Steam-Powered Transportation
MAP 23.1The Industrial Revolution in Great Britain, ca. 1850Industry concentrated in the rapidly growing cities of the north and the center of England, where rich coal and iron deposits were close to one another.
The first steam locomotive was built by Richard Trevithick after much experimentation. George Stephenson’s locomotive named Rocket sped down the track of the just-completed Liverpool and Manchester Railway at a maximum speed of 35 miles per hour in 1829. The line from Liverpool to Manchester was a financial as well as a technical success, and many private companies were organized to build more rail lines. Within twenty years they had completed the main trunk lines of Great Britain (Map 23.1). Other countries were quick to follow, with the first steam-powered trains operating in the United States in the 1830s and in Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and the British colonies of Canada, Australia, and India in the 1850s (Figure 23.1).
The arrival of the railroad had many significant consequences. It dramatically reduced the cost and uncertainty of shipping freight over land. Previously, markets had tended to be small and local; as the barrier of high transportation costs was lowered, markets became larger and even nationwide. Larger markets encouraged larger factories with more sophisticated machinery in a growing number of industries. Such factories could make goods more cheaply and gradually subjected most cottage workers and many urban artisans to severe competitive pressures. In all countries, the construction of railroads created a strong demand for unskilled labor and contributed to the growth of a class of urban workers.
The railroad also had a tremendous impact on cultural values and attitudes. The last and culminating invention of the Industrial Revolution, the railroad dramatically revealed the power and increased the speed of the new age. Some great painters, notably Joseph M. W. Turner (1775–1851) and Claude Monet (1840–1926), succeeded in expressing the sense of power and awe railroads inspired. So did the massive new train stations, the cathedrals of the industrial age.
The steam engine also transformed water travel. French engineers completed the first steamships in the 1770s, and the first commercial steamships came into use in North America several decades later. The steamship brought the advantages of the railroad — speed, reliability, efficiency — to water travel.
FIGURE 23.1Railroad Track Mileage, 1890Steam railroads were first used by the general public for shipping in England in the 1820s, and they quickly spread to other countries. The United States was an early adopter of railroads and by 1890 had surpassed all other countries in miles of track, as shown in this figure.
French Train PosterThe International Sleeping-Car Company was founded in 1872, inspired by the model of the American Pullman night trains. It quickly became the most important operator of sleeping and dining cars in Europe. The company’s posters, like the one pictured here, appealed to wealthy and middle-class customers by emphasizing the luxury and spaciousness of its accommodations. The company’s most famous line was the Orient Express (1883–2009), which ran from Paris to Istanbul. (Kharbine-Tapabor/The Art Archive at Art Resource, NY)