What role did railroads serve during the Industrial Revolution in Britain?
The railways were perhaps the most visible element of the Industrial Revolution for many. Trains powered by steam engines carried goods and people faster than ever before and reached new destinations, connecting businesses to new markets.
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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.
The railway system offered new chances for travel, holidays, transporting goods, developing businesses and the growth of towns and cities. The distance between town and countryside was erased. Dairy produce and fish could be delivered easily to different parts of the country within hours.
Railways became a major employer because people were needed to build, run and maintain railway services. British time became standardised for the first time because trains had to run to a set timetable across the country. The government could send soldiers by train to stop political unrest and patrol protests.
Throughout the early to mid-1800s, small, local railroad lines cropped up across the country. In 1862, however, railroads began to play a more prevalent role in cross-country travel after Congress passed the Pacific Railway Act authorizing the construction of the first transcontinental railroad.
The railroads powered the industrial economy. They consumed the majority of iron and steel produced in the United States before 1890. As late as 1882, steel rails accounted for 90 percent of the steel production in the United States. They were the nation's largest consumer of lumber and a major consumer of coal.
Waterways and a growing network of railroads linked the frontier with the eastern cities. Produce moved on small boats along canals and rivers from the farms to the ports. Large steamships carried goods and people from port to port. Railroads expanded to connect towns, providing faster transport for everyone.
The railroads have a greater impact on American society because it can travel much faster then a steamboats and canals. The train can carry supplies to each city and each state. How did the industrial revolution change the way people work? It also created many jobs for many people.
Where railroads went, towns and cities with bustling new commerce arose, all dependent on the railways for shipments of food and goods. The construction of the railroads spawned huge new industries in steel, iron, and coal. No other business so dramatically stimulated and embodied the industrialization process.
Even though railroads made life a little bit easier, it was hazardous to the environment, and the people, such as the destruction of natural resources, more pollution in the air also affected people causing even more diseases and made it much harder to breather with these conditions.
“The rail sector can provide substantial benefits for the energy sector as well as for the environment,” said Dr Fatih Birol. “By diversifying energy sources and providing more efficient mobility, rail can lower transport energy use and reduce carbon dioxide and local pollutant emissions.”
However, two industries benefited the most from the Transcontinental Railroad. Those were cotton and cattle. Railroads made it possible for cotton farmers in the east to ship their products to the western frontier quickly.
The increase in railroad mileage made it possible to transport goods and people over long distances quickly and efficiently. This led to the creation of a national market for goods, which in turn encouraged mass production and mass consumption.