Railroad Stock & Bond Certificate Collection

n the early nineteenth century the United States turned to the railroad to fulfill its need for transportation. In 1828 two railroad companies began construction of the first U.S. railroads, and once completed, a line from Charleston, South Carolina to just short of Augusta, Georgia, spanned one hundred thirty-six miles, and a line from Baltimore to interior Maryland spanned thirteen miles.

During the railroad's developmental era, 1830-1843, needed changes in railroad technology occurred including the development of steel rails, and the use of cross ties, which maintained a rigid gauge under the multi-ton trains. By 1843 some three thousand miles of track were constructed in the United States. From this time onward railroad companies became more interested in building railroad networks, and planning a transcontinental railroad. By 1865 thirty-five thousand miles of railroad had been constructed in the nation, and by 1880 the total had grown to ninety-three thousand miles. During the late nineteenth century railroad's many technological improvements; such as making the English gauge standard for all roads, developing standard time zones, and building larger engines with larger payloads, resulted in a decline in freight rates and assisted a booming industrial economy. The nation's freight movements of ten billion ton-miles in 1865 had increased to three hundred sixty-six billion ton-miles by 1917. By satisfying the United States' need for transportation the railroad had played a major role in the nation's industrialization, and her current economic strength.