What made transportation much faster in the 19th century?

In America during the 19th century, the invention of the steam engine dramatically improved shipping by water and created a new transportation industry—the railroad. By the end of the century, some steam locomotives began to be powered by electricity.



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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.

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The fastest mode of transportation people used prior to the locomotive was the stagecoach, which traveled one-third the speed of the locomotive. In addition, the horses had to be cared for and fed.

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