The first steam engine railway travel took place 209 years ago today. By 1850, 9,000 miles 14,000 km of railroad lines had been built. Freight railroad statistics by state this table presents statebystate statistics of freight railroad companies, route mileage, industry employment, and rail traffic carloadings. The northern pacific railroad, the sioux, and the panic of 1873 by m. Railroads history united states western, railroads. Nec future is the federal railroad administrations fra comprehensive plan for improving the northeast corridor nec from washington, d.
Over the next seven years, the two companies would race toward each other from sacramento. The author, christian wolmar, also provides some background information about railroads in britain early in the book, because steam trains originated in that country. The history of trains in america wolmar, christian on. Discover librarianselected research resources on railroad history from the questia. Railway tested an early english steam locomotive on a 16mile stretch of. In 1800, three days would have taken us just 250 miles. Department of transportation us dot, surface transportation board stb, or the government agency in canada or mexico responsible for granting your railroad operating authority and ensuring that. Locomotives and rail cars publication its08 march 2011 control no. These data were compiled by the bureau of the census from reports of railroads known to exist in 1880.
The biggest north american railroads financial times. History of rail transportation in the united states wikipedia. He is also a lecturer at yale school of public health and author of the forthcoming book clean. A railroad was reportedly used in the construction of the french fortress at louisburg, nova scotia, in new france in 1720. As christian wolmar reminds us in the great railroad revolution. American railroads in the 1850s 1978 turner, george e. Discover the best history of railroads in best sellers. In terms of ton miles, railroads annually move more than 25% of the united states freight and connect businesses with each other across the country and with markets overseas. Between 1762 and 1764, at the close of the french and indian war, a gravity railroad is built by british military engineers up the steep riverside terrain near the niagara river waterfalls escarpment at. Between 1762 and 1764, at the close of the french and indian war, a gravity railroad is built by british military engineers up the steep riverside terrain near the niagara river waterfalls escarpment at the niagara portage in lewiston, new york. About 700 railroads operate common carrier freight service in the united states. A chronology of american railroads including mileage by states and by years. List of books and articles about railroad history online research.
With plenty of detail, grant brings a bygone era back to life, addressing everything from. Railroad history in the united states is nearly as old as the country itself, dating. Class i railroad route road miles, track miles, revenue, and revenue. Railroads history united states eastern, railroads. The us and canadian railroad industry is dominated by the seven class i railroads, most of them formed as a result of a wave of consolidation in the 1980s and 1990s. It covered in mostly readable fashion an extremely important element of american history. Workers, including the irish, receive little attention. From the very first the civil war was a railroad war. Book your train and bus tickets today by choosing from over 30 u. As a new railroad, you should have already contacted the u. List of books and articles about railroad history online. The detail can get kind of tiny but im still happy, as a fan of railroad history and lore, that i have this book. Everything was by the book, and increasingly complex set of rules told everyone. In 1862, the pacific railroad act chartered the central pacific and the union pacific railroad companies, tasking them with building a transcontinental railroad that would link the united states from east to west.
College courses in railroad subjects a list of colleges and universities offering courses in engineering, transportation, and traffic management. The historical guide to north american railroads, 3rd edition trains books. Railroads and the transformation of china harvard studies in business history. Today, railroads haul nearly 70% of american coal to its destination and move 60 to 70% of ethanol transported in america. An official website of the united states government heres how you know. List of common carrier freight railroads in the united states. History of rail transportation in the united states. A mapped history of taking a train across the united states.
Timeline of united states railway history wikipedia. It was formed on this date to build a halfmile line at monroe. They are limited to mileage still in operation in the census year 1880. After 1830 the railroads grew so quickly that within a decade their mileage surpassed that of the canals.
The men who built the transcontinental railroad 18631869. The golden age of american railroading exhibitions the. Indicates drainage, state boundaries and shows many cities and towns with distances along roads and railroads. Trackage increased from 35,000 miles in 1865 to 254,000 miles in 1916, the eve of americas entry into world war i.
Railroad history in the united states is nearly as old as the country itself, dating back to the mid1820s. This site explores the history of railroads, telegraphs, and technologies in the nineteenth century, especially the era of the civil war. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers new books every 1, 2, or 3 months new customers receive 15% off your. This article is part of the history of rail transport by country series. During this time about 1 million acres were actually used, which helped build 18,738 miles of new railroad. Rail transportation in the united states wikipedia.
The maps are listed by railroad, seem to cover most of the old companies, sometimes going back to the beginning of rail operations in the early 19th c. Everything, audio recordings, booksprinted material, films, videos. The routledge historical atlas of the american railroads 2001 stover, john. Stover notes in his book, the routledge historical atlas of the american railroads, a staggering 70,400 miles was laid down between 1880 and 1890 with total mileage growing from 93,200 to 163,600. Through nec future, the fra has worked closely with nec states, railroads, stakeholders, and the public to define a. Founded in 1934, aar is the worlds leading railroad policy, research, standard setting, and technology organization that focuses on the safety and productivity of the u. The west, alone, witnessed a staggering 129% increase.
In 2018, us rail freight had a transport energy efficiency of 473 miles per gallon of fuel per ton of freight. Much of the mileage decline since the 1970s is the result of class i railroads selling and abandoning lower density branches. Railway age obtained its figures at annual intervals from individual railroads and from state railroad commissions. History of railroads 112 of over 4,000 results for books. According to historian mike del vecchios book, railroads across america, the. Freight rail in your state association of american railroads.
John stovers book, the routledge historical atlas of the american railroads, notes that between 1850 and 1871 the u. Freight rail also safely carries much of the nations growing volumes of crude oil, under rules as rigorous as those governing the transport of hazardous materials. Wooden railroads, called wagonways, were built in the united states starting from the 1720s. Aar full members include the major freight railroads in the united states, canada and mexico, as well as amtrak. Amtrak tickets, schedules and train routes skip to. As we know, this great nation would not have grown and prospered as it did without the railroads, which brought together the young country and allowed for unprecedented prosperity. A mapped history of taking a train across the united states the. The american railroad in the nineteenth century by. Historical statistics of the united states, colonial times. Railroads, the pioneers building americas transportation backbone, and more. After 1830 the railroads grew so quickly that within a decade their mileage. Compared to the union the confederacy had onethird of the freight cars, one fifth of the locomotives, less than one half of the miles of rail, one eighth of rail production, one tenth of the telegraph stations and one twenty fourth of locomotive production. Somewhat similar data appear in bureau of the census, report on transportation business in the united states at. All data compiled from association of american railroads aar reports for 2010.
Many books on the railroad focus on the big four and the barons of the up, he says. How trains railroaded the american economy in his new book, railroaded, historian richard white examines the impact transcontinental train corporations had. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. The statistic shows the miles of freight railroad operated by u. And illustrated history of the first hundred years with accounts by contemporary passengers by august mencken, charles ferdinand dowd was the first to propose a standard time within a pamphlet he published in 1870 entitled, a system of national time for the railroads. Railroads and the american people railroads past and present. History of the illinois central railroad 1975 stover, john. Railways were introduced in england in the seventeenth century as a way to reduce friction. The department is promoting and regulating safety throughout the nations railroad. Youll cross the mississippi river, venture into montanas big sky country and pass. The author is a brit, and there were times when this viewpoint was an asset in the book and some times a weakness. In the united states a turnpike era and then a canal era had immediately preceded the coming of the railroads, which proved to be fast, direct, and reliable in all weather. The rail network accounts for approximately 40 percent of u. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure youre on a federal government site.
There are about 150,000 miles 240,000 km of railroad track in the united states, nearly all standard gauge. The beginnings of american railroads and mapping history of. The guardian said it was a waste of time, like painting union. Freight railroads moved 4 million carloads of coal in 2019. I just wish theyd gone the extra mile with some of the original content and if that. Class i railroads operated a total number of 2,048 miles of freight. The historical guide to north american railroads, 3rd edition. The great railroad revolution is a history of trains in the united states from their beginnings to the present day.