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A Brief Early History of the Railroad
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A Brief Early History of the Railroad and its Importance to Society Deb Kohut HIS 125 Industrial growth in the beginning was dependent on canals and other forms of water transport; stage coaches provided transport for passengers and mail. The canal companies built the first railroads, and stage coach style bodies were adopted by the first passenger trains which were put on railroad wheels and pulled with locomotives imported from Britain. It was not long before it became clear that British construction methods were going to be too expensive and thus unsuited to the needs of a rapidly developing country. (Gary Cross and Rick Szostak, 2004) As the first American railroad began to emerge it was constructed as cheaply as possible and the locomotives were manufactured locally and built to specific requirements. Railroads spread rapidly opening up a host of new opportunities for the development of natural resources. There were many more railroads built that were both great and small; some were built for carrying passengers and some for freight but both went into previously undeveloped territories. The locomotives were developed along well defined lines, and increased in size and power but still retained the characteristics of their earlier years, that is to say simplicity, reliability, and ease of maintenance. Soon passenger amenities were improved and continuous automatic brakes were introduced and perfected for the safety of the passenger...
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