The American Railroad Network, 1861-1890

by Taylor, George Rogers

• ISBN13: 9780252071140
• ISBN10: 025207114X
• Edition: Map
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-01-01
• Publisher: Univ of Illinois Pr

Summary

"Rapid population growth in the Great Plains and the American West after the Civil War was the result not only of railroad expansion but of a collaboration among competing railroads to adopt a uniform width for track. The American Railroad Network, 1861-1890 shows how the consolidation of smaller railroads and the growth of capitalism worked to unify the fragmented railroad industry through standardization. George Rogers Taylor and Irene D. Neu cover the emergence of railroads before and during the Civil War, their expansions westward, the gradual adoption of a national rail gauge, and the development of standardized equipment and car interchange rules that set examples for American industry in general. A pioneering work first published in 1956, The American Railroad Network, 1861-1890 provides a framework for understanding how advancements in technology are both impeded and fostered by political processes and commercial pressures. This paperback edition features three full-color fold-out maps and a new introduction by Railroad History editor Mark Reutter."

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Introduction to the Illinois Paperback	xi
Mark Reutter
Focusing the Problem	1	(7)
Historical Background
The Dominance of Local Interests to 1861
The Integration of the Railroad Net, 1861--1890
The Railroad Map, 1861	8	(7)
Construction of the Railroad Map
Sources of Map Information
Representation of Gauges
Gauge Differences
New England and Canada, 1861	15	(8)
Spokes to the Hub
Portland's Bid for Railroad Empire
Montreal and the Canadian System
The Middle Atlantic States, 1861	23	(12)
New York's Three Systems
Philadelphia's Railroad Domain
Baltimore's B and O
Barriers at Western Gateways: Buffalo and Erie
Barriers at Western Gateways: Pittsburgh, Wheeling, and Parkersburg
The Midwest and South, 1861	35	(14)
Gauge Differences in the Midwest
City Rivalries in the Midwest
The Beginnings of a Rail Network in the South
Gauge Differences in the South
Railroad Connections in Southern Cities
The Trend Toward Integration, 1861--1870	49	(9)
Early Shipping Patterns
Factors Encouraging Railway Integration
Effect of the Civil War
Gauge of the First Transcontinental Railroad
Growth of the Grain Trade
Solving the Gauge Differentials, 1861--1880	58	(9)
``Compromise'' and Sliding Wheels; Car Hoists
``Double'' Gauges
Narrow Gauge Railways
The Fast Freight Lines, 1861--1890	67	(10)
Background
Early Fast Freight Lines
Cooperative Fast Freight Lines
The Pattern of the Fast Freight Lines
Growth and Abuses
Last Steps in Integration, 1880--1890	77	(8)
Toward a Nation-wide Standard Gauge
The South Joins the Union
A Footnote on Gauge
The Railroad Pattern in 1890
Notes	85	(16)
Appendix. Key to Abbreviations of Railroad Lines Appearing on the Maps	101	(8)
Index	109