The Illinois Central Railroad Company (IC) was a large railroad company that aided in the industrial success and development of the west. It was constructed in 1851 to 1857 and started in Cairo, Illinois. The Illinois Central Railroad tested the success of federal subsidation in this industry because it was “Americas first land-grant railroad”. The Illinois Central Railroad holds much historical significance as it is a model for other railroad companies to come. There are many aspects that must be taken into consideration when looking to improve the current situation of this company. To promote a more prosperous and efficient railroad company, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of this company will be examined. To start, the miles of railroad owned, operated, and controlled by the Illinois Central Railroad Company …show more content…
As of 1927, the Illinois Central Railroad owned 11,357.75 miles or railroad. This is a considerably high value especially in comparison to other railroad companies during this time. For example, the Norfolk and Western Railway Company only held 4,477.22 miles of railroad in 1927. Another example is the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad Company (NYC&St. L) which owns only 2,848.75 miles of railroad as of 1927. The IC owned over twice the amount of railroad as the Norfolk Railway and almost 4 times the amount of the NYC&St. L railroad. These companies both operate in close range to the IC in near or in the same states so they are close competition. In comparison to these rivals within the firm, the IC obtains the ability to cover longer distances when transporting goods and passengers where these companies lack. With more miles of railroad, it is more likely the Illinois Central Railroad Company will meet the needs of the demand volume more effectively since they have more options for travel. This
Claim 1: Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad’s location, and its access to coal rich areas. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad tracks ran through cities such as Richmond, Buffalo, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Louisville, all the way to the Ohio River. Totaling 405 miles of railroad tracks. Having access to these cities provided additional revenue from numerous other industries such as lumber, tourism and agriculture.
In the map below, retrieved from Wikipedia, this is illustrated. This connection route was over 10,000 miles long, it stretched over 13 states. Its size was extremely important for its time, it was one of the first. It had 75 locomotives, 2000 freight cars, and 100 passenger carts. It offered more than $30 million in assets.
People used the railroad to get around and go from place to place and to travel. Companies used the railroad to get their products
The country not only experienced rapid economic and political growth, which resulted in numerous significant improvements but also drastically expanded its horizons by developing the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. This project transformed Americans lives on many levels forever. Although the final results of the completed project were fulfilling, the decision-making process was quite challenging. In 1953 Congress tried to find the best potential transcontinental railroad route among five that have been previously authorized, however, each single engineering company and the political group had their own idea which one is the best. “ The top choice
The impact of railroads on Iowa and the United States was profound. They helped to spur economic growth in the state. Railroads made it easier and cheaper to transport goods across the country, which in turn made
Page #2 Kansas Railroads On March 20, 1860, the first track was laid in Kansas at Elwood. One railroad company was the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railroad which lasted 6 years. That railroad company laid down almost 1,400 miles of railway lines by 1888. Railroads came into Kansas when the state was expanding very fast, making land valuable.
The early railroad was revolutionary to the transportation industry in America during the Industrial Revolution. It connected the country from the East to the West and changed the formation of the United States and other aspects of the country forever including its economy and population. It had a large impact on trade in the United States and boosted capital, especially in the West. With these railroads, people could travel much more quickly and more efficiently, as well as, transport goods and messages in a timely fashion to others miles away, when any other means would be unconventional or much slower, such as walking or by horseback. The railroad not only impacted the U.S. economy, but it also had a significant impact on social
So, despite the UP’s decision, they decided to develop their own railroad companies. Out of Golden came the Colorado Central; out of Denver- the Denver Pacific. Each of these railways had every intention to be the first to reach and connect with the Union Pacific. Golden wanted to ensure their position over Denver.
(TH) With the formation of the railroads, construction and operation, brought a vast cultural, economic and political change to a country only 46 years old. (SSP1)Geo Right after the creation of the rail roads, people in the US started to realize how amazing this creation actually is and how it changed people’s lives economically. Peoples first thoughts on what to do with the rail roads was to transport goods. (R1)
⦁ They caused an increase in jobs to occur in the booming new industries railroad businesses relied on such as oil, steel, mining, and iron. ⦁ Railroad influenced the production of new forms of transportation industries, which were all in for "big money." ⦁ They had a negative impact on the environment since the trains that railroads were built for produced air and noise pollution by expelling toxic greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and making noise with its whistles and engines. ⦁ They led to robber barons and monopolies in the U.S. financial market. ⦁ They assisted in the use of child labor and sweatshops, although, they also had labor unions targeted against them causing strikes/work stoppages.
The development of railroads was perhaps the most significant transportation development of the period. Prior to the Civil War, there were only around 30,000 miles of railroad track in the United States, but by 1900 that number had grown to over 200,000 miles (White,
In module five, after the construction of the railway, “Van Horne’s Success Leads to Him Being Made President of the Company in 1888”, (Briggs 2023). The company was profitable due to the management skills of Van-Horne, who coordinated the company's strategies and operations. Furthermore, in Connecting Canada, the author argues “the CPR actively recruited immigrants and settlers from eastern Canada and Europe” (author, 2023). Due to the CPR's management and expertise, they recruited settlers to move to the developing Western front. In doing this, CPR increased the number of passengers and amount of cargo being transported which increased profitability.
Family businesses who sold locally before could now have access to more customers than ever. As railroads were being built, already developed towns paid to be a railroad stop where potential customers would get off. Entrepreneurs invested in mining and railroad projects, sending the economy skyrocketing. With the ability to easily commute throughout the whole country, small businesses were replaced by huge corporations who functioned nationwide. However, when corporations began to monopolize and force small businesses out of businesses by buying them out, the country began to question the morality of corporations.
One major industry during this time period was found in the railroad. The of course was also considered the center of national or both financial and political corruption (White, 21). While transcontinental railroads were essential developments for the growth of the United
There was no stopping the forward progress of the railroads in the 1800s. Trains, even before the mid-century, went twenty miles per hour; that was twice as fast as the stagecoach and four times as fast as the canal boat. To the entrepreneur that meant one thing: profit. These profit-minded Americans wasted no time in laying down track in America. The Transcontinental Railroad was one of these important railroads contributing to trade and economy; it was connected by the Central and Union Pacific Railroads.