The railroad craze hit the United States in the 1820’s and by the time the 1830’s had rolled around it was more than just a craze, it was serious business. Opinions as to who started the railroad boom in America are divided, although most historians agree that the British were about ten years ahead of the Americans as far as railways were concerned.As far as the rails go, credit for laying the first rails in the U.S. would go to Granite Railroad. This railroad started in Quincy Massachusetts in 1826, and laid a set of rails two miles long. Open wagons on rails were drawn by horses to haul granite blocks from Quincy to the Boston harbor.
The first steam locomotive was purchased by the managers of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company for the price of $4,000. They intended to use it on a railway they hoped to build that would connect two parts of their canal system, so that freight could be loaded off canal boats and onto railroad carriages for land transport. Unfortunately, their locomotive was put out of service after only its first run as it was too big for the tracks they had built.
The Baltimore and Ohio is generally thought of as the “Oldest Railroad in America”. I place that in capitals with quotations as I presently live in Baltimore and see signs that say that all the time. While their tracks were laid on July 4, 1828 the railroad operated under horsepower for its first two years, and even experimented with sail-powered cars.
http://www.suite101.com/lesson.cfm/18139/1464/4 retrieved July 18,2009
As per Jennifer McCarroll
I am just amazed by this picture and how hard employees of the railroads must have had to work to accomplish this bridge. I am also amazed at how clear this picture is for a black and white. This shows me the quality of the camera at that time as well.
ReplyDeleteI lived in CA and there are tracks along the Sierra that look just like this picture!
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