The advantages of the rapid transportation of perishable freight by rail, especially in regard to food supplies for cities, were early recognized, and by 1854 the trains brought car-loads of country milk into London every day. Previous to this, the supply was obtained from cows kept in stables, which was an unsanitary and expensive plan. Another immediate result of railway service was that people began to live farther out of the towns, and then began the growth of the suburban residence districts, which are such a feature of modern cities and city life.
FIRST TRAIN OF STEAM CARS.
The early railways were built merely as local lines, and there was little idea of their ultimate connection or extension. These small individual lines, however, with their own rate-making powers and systems of management, have been consolidated into great systems, thus effecting material economies and facilities in operation. Thus the Mohawk & Hudson Railway of 1831 was the first of a series of lines now consolidated to form the New York Central Railway; while the Liverpool & Manchester Railway of 1830 was the beginning of what is now the London & Northwestern Railway system. Not only is there this consolidation, but also a most comprehensive system for the interchange of traffic between different systems. Thus passengers can purchase through tickets and travel through from Paris to St. Petersburg, or from Boston to San Francisco, while freight cars can be sent through in a similar way. This is really a wonderful feature of railway development. The following are a few examples of the great railway systems of the world:—
| Railway. | Miles. | Loco- motives. | Passenger Cars. | Freight Cars. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania (U.S.A.) | 8882 | 3594 | 3847 | 146,060 |
| Chicago & Northwestern (U.S.A.) | 7996 | 1380 | 1176 | 49,484 |
| Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (U.S.A.) | 7462 | 1205 | 936 | 40,720 |
| Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fé (U.S.A.) | 7120 | 1036 | 655 | 29,837 |
| Great Western (England) | 2576 | 1837 | 6201 | 53,156 |
| London & Northwestern (England) | 1912 | 2851 | 8446 | 65,456 |
| Paris, Lyons & Mediterranean (France) | 5594 | 2624 | 5837 | 87,320 |
| Western (France) | 3464 | 1492 | 4378 | 26,487 |
| Mediterranean (Italy) | 3568 | 1314 | 3706 | 23,077 |
| Northwestern (India) | 3371 | 602 | 2121 | 10,312 |
In some countries the government owns and operates all, or nearly all, of the railways, as in Germany, Belgium, and the African and Australian colonies. Switzerland, in 1898, decided that its government should acquire the railways. In Holland and Italy the government owns the railways, but leases them to operating companies. France, Brazil, and the Argentine Republic have both state and private lines, with a greater or less degree of state assistance and control of the latter. In Great Britain the railways are owned entirely by private companies, but their operation is subject to government supervision in the public interests. In the United States there was at first almost absolute freedom of construction, but the consequent abuses and financial disasters, owing to unnecessary lines and cut-throat competition, have led some of the States to wisely exercise some degree of control over railway affairs. The interference of the federal government in railway affairs has been slight but important. In 1862 it aided the construction of the first transcontinental railway; in 1887 it passed the act for the regulation of rates, etc., in interstate traffic; and in 1893 it passed the act making compulsory the use of power brakes and automatic couplers on freight cars.
Government ownership and operation of railways is rarely satisfactory from a financial or a traffic point of view, but, on the other hand, an absolutely unrestricted railway element is liable to become a serious evil. The best system is undoubtedly that in which the railways are owned and operated by private enterprise, but subject to state supervision, like steamships, factories, etc. It must not be forgotten, however, that private enterprise is not always available. In Russia, for example, the development of railways would have been but slow on such a basis; and in India, government backing was needed to induce British capitalists to enter the field. It is unfortunate for China that neither the government nor the people have been competent or enterprising enough to deal with the railway question. The present system of development by rival interests of various nationalities seems almost certain to lead to the eventual dissolution of the empire and its partition among other nations, as Africa is already in large measure partitioned.
In the United States railway construction has gone by leaps and bounds, and there is now a vast network of lines,—main, secondary, branch, and local. The highest records of construction within the past twenty years were 12,800 miles built in 1887, and 11,600 miles in 1882, while the lowest record was 1750 miles in 1896. The growth from 1886 to 1899 has been as follows, the relatively small increase in number of locomotives being due to the greater power of modern engines:—
| 1886. | 1899. | Increase, per cent. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mileage | 133,600 | 185,000 | 88.47 |
| Tonnage carried | 482,000,000 | 780,000,000 | 62.00 |
| Number of cars | 871,500 | 1,330,000 | 52.61 |
| Number of locomotives | 26,400 | 36,000 | 36.30 |
Perhaps the railway of most recent interest is the first line in Alaska, which is twenty miles long, and was built as a result of the rush to the Klondike gold fields. This was opened on February 20, 1899. The great transcontinental railways, however, are of much broader interest. In 1835 the Rev. Samuel Parker, a missionary in the Northwest, suggested a railway from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and Dr. Samuel E. Barlow proposed one from New York to the Columbia River, 2000 miles, to cost $10,000 per mile, and to carry traffic at about seven miles per hour. From 1844 to 1849 Mr. Asa Whitney urged Congress to grant land to aid him in building a line from Lake Michigan to San Francisco, 2030 miles, to cost $20,000 per mile. Between 1853 and 1861 Congress had surveys made of five routes, but no definite action was taken until after the outbreak of the Civil War, in 1861, when the federal government soon recognized the importance of having direct communication with the Pacific States, which were at that time isolated. Companies were organized in 1862, and work commenced in 1864, under government subsidies and military aid and protection. On May 10, 1869, the Union Pacific Railway (from the east) and the Central Pacific Railway (from the west) met at Promontory Point, Utah, 1186 miles from the Missouri River and 638 miles from Sacramento, Cal.