The Industrial Revolution: The Steam Locomotive

Looking at the past, and exploring technologies that have had an impact on society is a valuable tool for entrepreneurs. There is much to learn about the Industrial Revolution and how the technologies developed at the time played such a huge role. The Industrial Revolution first instigated in England, then spread like wildfire throughout the world during the 18th and early 19th centuries. The lives of ordinary people was transformed dramatically, by a series of engineering inventions and industrial achievements allowing industry to develop so fast that society could barely keep up. One of the major inventions that helped launch the industrial revolution was the steam Locomotive. It’s steam engine originally developed slowly over hundreds of

However, this is not necessarily true. The steam locomotive also had some negative impact on society. The advent of the steam locomotive and railroad also saw the start of major pollution. More and more rivers started to get polluted and unclean air started appearing in cities. This of course created poor living and working conditions and health problems. The most serious pollution problem created by the steam locomotive was the carbon dioxide that was continuously emitted into the air by the steam engine. Other than pollution, other problems arose. With the coming of the locomotives, child labor came with it. Children worked for long hours very hard, had little time for breaks, and were stripped away from time with their families and deprived of their education. One good example is of the 28-year old William Cooper. He recalled working when he was just ten years old in steam engine manufacturing factories. He claims he was physically abused and constantly put in dangerous situations, like crawling through operating machinery. Working hours were long which caused him to miss school. Other than child labor, deforestation was a common custom during the Industrial Revolution. Whether they were digging for coal or making way for railroads, forests were usually taken down for these purposes. But of course more positive outcomes came from the invention of the steam locomotive. Thanks to locomotives, more towns were built due to the fast and efficient transportation of building materials. This meant the population could easily spread rather than focus on few particular cities. It also significantly improved mining. The steam locomotive had may freights that carried resources to different places easily. Transportation of course was the most beneficial. For the first time in history, people had the ability to quickly and cheaply move to big