[4] Development of american railroads

Between 1850 and 1871 the United States government made grants to railroads to assist the extension of lines in the West and South, often ahead of settlement. About 8 percent of the country’s railroad mileage was built with the aid of these land grants. The grants were not outright gifts; in return, the railroads were required to haul government traffic at reduced rates. When Congress terminated this arrangement in 1946, it was estimated that the railroads had repaid the government about ten times the original value of the land grants.

By 1870, when the railroad movement in the United States was 40 years old, there were 53,000 miles (85,000 kilometers) of main lines, not including secondary tracks, sidings, passingtracks, or yards. Between 1870 and 1880 another 40,000 miles (64,000 kilometers) were added. The decade from 1880 to 1890 saw the most rapid expansion of American rail lines, with 70,000 miles (113,000 kilometers) added—an average of 19 miles (31 kilometers) of new railroad completed each day. Growth continued, with another 30,000 miles (48,000 kilometers) added in the 1890s and another 47,000 miles (76,000 kilometers) in the next decade. By 1910 the network was largely complete and there was little further extension. In 1916 total railroad-line mileage in the United States reached its highest point at 254,000 miles (409,000 kilometers).

After 1920, with the rapid expansion of paved roads, much traffic was taken from the railroads by automobiles, buses, and trucks, though the overall demand for railroad service remained high. As a result, the railroad network began to shrink as lines that could no longer pay their way were abandoned. By the end of the 1980s, railroad-line miles in the United States had dropped to about 150,000 miles (241,000 kilometers). Some of the lines had been built to serve mines, forests, or other nonrenewable natural resources and were abandoned when the resources were exhausted. Other lines had been built to serve an anticipated need that never materialized. Still other lines disappeared because the industries they had been built to serve entered a period of decline or relocated to other parts of the country. By the late 1980s, American railroads had become primarily high-volume freight carriers operating on long-distance, main-line corridors. Intercity passenger traffic had largely been taken over by automobiles, buses, and airlines. Much freight, especially on the shorter distance hauls, was being carried by trucks. Yet the total railroad freight volume, as measured in ton-miles (a ton-mile is a unit of measurement corresponding to one ton of freight carried one mile) set a new all-time record in 1990—78 percent more than in 1960.