The completion of America's first transcontinetal railroad brought about great changes.
What do you consider the greatest effect a transcontinental railroad had on America?
It made America a truly transcontinental nation.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
When we actually have a transcontinental railroad, like the Canadians, I'll answer this question. The closest thing I know of is BNSF, and it only gets as far east as Birmingham, not exactly a high-speed gateway to the East Coast.
I think the revolution first brought about by eliminating the need to go 'around the Horn' remains, in context, the most significant achievement of the Pacific Railroad. (It also indirectly taught us early about the corrupting influence of great promise of wealth on capitalists in a pre-Keynesian environment, where the government helps out with cheap-to-them stuff but not strategic-asset-optimizing financial aid...)
Of course much of the growth of the West as we know it was enabled by the transcontinental carriers, but note that the real game was over by 1915, as the incremental contribution of the Milwaukee PCE was not enough to pay and not expandable to high performance (as was ATSF) or high capacity (the UP of the Centennial era).
It does have to be said there is another prospective effect. Had the railroad been built as early as originally 'prospected', it would have been relatively easy to get to California by the gold rush era, and therefore the 'excuse' for naming element 98 'californium' instead of something linked to lighter elements above it in the periodic table wouldn't have held as much water...
Recent generations take being able to move about freely for granted. If we want to go anywhere its simply a matter of putting some gas in the car, setting the GPS, and within a matter of hours we're there. We cannot grasp what life was like when roads were at best rutted quagmire or for the most part nonexistent.. when rail service was almost as slow and confined to the Eastern half of the continent. By degrees we've gained mobility and the freedom to move about at will. That's essentially what the first transcontinental railway brought us closer to.. one big step toward what we have now.. unrestricted mobility. 150 years ago it was a major effort to get 20 miles down the road to the next town.. and required more effort than jetting across the continent does today..
A transcontinental railroad created a truly national economy and all the geo political implications that go therewith.
I still find it fascinating that even with all of the abandonments, you could hop on a boxcar, and rolling on two rails, get most anywhere in North America.
Largest effect? Centralizing life.
Ulrich Recent generations take being able to move about freely for granted. If we want to go anywhere its simply a matter of putting some gas in the car, setting the GPS, and within a matter of hours we're there. We cannot grasp what life was like when roads were at best rutted quagmire or for the most part nonexistent.. when rail service was almost as slow and confined to the Eastern half of the continent. By degrees we've gained mobility and the freedom to move about at will. That's essentially what the first transcontinental railway brought us closer to.. one big step toward what we have now.. unrestricted mobility. 150 years ago it was a major effort to get 20 miles down the road to the next town.. and required more effort than jetting across the continent does today..
"The sons of Pullman Porters and the sons of Engineers ride their father's magic carpet made of steel".
"When I first heard this, I thought of the sons as riding on passes because their fathers worked for a railroad; of course Pullman porters did not obtain passes for transportation, but they may well have not paid space charges if they were able to travel Pullman.
Johnny
i don't think the effect was as big as having railroads that made intercity travel more practical.
until then, it was very unlikely to meet/marry someone outside of your town unless you went to college.
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading
Victrola1 The completion of America's first transcontinetal railroad brought about great changes. What do you consider the greatest effect a transcontinental railroad had on America?
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
I‘ve heard it said it was a streak of rust once it was built.
I understand that there were important political reasons to get it built, and there was great incentive created to see who could get it done first, but as a result, it was hastily built. Is it true that James Hill accomplished the same with the GN, building that solid, with no subsequent bankruptcy?
The Central Pacific did have a fair amount of traffic from the various silver mining areas near the line. Most notable was the Comstock Lode.
The CP was earning enough revenue to finance the construction of the SP.
Erik_Mag The Central Pacific did have a fair amount of traffic from the various silver mining areas near the line. Most notable was the Comstock Lode. The CP was earning enough revenue to finance the construction of the SP.
The greatest effect of the transcontinenal railroad was that its ribbons of steel bound California, with its invaluable bays and immense wealth, ever tighter to the United States, facilitating the nation's rise as an industrial giant and political power in the Pacific.
Another great effect was the destruction of the culture of the Plains Indians. This likely would have happened eventually, given the movement of settlers westward, but the railroad dramatically speeded up the process.
One more: The fallout from the Credit Mobilier scandal revealed who was really running the United States...and it was no longer the yeoman farmer or tradesman.
I literally just turned in a big Research Essay on this topic on Thursday. Biggest effect of the first transcontinental railroad? I’d say it open up the west to increased settlement in large numbers and cut down travel time from east to west and west to east.
Now was the first transcontinental railroad really a true transcon?
I’d honestly say no. The CP/UP combination really wasn’t one railroad. They didn’t finally unite until the SP/UP merger in 1996. Because it’s made up of two railroads, I’d definately say it‘s not a transcon.
Though no Railroad went from the east coast to the west, I’d consider a transcon that connects a major east/west gateway (like Chicago or St Louis) to the Pacific Ocean. In this respect I’d call the Santa Fe the first true transcon. (Northern Pacific was second I think.) In the end it did reach the Atlantic in Texas, so I guess it was a transcon it that sense too.
Regards, Isaac
I model my railroad and you model yours! I model my way and you model yours!
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.