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Chapter 20

Lesson 1

Railroads Lead the Way

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The Growth of Railroads

  • 1860 - 30,000 miles of track
  • 1900 - 193,000 miles of track
  • 11 miles of track every day
    • Between 1870 and 1916

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Combining Railroads

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  • Railroad consolidation
    • Large railroads bought smaller companies
    • Drove some out of business
  • Larger railroad companies became more efficient
  • Sometimes allowed few to control the industry

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The Railroad Barons

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  • After consolidation, railroad barons in control
  • Cornelius Vanderbilt
    • Empire from New York to Great Lakes
  • James J. Hill
    • Minnesota to Washington state
  • Leland Stanford
    • Central Pacific
  • Few laws limited business practices

Cornelius Vanderbilt

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Railroads Aid Economic

Growth

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  • Carried raw materials
    • Iron ore, coal, timber
  • Moved goods from factories

to markets

  • Crops from farms to cities
  • Railroad construction caused steel industry to boom
    • Timber for ties
    • Coal for fuel
  • Thousands of jobs

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Making a National Rail

System

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  • First railroads were local and used different gauges
  • Trains could not use each others’ lines
  • Slowed rail travel
  • Consolidation forced common gauge
  • Standard gauge
    • 4 feet, 8.5 inches

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New Technology Improves Railroads

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  • Air brakes
    • George Westinghouse
  • Janney car couplers
    • Eli Janney
  • Refrigerated railroad cars
    • Gustavus Swift
  • Pullman sleeping cars
    • George Pullman

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Railroads Compete for

Customers

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  • Large railroads offered rebates to big customers
  • Forced small companies out of business and farmers to pay more
  • Barons formed pools
    • Divide up business and set identical rates
    • Eliminate competition

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Railroads Change America

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  • Growing railroad industry helped American industry
  • Manufacturing centers could move from east to west
  • Changed where people lived
  • Opened up the west