to liberate. In Colson Whitehead’s novel, The Underground Railroad, he manages to blend slave narrative and history creating a book that goes beyond literary or historical fiction. Whitehead based his book off a question, “what if the Underground Railroad was a real railroad?” The story follows two runaway slaves, Cora and Caesar, who are pursued by the relentless slave catcher Ridgeway. Their journey on the railroad takes them to new and unfamiliar locations,
...d finished products. Second, the railroad created hundreds of thousands of new jobs for both railroad workers and miners. Third, the railroads boosted England’s agricultural and fishing industries, which could transport their products to distant cities. Finally, by making travel easier, railroads encouraged country people to take distant city jobs. Also, railroads lured city dwellers to resorts in the countryside.
On the one hand, it is understandable if some people think that governments should expand more railroads rather than roads and streets. Firstly, it is obvious that when a country has extensive rail networks, it will positively affect the logistic cost. The selling price of many products would be cheaper since a single locomotive could carry tonnes of crops, goods or liquid products. Secondly, by building integrated subway stations in city
Over the years has established the Railway Labor Act. The Railway Acts main purpose is to promote and in maintaining the peace and order within those relations for a way of not having any interruptions in interstate commerce. In understanding the Railway Labor Act here is a brief review of the legislations establishing the enactment.
the abundance of coal and iron as the disposal of Great Britain. The creation railroad system connected all the important parts towns and cities of Britain. This essentially formed a new highway system for not only for a way for shipping goods and resources, but the transport of people (Wilde). Due to the revolution in agriculture many had lost their work, so they turned to the cities. Cities began to urbanize and grow and with higher demand for goods factories were looking for workers. Thousands migrated into cities to find work. This form of migration sparked a new form of society. This society earned wages vs the old system of self-production. The average person was no longer tied down by his class or work, he or she was able to have