The Industrial Revolution and the Steam EngineThe answer came in the form of one of the most significant inventions of the Industrial Revolution, the steam engine, which was critical to the development of the modern railroad and trains.
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The invention of the steam engine, credited to James Watt in 1774, would prove to be a crucial improvement to rail transportation even though coal mine pumping efficiency was the intended outcome of his invention.
In effect, railroads induced increased manufacturing activity in places that were previously held back by expensive modes of transportation. Many of these new places—whether from the existence of untapped natural endowments, commodities, or labor supply—proved particularly efficient at production.
By 1857, which is still within one lifetime from someone born around 1800, travel by rail (the fastest way to get around at the time — remember that the Wright brothers were not even born yet and air travel was far off in the future) had gotten significantly faster.