Taming the Wilderness
Railroads
(This is an online version of a 1996 exhibit that was held in the Weaver Gallery at Conner Prairie.)
Railroads
No form of transportation so completely grasped the American imagination as the railroad-- until the coming of the automobile. A French observer noted in 1839 that Americans exhibited "a perfect mania... on the subject of railroads."
The first rails were laid in the 1820s. During this early period railroads were often viewed as little more than portages between waterways, and developers experimented with horse and sail as locomotive powers. But by 1831, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad proved that railroads were an important entity in their own right and the steam engine became king.
The mania took firm hold in the 1830s and rails were soon snaking across all areas of the country. Indiana was not immune to railroad fever, as numerous railways (totalling over 1,400 miles) were built before 1860. At the advent of the Civil War, America boasted over 30,000 miles of track.
Benefitting from investor confidence and huge government largesse, the railroad swept forward of its competitors. Canals and steamboats were simply hard pressed to compete with railroads as carriers of people, goods, and "civilization."
Early History of Railroads
The railroad's ancestors were the wagonways and tramways that first appeared in 16th-century Britain. These usually consisted of parallel planks which enabled draft animals to more easily haul stone and coal from their excavation sites to waterways for shipment. Cross ties were later added to stabilize these early "railways."
The United States had only a few tram roads. A rudimentary one was built in Boston in 1795 to haul brick. The first real tram way in America was constructed a few years later in Massachusetts to ship granite. It used horsepower, gravity, and a stationary steam engine with cable attachments to move the wagons carrying the heavy blocks of stone.
Rails
The first iron rails were introduced in Britain in 1767, providing a "rail" that was sturdier and more durable. Cast iron and steel were later used.
Rail technology advanced in stages, with the "modern" rail taking shape in the early 19th century. A toothed, cog rail (variations of which are still used on railways using a third rail) was introduced in 1811. The prototype of the modern T-rail was designed by American inventor and steamboat engineer Robert Livingston Stevens in the late 1820s. The T-rails stands on a broad, flanged base allowing it to be spiked directly into the ties. Strap rail, flat sections of wrought iron laid on wooden rails, was the most common and least expensive rail type used during the first decades of track construction in the United States. It was superseded by T-rail when that type proved superior.
Rail gauges, or widths, varied greatly throughout the early 19th century, causing many problems in connecting the various railroad systems throughout the United States. It was not until 1886 that a standard rail gauge (about four feet, eight-and-a-half inches) was adopted by most of the country.
Locomotives
The first practical locomotive was designed and built by British engineer Richard Trevithick in 1804 and was used in mining and iron works. The small engine had four drive wheels, but lacked leading or trailing wheels. Difficulties ensued due to flimsy, breakable track, but Trevithick's locomotive proved that smooth wheels could run safely on smooth tracks and that they could haul heavy loads efficiently.
Steady English improvements led to the famous Rocket of George Stephenson, which was small and light enough to haul heavy loads without damaging the rails. In 1829, the Rocket showed that it could handle both freight and passengers by pulling a freight wagon three times its weight at 12.5 mph and a passenger wagon at over 24 mph.
Commercial locomotives made their appearance in the United States in 1829 and the American tradition of tinkering and inventing led to a continual evolution or locomotive engineering. The 1850s saw major improvements in boiler design, cylinders, and fuels.
By the 1850s, approximately 500 locomotives a year were being built, costing about $7,000 to $10,000 each. Three east coast firms supplied the vast majority of locomotives.
Major Early Indiana Railroads
Madison & Indianapolis train, 1850s
Lawrenceburg & Indianapolis: Chartered in 1832, but not completed until 1853. It connected central Indiana with Cincinnati and points east and competed with the Madison & Indianapolis line.
Jeffersonville Railroad: Also chartered in 1832, but delays led to subsequent re-charterings. The line from Jeffersonville to Columbus was not completed until 1852. Competition led to an intense rivalry with the Madison & Indianapolis After years of competition, the two lines merged in 1866.
Bellefontaine & Indianapolis: The second rail line out of Indianapolis, it was begun in 1848. By 1852, the line ran to Union City on the state line and connected Indianapolis to the east and northeast.
Peru & Indianapolis: Was an important northern line, built with the intention of connecting Indianapolis with the Wabash & Erie Canal. It reached Noblesville in 1851 and was completed to Peru three years later.
Terre Haute & Indianapolis: This line was originally intended to connect to Richmond and bisect Indiana following the route of the National Road. Funding problems caused it to stop at Indianapolis.
Indiana Central: Ran from Indianapolis to Richmond. Begun in 1851, it was completed in 1853, essentially making the Terre Haute to Richmond plan a reality. It paralleled the National Road and did much to diminish traffic on that great thoroughfare.
Indianapolis & Lafayette: This line completed the original idea of the 1836 internal improvements act to connect Madison and Lafayette. Completed in 1852, it helped supply a connection between the Ohio River and Chicago.
Ohio & Mississippi Railroad: Reaching across the southern part of Indiana from Cincinnati to Vincennes, this road allowed connections from Baltimore to St. Louis. When completed in 1857, it was the longest continuous rail route in the world.
New Albany & Salem: This line (later the Monon) was the longest railroad in the state prior to the Civil War. By eventually reaching Michigan City it connected the Ohio River to Lake Michigan, and eventually Chicago.
Influence of Railroads
Railroads literally changed the landscape of the United States. Access to waterways or roads was no longer the major deciding factor in the establishment or growth of towns. A spot along the route of a railroad could be the site of a new, vibrant town. Rail lines caused a switch in population centers and becoming rail hubs boosted interior cities like Indianapolis and Kansas City.
Railroads quickly surpassed some roads and canals as the prime movers of people and goods. They played a significant role in lessening the canal mania evident before the Civil War and reducing traffic on important thoroughfares like the National Road.
Like steamboats, they were both the result of, and a stimulus to, American engineering and technological advancement.
Rail cross section image from Cincinnati Historical Society Bulletin, (Winter, 1972)