Railroads Lead the Way

Ch 19/1

Railroad Expansion

By the 1890’s 5 railway lines crossed the country.

1860- there was 30,000 miles of railroadBy 1900 the nation had nearly 250,000

miles of track.I’ve been working on the railroad was a

popular song.

Railroad Barons

Look on page 557 and tell me two powerful railroad barons.

Facts abut railroad barons:They were very aggressive and competitive.Followed very few laws.Played a huge part in the building of

railroads systems in our nation.

Railroad Stimulate the Economy

The fast growing national rail system created new economic links in the country.

What type of materials did the railroad carry?

Here’s what it did for our economy

First:What is an

economy?

From Dictionary. COM

Careful, thrifty management of

resources, such as money, materials, or

labor:

Improving the railroad

The railroad had to expand due to the large amount of people who wanted to use them.

Many trains had different size tracks so they could not share the tracks.

Long distance travel was hard because of this.

As railroad companies consolidated, railroad barons saw the advantage of being part of a national railroad network.

During the late 1880’s most all railway companies adopted the “standard gauge”

This track allowed faster shipment of goods at a reduced cost.

New Technology

Railroads improvedWho invented the air brakes??? Hint on page 558

Read on page 558 for more railway inventors.

Competing for customers

Competition was stiff.

Larger railroads offered new customers cheaper fairs- basically putting the little guys out of business.

Railroads change America

Railroads touched the lives of thousands of Americans.

Trains redistributed the population.

Time Zones

What are the 4 time zones???People began measuring distance by how many miles

traveled. Communication brought

Americans together!!!