Why was the railroad an important transportation innovation?

The railroad had major advantages over previous modes of transportation, being both flexible and dependable; they were not subject to winter ice as canals were, and were faster and more reliable than steamships. This was especially important when transporting agricultural products.



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Railroads shortened transportation times throughout the country, making it easier and less expensive to move people and goods.

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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.

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Inventions such as car couplers, air brakes, and Pullman passenger cars allowed the volume of both freight and people to increase steadily. From 1877 to 1890, both the amount of goods and the number of passengers traveling the rails tripled.

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Prior to the invention of steam powered railroads, nearly all forms of locomotion had been muscle-powered. You either walked where you wanted to go or rode on an animal to get where you were going. The railroad changed human perception of time and space, making long distance travel much faster and easier.

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In the 1920s, southern states promised cheap land and labor for new factories. The nationwide rail system gave the South ready access to national markets and tied it into the national economy.

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The Industrial Revolution and the Steam Engine The 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 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.

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With an average speed of 10 miles an hour, railroads were faster than stagecoaches, canalboats, and steamboats, and, unlike water-going vessels, could travel in any season. The transportation revolution sharply reduced the cost of shipping goods to market and stimulated agriculture and industry.

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The industrialized Union possessed an enormous advantage over the Confederacy — they had 20,000 miles of railroad track, more than double the Confederacy's 9,000 miles. Troops and supplies previously dependent on a man or horsepower could now move quickly by rail, making railroads attractive military targets.

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