CANALS TO RAILROADS How do we get there?

Railroads  Replaced steamboats as the major form of transportation and shipping in the early 1800s

Advantages of Railroads  Speed  Travel at any time of year  Can go anywhere  Build quickly

Opportunities Along Railroads  Trade  Growth of towns  Jobs in construction and running the RR’s  Communication (telegraph lines along rail lines)

Railroads  By the 1850’s, 20,000 miles of track in the US

James River Blues By: Old Crow Medicine Show James River Blues I just heard the awful news I could steer around the rocks But they’re bustin down the docks James River blues That train came on through And the world’s gotten slow But where’s a boat man to go

James River Blues I think I’ll float on down To Richmond town They don’t need us anymore Haulin’ freight from shore to shore That big iron hauls much more Than we ever could before

James River Blues I’ve seen good men going wrong I’ve seen bad ones get it right As that river rolls along I’ll be stepping out tonight On the cool flow Floatin down, down below From the bridge to the water’s edge From the ridge to the ledge From the hills to the sea I’ll become a memory…