Railroads

= The Railroad Industry = S.J. & D.P. ​ Innovations: The Stockton & Darlington Railroad Company began as the first railroad to carry goods and passengers on regular schedules by using trains designed by English inventor, George Stephenson. In 1880 the US had laid more than 70,000 miles of track in 10 years. The air brake was one of the inventions during the revolution that helped the trains to stop easier and to avoid wrecks.The air brake was invented by George Westinghouse and was a simple lever that engineers pulled to stop the train. Soon after he invented a triple valve for trains. This valve, and a reservoir on the car, inverted the behavior of the direct air brake and by charging air into the pipe charged the system and released the brakes, and draining air from the brake pipe applied the brakes. He now had a much more responsive system that was fail-safe .This next invention was called the Pullman sleeping car. This was invented by George Pullman in 1857. It helped passengers to sleep in the train overnight. It was alot more comfortable than earlier sleeping cars.

The standard gauge was one of the few things that helped revolutionize the railroad industry. It made the distance between all rail road tracks the same for every railroad. It helped the industry flow better and made it possible for all trains to travel on every track. Another thing that helped was standard time. It made it so that all the time was the same in that area. They used to tell the time by the sun. This helped them to be able to tell what time they would arrive at each place.The transcontinental railroad was created to help people all over the U.S. trade goods and send messages to others, faster and more effective than the old way of delivering. It also helped to settle the West.

The Robber Baron of the railroad: Cornelius Vanderbilt born 1794 in New York.Vanderbilt controlled the railroad industry. Cornelius started his own ferry industry when he was 16. In the early 1860's Vanderbilt started to redirect his funds to railroads. In 1867 he owned all the New York central and harlem railroads. By 1873 he connected Chicago to New York. He was a vulgar, mean-spirited individual who made life miserable for everyone around him, even his family.By the time Vanderbilt died he was one of the richest people in the world. He was as you say the "Robber Baron" of the railroad industry.



Labor Relations: May 11, 1984, the Pullman strike happened when 3000 Pullman workers went on strike without the permission of the union.All of the Pullman workers lived in Pullman city, a city created by George Pullman. In the city the workers had to pay to use the library and church, also if they were in debt the money would be taken from their pay. This happened because of their poor working conditions. Workers had low wages, injuries, and deaths related to unsafe equipment.Many of the strikers belonged to the American railroad union. This union was founded by Eugene V. Debs. He was determined to help the strikers.

Go vernments response: Elkins act was a law that gave rebates to valued customers.The great oil and livestock companies paid the rates stated by the railroads. They wanted the money that they shoudnt have spent on railroad stuff

Railroads Today: Railroads today are much more advanced. Trains are getting alot faster. One train is the bullet train it reaches an average speed of 164 mph.Tracks today are made of steel and are much more durable. Trains are now more of a means of a transportation then before. More people ride in trains now then ever before



 Questions to think about: 1. Who invented the pullman sleeping car? 2. What is the average speed of a bullet train? 3. What standardized railroad tracks? 4. Who was Cornelius Vanderbilt? 5. What can be improved in railroads today?

References:

[|www.chicagohs.org/ history/pullman/pul1.html] [] http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h921.html [] [] http://www.sdrm.org/faqs/brakes/history/ [] http://pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=493&size=550x550_mb&ptp_photo_id=3536564