Railways Lead the Way Chapter 19, Section 1 Pgs

Consolidation The practice of combining separate companies

Standard Gauge The uniform width of railroad tracks adopted in the 1880s.

Rebates Secret discounts that large railroads offered to their biggest customers.

Pools Secret agreements railroad barons made amongst themselves.

Railway Lines in the Nation There were 5 railway lines in the nation by the 1890s. By 1900, 250,000 more miles of track had been laid.

Vanderbilt Vanderbilt gained control of the New York line and made a fortune by consolidating several companies.

Railroads Lead to Industrial Growth Iron – used to make steel Steel – tracks and trains Lumber – tracks Coal – to run the steam engine trains

Advantage of a Standard Gauge It allowed trains from different railroads to use the same rails, eliminating the transfer of goods from one train to another.

Technological Developments Air brakes Janney car couplers Refrigerated cars Pullman sleeping car

Railroad Barons By consolidating and driving other railroads out of business using rebates and pools railroad barons were able to make huge fortunes.

Time and Distance They began to measure distances by how many hours the trip would take instead of how many miles traveled.

Effects of Railroad Expansion 1. People moved westward 2. Industry moved westward 3. Transporting raw materials to factories and manufactured goods to market became more efficient 4. Cities and towns grew along the railroads 5. New technologies were developed 6. The American economy grew 7. Many people became wealthy