Though they were originally questioned like most new sources of travel, trains have come to alter transportation and the world itself, providing a rapid and efficient way to get across vast landscapes. These machines delivered the very materials and equipment that made it possible to develop the entirety of the United States. Although rail transportation has become less common in light of automobiles, trains remain essential today.
It's easy to forget just how important trains were to the U.S. and the world. From its ancient beginnings to the amazing modern technology we have today, the train has had a long and fascinating journey. Here's the complete history of trains and how the railroad changed the world.
Table of Contents
- The Origins of Trains
- How the Steam Engine Developed
- The Golden Age of the Railroad
- How the Railroad Built America
- Evolution of Locomotive Power
- How Railroad Passenger Travel Changed
- Railroads in the U.S. and Worldwide Today
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Visit Volo Auto Museum
The Origins of Trains
Today, the design of the train might seem simple in itself — a locomotive traveling miles and miles over rails. Compared to air travel or even space travel, the humble train can sometimes lose some of the “wow” that's sparked by other innovative forms of transportation.
However, the train has one of the most interesting and complex histories of any type of transport, starting in the mysterious ancient world and evolving throughout the years to become the recognizable mode we see and use now.
Ancient Tracks
The origins of trains can be traced back all the way to the ancient world.
The Post Track isone of the oldest known causeways, built in England somewhere around 3838 B.C. In ancient Greece, it's believed that people and animals pulled wheeled vehicles across grooves in limestone, creating a way in which you could guide a wagon along a designated route. These tracks were used for hundreds of years. Although these designs were modest, they offered that same basic concept of railway transportation that would prove to be so effective.
These were impressive inventions at the time, but it would be centuries before the true origins of the modern railway began — and it all started with wooden rails.
Wooden Rails
Some of the first “modern railways” existedas early as the 1500sin Germany. One of the most famous rail systems is still standing today. Known as the Reisszug, it utilized a funicular system that depended on a steep slope and a hemp rope for transportation.
The effectiveness of wooden rail soon became popular in Europe, particularly for miners transporting materials. These “wagonways” offered convenient and efficient ways to transport larger amounts of cargo via horse.
The Invention of the Steam Locomotive
While wooden rails were the true beginning of the railroad industry, they were replaced with iron by the late 1700s, and tramways replaced wagonways. In the early 1800s, the invention of the first steam locomotive would change the world.
How the Steam Engine Developed
Like most inventions at the time, there was a hurried frenzy to add to and slightly change the design of the steam engine to make it as effective and efficient as possible. Though the original design for the steam engine had been created back in the 1600s, inventors were now tweaking it and thinking about how it could be used to power modern transportation.
The steam engine — a simple yet genius invention based on the idea of transforming hot steam into energy — rapidly changed the landscape of the railroad industry. The early 1800s were full of innovation and tweaks to Thomas Newcomen's original steam engine. James Watt was instrumental in increasing the efficiency of the steam engine and bringing it up to modern standards.
Many prototypes and failed trials followed as inventors tried to marry the railway system with the steam engine. In 1829, engineer George Stephenson finally achieved the task, as his steam-powered Rocketbecame a commercial success. The Rocket showed the world just how important the steam engine could be for transportation — and they would dominate for more than a century.
Once the steam engine was developed, trains started carrying more than just cargo. These machines began to carry loads of coal, and soon, passengers would begin to embark on the railway, as well.
The Golden Age of the Railroad
After the introduction of the steam locomotive and durable, long-lasting steel rails, the railroad system boomed. A few different factors necessitated railroad's popularity in the mid-1800s, primarily in the United States:
- Steam engine:The invention and evolution of the steam engine allowed trains to travel rapidly, so passengers could get from point A to point Bfaster than they ever.While some still argued that traveling by horse was the more efficient way to travel, the steam engine provided a new and effective way to see the world.
- The Industrial Revolution:The early 1800s was a time of great industrialization — factories were springing up and manufacturing was booming. The Industrial Revolution created a need for raw materials to be transported over large distances, and railway travel provided the perfect solution.
- Demand:By now, the U.S. had become a full-fledged country that spanned thousands of miles. As a result, people had a reason to travel beyond their hometowns. To see the nation in its entirety, trains were necessary because they got passengers to and from their destinations faster and more reliably than horses ever could.
These factors were instrumental in creating the boom of railroads. It wasn't long before rail soon stretched across the world and passengers acquainted themselves with railways. Arguably the most obvious example of the locomotive's impact is in the United States, where railways were building the country, connecting towns and cities and changing the landscape of the nation forever.
How the Railroad Built America
From offering a new, luxurious way to see and experience the country to their massive impact on the American Civil War and time itself, it's clear that trains had a significant hand in shaping the history of the U.S.
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Much of the technology for railroads in America was copied from the British — in fact, some of the earlier locomotives were actually imported from England. Thefirst railroad in the U.S.was the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which was built in 1827.
The B&O soon started growing, climbing through the Appalachian Mountains and sparking a railroad frenzy that would last for the next 50 years. The U.S. government started offering acres of land grants to railway companies. This turned out to be a lucrative investment — the steel rails began webbing out across the country, spurring economic growth and transforming the previously rural land into locations featuring thriving towns and cities.
Financial, Managerial and Personal Elements
The mania of railroad building had a host of various effects that would only be identified and realized later. It was a time of great innovation and hurried organization, and railroads had an impact on financial, managerial and personal elements alike:
- Financial:Thevalue of railroads skyrocketedduring the 1800s. In the late 1800s, financiers from all over the world — primarily Britain — invested heavily into American railroads. Most of the American financial system became based on railroad bonds, which was a part of the reason whymany railroad companies went bankruptduring theFinancialPanic of 1873. Still, the amount of investment the U.S. received at the time created the precedent for a global economy.
- Managerial:When it came to railroads, engineers had much to learn. As the system grew, complexity grew with it and daily operations soon had to be split from the financial side of things. The field of statistics grew and the importance of organization and rapid decision-making became essential. The success of major railroads was recognized by other industries, and their managerial strategies were adopted.
- Personal:The burgeoning railway system was also a contributor to the modern career path. At 18, young men could start working for a rail company and stay on until they retired, working up the ranks along the way. Some workers could start out working labor on the tracks, eventually becoming engineers, as others transitioned from statistical work to becoming bureaucrats at central headquarters.
In particular, jobs in the railway system during its height were stable and provided insurance and medical care. Many railway companies offered pensions to encourage workers to stay with the same railway company until retirement. This practice created the basis for the modern pension system.
The golden age of the railroad in the U.S. had an incalculable impact — industries all over the country looked to the management and overall structure of railroad companies as a way to run their own enterprises. It was a time of great organization, creativity and detail that was poured into the steel rails crisscrossing across America.
A New Way to Travel
Trains offered a new way to get around for Americans. At the surface level, this was all it was — an ingenious invention that allowed people to travel at a rapid pace across the country. People could now get across the entire U.S. in days instead of months. You didn't have to worry about your horse getting tired or bringing provisions for a long journey. Now, you could sit comfortably in a train cart and fly forward toward your destination.
Small-town folk could hop on a train and travel to a large store to make purchases. Tickets were inexpensive, making transportation viable for all kinds of people. It offered the freedom to explore and expand your knowledge of the world. Much like air travel allows us to visit other continents and experience new cultures, the invention of trains allowed people to escape the confines of their small towns and see what else the country had to offer.
This surge in mobility offered an inspiring and exciting view of the future for Americans, and railroads soon became a symbol of positive innovation and prosperity. Even though there were other travel options available, such as by boat, horse or stagecoach, trains offered many advantages:
- Luxury:Few modes of transportation could rival the invention of modern trains. Passengers could eat, sleep and read in spacious rooms during smooth travel. This was a welcome alternative to the bumpy and confined traveling quarters of stagecoaches. Trains offered a much easier and refined way to get to your destination.
- Cost:Rail travel also offered a cheap way to travel and a cost-effective option for people looking to ship materials. Instead of having to ship large quantities at once, as usually required by boat, you could now ship smaller quantities to reduce costs and avoid lost materials along the way.
- Safety:Trains also offered a safer way to travel compared to traveling by water — a train crash was less likely than a boat sinking.
Train travel had a profound impact on how Americans viewed travel, and as a result, their own country. Few people of the time were familiar with viewing the rapid passage of the world through a stationary window.
Dissenting Opinions
Although trains offered all of these benefits, and the vast majority of responses were positive, there were those who voiced their dissenting opinions.
Many poets and authors of the time, for example, expressed concern about how the rapid travel of trains was destroying our ties to nature. Instead of being able to examine details in the landscape, you were flying by without having time to truly appreciate its beauty.
Some wealthy aristocrats became frustrated that previously inaccessible vacation spots were now widely available to the public. Others touted environmental destruction as an argument against trains. This argument was in some ways justified — the new railway projects in the U.S. required massive upheavals of land.
Before railroads, buffalos were plentiful throughout the American West, with hundreds of thousands roaming freely. Trains allowed hunters to travel and hunt Buffalo for sport. These hunting expeditions decreased the wild buffalo population toaround 300 buffalo totalby the end of the 19th century. Many American railroad grants also gave away land that belonged to indigenous peoples, resulting in tragic repercussions.
Building the railroads was also a treacherous job. Although it offered thousands of new opportunities in the workforce, some of these jobs were quite dangerous, as workers were often working in desolate regions and in sometimes poor weather conditions.
One of the central arguments of the period was that trains were destroying our relationship with the natural world. A supporting piece of evidence for this was how important time became with the arrival of trains.
Before complex rail travel, time didn't hold as much importance — few people were worried about what time it was to the minute. Train travel required intricate detail so that conductors and passengers alike would know exactly when a train would arrive and leave a station. This wasone of the main reasonstime became standardized.
Ultimately, these dissenting voices early on were minor and mostly drowned out by the economic benefits. The golden age of the railroad brought so many sweeping changes to the U.S. — the majority being overwhelmingly positive — that it was hard to be a pessimist when it came to train travel.
Impact on the Civil War
Although the 1800s saw a rapid expansion of railroads across the U.S., much of this expansion happened in the North. The South constructed many railroads but didn't have nearly the connections that the North did. This would have major significance in the American Civil War,which began in April 1861.
Railroads also changed the nature of war itself — previous battles in the Revolutionary War were fought in or near populous areas. The victors of a battle would take advantage of the city's resources and move on to expand their reach and gain access to new resources. In the Civil War, trains allowed soldiers to transport what they needed to remote locations, and battles were fought in desolate areas. In that sense, the American Civil War was of the first truly modern wars.
The railroads were the lifeline for both the Union and Confederate armies, delivering weapons, food, medical supplies, soldiers and horses. The North specifically targeted southern railways to interfere with supply chains. The better a commander knew all of the details of the rail network, the better chance they had of making effective tactical decisions in the war.
Union General William Tec*mseh Sherman understood the vital importance of railway systems to the war better than anyone. After the Battle of Atlanta, Sherman instructed his men to heat and bend the Confederate rail tracks into a necktie design around the trunk of a tree so they could not be easily repaired. Sherman himself would oversee this tactic and itbecame known as Sherman's Neckties.
Ultimately, railroads were one of the main reasons the Confederates lost the war. Because their economy was mainly agrarian, they didn't see rail as a necessity like the North did for manufacturing. In turn, the railroads they had were old and lacked the innovations of the North. Resources became scarce and transporting goods became even more challenging when the Union started disrupting railroads. Around four years after the American Civil War began, the railroad network in the South collapsed.
The importance of railroads during the Civil War showed just how advantageous trains really were — both in times of peace and in times of crisis. It highlighted the lacking innovation in the South and provided an argument for industrialization instead of a focus on agriculture.
Once the war was over, the South remained in shambles, with their railroad network destroyed and the country desperately seeking a way forward. The act of destroying railroads was instrumental in ending the war. In the following years, it was decided that a new railway system would be built to recover from it.
The Transcontinental Railway and Reuniting the United States
After the Civil War, the country needed a path forward to unite the two regions of the country. The Reconstruction era brought sweeping changes to the South, including a plan to industrialize it.
Construction began for a dramatic expansion of a rail system throughout the South. This effort helped connect the South throughout the region and brought it out of isolation. It also created fundamental jobs. When the rails were finished, passenger travel was infrequent and trains were mostly only hauling cotton crops. Still, the railways helped modernize the South and offered a way for the economy to recover after a brutal war.
In 1869, thefirst transcontinental railway was finished, which linked the eastern U.S. with the rest of the country. It was a massive accomplishment that had both economic and intrinsic value. It allowed people to travel cross country much quicker than before and revealed a symbol of the aftermath of the war — the interconnectedness of the nation had now grown. Many people after the Civil War began saying “this” United States instead of “these” United States.
The transcontinental rail system was an example of how the railroad could change the world.
Evolution of Locomotive Power
While the steam-powered locomotive is mostly responsible for the explosion of train use in the 19th and 20th centuries, there were other mediums through which you could power trains such as electricity and diesel.
Horses
In the beginning, as mentioned earlier, horses were the main source of locomotive power. They were reliable for the most part, offering a safe way to transport goods. Still, potholes and bumps in the road could sometimes pose issues, leading to horse injuries and stopping transportation in its tracks. This issue gave way to theories on how to power locomotion itself, without the need for any kind of animal assistance.
Steam-Powered
Steam was one of the main driving power sources of the day, so it was no wonder that it soon came to dominate the railway landscape. Its prototype was first introduced in the mid-1700s, and in the early 1800s, it had been connected with locomotives and became a driving force for the golden age of the train. Steam-powered locomotives would be the main power source for nearly 100 years until diesel took over.
Electricity
The Ressizug was one of the first of these innovations, which used steep hills as a source of power. In the 1800s, innovation picked up considerably. An electric-powered locomotivewas introduced in 1851, which was powered by batteries. It was effective over short distances, but it couldn't last much longer due to its weak batteries.
Rail workers also viewed it as a threat to their job security and sought to destroy it. Still, electric trains would become more common around the world, particularly in the construction of subways.
Diesel
In the late 1800s, engineers started developing diesel engines for trains. The design proved difficult, and it wouldn't be until 1937 that a North American railway would use diesel locomotivesin its mainline service. Once they were introduced, many people realized how effective diesel was and some viewed it as a superior option to steam-powered locomotives for a few reasons:
- Labor:Instead of having a whole team burning coal and making sure all aspects of the steam-powered locomotive were working correctly, diesel-powered locomotives only required one person to operate the train. It was also a much more attractive environment to work in — quieter, weatherproof and devoid of the usual heat and grime that was present in steam-powered trains.
- Maintenance:Diesel locomotives required much less maintenance than steam-powered trains, which needed to be inspected, cleaned and lubricated before, during and after use. Diesel trains hardly required any maintenance month-to-month.
- Fuel costs:Though many people have argued the point, some saw diesel engines as the cheaper alternative. If you factor in the lowered maintenance costs and the notion that expensive coal and water were no longer needed as fuel, it seems reasonable to deduce that diesel was the efficient alternative to steam.
These benefits paved the way for diesel trains, and once they were introduced, it was hard to stop them. General Electric paved the way for the mass-production of diesel locomotives and they soon started replacing steam-powered trains. Today, the majority of trains are powered by either electricity or diesel.
How Railroad Passenger Travel Changed
Rail travel is similar to air travel in that it started out as a luxury — an elegant way to travel that was available to every American. While air travel remains vastly popular, the history of rail passenger transportation was relatively short-lived.
Riding on a train in the early 1800s was a surprising, almost shocking, delight to many passengers. Most people of the time were used to the laborious, tiring and sometimes treacherous characteristics of travel. Even stagecoaches were not particularly comfortable. Once you finally got to your destination, you were often tired, sore and needed time to recover.
Train travelproved to be completely different. First-class parlor cars were adorned with ornate designs, velvet cushions and framed mirrors. On-board meals included trout, antelope berries and champagne. Instead of suffering through the lurching, bumping journey in a covered wagon, travelers could now relax in a cushioned seat, watching the world pass by outside the window, reading a book or even sleeping. It was a wholely different experience for the American traveler, who saw the train as an inspiring modern invention that offered freedom.
These parlor cars were available to any of those who could afford them. This opened a door for Americans who had never experienced true luxury before — for many, this was an opportunity to relish what it felt like to be rich. Similar to modern ocean liner companies of the day, there were second-class and third-class versions of train travel, which offered a much less luxurious experience, but were still more comfortable than traditional travel methods.
Passenger rail travel exploded in the early 1800s, continuing to grow until the Civil War, which impeded travel. The peak of railroad travel occurred in the first two decades of the 20th century. After the Great Depression, rail travel was never quite the same, for a few different reasons:
- Automobiles:The invention and popularization of the automobile had a profound and permanent effect on trains. Once cars become more widely available to the general population starting in the 1920s, far fewer people chose to travel on trains. The convenience and privacy of the automobile made it a far more attractive travel option.
- Interstate Highway System:The introduction of highways in the 1950s took a massive toll on the rail system. People now had the ability to travel freely on spacious highways without having to adhere to a set train schedule.
- Air travel:Once commercial flights became more common around the 1950s, travelers flocked to this luxurious, exciting new way to get around. It further deemed trains irrelevant for passenger travel.
- Regulations:One of the most significant factors that contributed to the decline of train travel was the questionable business practices that rail owners took part in. Many railroad companies became monopolistic and a lot of the public became disillusioned with train travel as a whole.
By the late 1900s, train passenger travel had been impacted severely by other emerging industries and ways to travel.
Railroads in the U.S. and Worldwide Today
Railroads still exist in the U.S. today — mostly to deliver long-haul freight across the country. In the U.S., passenger rail travel has decreased significantly since the onset of highways and air travel, though Amtrak continues to service the Northeast and select areas of the country and is a popular source of transportation.
Countries in Europe and Asia are famous for comprehensive railway systems that allow people to travel within countries and to other countries seamlessly. Russia's Trans-Siberian Railway is especially impressive — as the longest railway in the world, it spans more than 5,000 miles from Moscow to the very eastern part of the nation. Japan is well-known for its high-speed rail, which is a rapid form of train transportation that gets passengers where they need to go safely and efficiently.
Some support for more railways has been voiced in the U.S., but many people see it as a waste of investment due to other available options like highways, which they believe need more focus to reduce congestion before other infrastructure projects begin. That said, some state governments are looking into expanding railways in their cities. On a local level, subway systems have become widely popular forms of train travel, especially in major metropolitan areas.
Ultimately, for a multitude of reasons, rail as a form of passenger transportation has fallen to the wayside among a surge of other more convenient modes of travel. While some train systems still operate in the U.S. today, they do so on a scale that's nowhere near what it once was. In fact, many individuals born in the post-rail era have never ridden on a train, much less a locomotive.
Frequently Asked Questions
There's much to think about when it comes to the history of trains. If you're curious about a few specifics of trains, continue reading to find some answers to train FAQs:
Who Invented the Train?
Richard Trevithick is often credited as the inventor of thefirst practical steam-powered locomotive. Trevithick introduced his invention to the world in 1804 in a Welsh mining town called Merthyr Tydfil. Though operable, it averaged a speed of fewer than 10 miles per hour. In the years since, train speeds have evolved dramatically — the fastest bullet trains can reach a top speed of nearly 300 miles per hour.
Trevithick's train — known as the Penydarren — is often regarded as the first train. Many credit the Baltimore and Ohio Railway as the first U.S. railway chartered for the commercial transport of passengers and freight in the U.S. From there, the rail system boomed in the U.S., becoming the dominant mode of travel and changing the landscape of the country forever.
Where Did the Train Originate?
The first train originated in the United Kingdom. Many engineers and inventors were working to try to find the right design — once it became effective, word spread. The first trains used in the U.S. were imported from the United Kingdom. It was only later that the UK would pour investments into rail projects across the pond.
However, it's true that original prototypes of the train came much longer before that. There are ancient remains of wooden tracks that people would use to guide loads of materials over various distances. These old designs may have been the building blocks for the modern train.
What Are the Types of Passenger Trains?
Today, people can access three main kinds of trains as passengers — long-distance, short-distance and subways:
- Long-distance:A long-distance train will take passengers distances that span several hundred miles, such as from Chicago, Illinois, to Seattle, Washington. In the U.S., Amtrak, or the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, offers the most prominent railway system for long-distance passages.
- Short-distance:These trains may take you across a state or into a neighboring one, lasting only a few hours. For example, you can take an Amtrak train from New York, New York, to Boston, Massachusetts. Many short-distance trains are popular ways for commuters to go to and from work — the Long Island Rail Road is a notable example.
- Subways:On a more local level, many cities feature subways and other light rail systems as a form of public transportation. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh Light Rail provides two lines that connect surrounding areas to the city. However, the subway system in New York City is arguably the most popular example in the world, with 36 rail lines.
How Do Trains Work?
There are two basic areas necessary for a steam locomotive to work. The boiler is where steam is made, and the engine is where steam is used. The process starts with an area called the firebox. Here, hot gases are produced, usually by burning coal. These hot gases move from the firebox through pipes to the boiler. The heat from the gases allows the water in the boiler to boil which creates steam. The steam then gets delivered to the engine where it is used to push pistons back and forth which causes the train to keep moving.
View Other Train Resources:
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Visit Volo Auto Museum
The history of trains — and trains themselves — is a fascinating topic. They significantly changed how the world worked. Looking back at this interesting history can be illuminating and help one understand how we got to where we are in the U.S. and the world in general.
If you're looking to learn more about trains, Volo Auto Museum has a new exhibit that can offer you a great experience. See vintage trains up close, learning about the ins and outs of the machines that built the nation. Explore this exhibit and more than 30 others that include vintage automobiles, TV and movie cars and a dinosaur exhibit.Plan your visittoday!
