Railroads were effective, reliable, and faster modes of transportation, edging out competitors such as the steamship. They traveled faster and farther, and carried almost fifty times more freight than steamships could. They were more dependable than any previous mode of transportation, and not impacted by the weather.

The primary advantage of trains during the Industrial Revolution was their ability to transport massive amounts of weight over long distances with significantly less friction than road transport. A single locomotive could pull the load of dozens of horse-drawn wagons, moving coal, iron, and grain at speeds previously unimaginable. This created a "Network Effect" that lowered the cost of goods and enabled the growth of inland cities that were not connected by rivers or seas. Furthermore, trains provided reliability and punctuality; unlike ships that depended on wind or carriages that got stuck in mud, trains followed a fixed schedule on a dedicated track. This standardized "Railway Time" across entire countries, essentially birthing the modern concept of the "commute." For passengers, trains offered a level of comfort and safety that stagecoaches could not match, allowing for the first time in history the mass movement of people for both work and the emerging concept of "leisure travel."