What impact did the railroad have on time in the United States?

On November 18, 1883, the railroads moved forward with the adoption of four U.S. time zones, an idea that had been proposed 11 years earlier by Charles Dowd, a Yale-educated school principal. The time zones, Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific, are still in place today.



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The railroad opened the way for the settlement of the West, provided new economic opportunities, stimulated the development of town and communities, and generally tied the country together.

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The Transcontinental Railroad reduced travel time from New York to California from as long as six months to as little as a week and the cost for the trip from $1,000 to $150.

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The railroad changed human perception of time and space, making long distance travel much faster and easier. Railroads also changed habits, including increasing reading. People needed some sort of distraction to ensure they didn't have to talk to other people on the train.

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The Transcontinental Railroad reduced travel time from New York to California from as long as six months to as little as a week and the cost for the trip from $1,000 to $150. The reduced travel time and cost created new business and settlement opportunities and enabled quicker and cheaper shipping of goods.

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Effects of the Railroad The transcontinental railroad reduced the travel time between the East and West Coasts from as long as six months to under two weeks. It not only allowed more ease of movement for people but also for freight. As goods were distributed more quickly, demand increased and the U.S. economy expanded.

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The railroad opened the way for the settlement of the West, provided new economic opportunities, stimulated the development of town and communities, and generally tied the country together.

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Everything from food, to lumber, to motor vehicles is transported on the railways, and our society as we know it simply could not function without them.

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The text states that the railroads brought economic growth and new settlement all across the West. Railroads made it cheaper and quicker for people and supplies to move across the country. Towns and big cities were built along the railroad lines which led to the formation of western states.

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Four zones initially were adopted in the United States: Eastern Standard Time, Central Daylight Time, Mountain Standard Time, and Pacific Daylight Time. The time zones were each one-hour wide, simplifying train schedules and virtually everything else to do with time in an increasingly industrialized nation.

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Just as it opened the markets of the west coast and Asia to the east, it brought products of eastern industry to the growing populace beyond the Mississippi. The railroad ensured a production boom, as industry mined the vast resources of the middle and western continent for use in production.

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The completion of the first transcontinental railroad revolutionized travel, connecting areas of the Western United States with the East. Prior to its completion, traveling to the West Coast from the East required months of dangerous overland travel or an arduous trip by boat around the southern tip of South America.

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Instead of having to trek through the untamed wilderness or sail around South America, Americans could now ride on a train and get from Council Bluffs, Iowa to Sacramento, California in a matter of weeks. The Transcontinental Railroad also allowed for western goods to be more easily and quickly transported.

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