The steam train was a huge innovation for land travel. It took the same steam engine that helped revolutionize river travel, and used it on land. Richard Trevithick and George Stephenson invented the first steam train in 1803, with help from the funding of Samuel Homfray. It made its first journey in 1804 traveling nine miles with seventy passengers, and hauling ten tons of cargo, in just under two hours. The reason that this was so significant was that the only was to transport goods across land, before the steam train, was either by foot, by stage coach, or by wagon train. The steam engine provided a easier and faster way to transport things, replacing horse and man power.
In 1804 the first passenger car was invented, and shortly after that the Stockton and Darlington Railroad Company was the first to carry both passengers and goods on a regular schedule. They used an improved version of the steam train made by Stephenson which was able to pull six loaded coal carts, 4 cargo carts, and 21 passenger carts over nine miles in just one hour. Then in 1863, after much railroad advancement, the transcontinental railroad was built. For six years the United States slaved over completing the railroad line connecting Sacramento, California with Omaha, Nebraska. Finally in 1869 the railroad was completed. People could now travel more than halfway across the country aboard one train. The 1848 gold rush contributed a lot to the desire to travel west, and the railroad made it easy to do that. Before that transcontinental Railroad, it took travelers over four months to make the journey, because they were making in horse powered wagon trains. The Transcontinental Railroad made the journey possible in only a few days, just a fraction of what is was before.
The Steam Train was a huge advancement, because now mass amounts of goods and passengers could be quickly transported long distances. Instead of loading up caravans of horses and wagons and mules with hundreds of pounds of goods, people now had a far faster, safer, and more reliable way to do it. On trains. People also now had a much faster and reliable form of transportation for themselves. And not to mention, much more comfortable. They now had the ability to travel 2000 miles in just a few days. At the time, this was unheard of. And that is why the steam train and railroad were so revolutionary.
Great post Chris! The graphic is helpful in giving one an image of what you are writing about, and your post is very informative. Upon reading it, however, a few questions arose. What is the counter argument to the invention of the steam engine? Did it's entrance into society cause any trouble? How did those introduced to this invention react to it? Again, excellent post!
ReplyDeleteOne could argue that the invention of the steam engine contributed to global pollution, however this wasn't really an issue at the time of its invention. Also, safety was an issue, as there weer a number of mechanical failures that could occur. If steam escaped from the boiler or the pipes, it could burn the train operators. Also, the boiler could overheat, or over-pressurization could occur, resulting in boiler explosions. Lastly, when the steam engine was first invented, there were no training requirements for operation, so someone who didn't know what they were doing could incorrectly operate the train, and put everyone's life in danger.
ReplyDeleteChris, What race of people were used to help build the railroad out west? Did you know that the building of the railroad helped to lead to the settlement and population of the Chinese to the United States?
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