How Railways Transformed the World

Begin with an overview of the history and impact of railways, as a revolutionary technology that produced a superbly efficient means of transport. Grasp how railroads have been central to industrial societies, and have influenced politics, urbanization, social life, modern business, and more. Note the decline of trains in the later 20th century, followed by their astonishing comeback.

Learn about early steam tech, and the mounting of steam engines on vehicles, producing the first locomotives. Follow the rise of the first railways in Britain in the 1820s, and the brilliant engineers behind them. See how the proliferation of railways altered the landscape of Britain, accelerating urbanization, and observe the many ways that railways changed British life in the 19th century.

Grasp the core roles of railways in military conflicts in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Observe how the building of a railway transformed the British campaign in the Crimean War, and how cooperation between railroads and Union forces in the US Civil War was a major force in the Union war effort. Note the critical influence of railways in the Franco-Prussian, Boer, and Russo-Japanese wars.

Visualize the vast engineering project that linked the two coasts of the United States by rail. Learn how two companies built the first completed line, followed by other transcontinental routes, driving settlement and agricultural output across the United States. Assess the financial realities and abuses of these railroads, and the serious economic and ecological problems they provoked.