Riding the rails in 1881

America has the same number of rail miles today that we had 128 years ago.

By

Stephanie Rogers

Wed, May 20 2009 at 3:51 PM

Related Topics:

Public Transportation, Train & Rail, Shipping

Photo: Odessa America

President Obama recently remarked that he wants to see the world's fastest train produced not halfway around the world in Shanghai, but right here in the United States. That would be an amazing feat indeed, considering that our rail system peaked in the 1920s and hasn't just stagnated, but actually atrophied during the decades since.

The number of rail miles in existence today is roughly equivalent to that of 1881.

Let's think about that for a minute. 1881 was 128 years ago, and some of the events that took place that year help emphasize just how long ago that really was:

President James Garfield is inaugurated, and assassinated.
Billy the Kid escapes from jail in Mesilla, N.M.
The Red Cross is founded by Clara Barton.
The gunfight at the O.K. Corral occurs in Tombstone, Cochise County, Ariz.
Sioux chief Sitting Bull surrenders to the U.S. Army at Fort Buford, Mont.
Cecil B. DeMille and Pablo Picasso are born.

Since 1881, society has come a long way. Much of today's technology could not have been fathomed back then. Yet our rail systems remain roughly the same — while the rest of the world shoots ahead of us with sophisticated, efficient high-speed transit. Trains even run slower today than they did 70 years ago — for example, a trip from Manhattan to Montreal that once took nine hours now takes 12. For a country that prides itself on progress, that's pretty sad.

So what happened? Cars, in a word. Demand for trains dropped as the American love affair with personal vehicles began. Crisscrossing highways offered shorter routes and fewer bottleneck than rail service. But the time for efficient rail service has arrived again, at least in populous urban corridors. Let the catch-up game begin.

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Comments: 5

Kg Jul 30 2012 at 9:24 AM

If we could trust our government to spend tax dollars wisely, I would be all about mass transportation. Not to mention; government also takes way too long to complete projects of this magnitude.

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Kelly C. Jun 29 2009 at 8:39 PM

When you say we have the same amount of rails does that also include all of the subway systems? Seems like the subways are still highly relied on in states like New York.

Kelly C.

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Nathan A. May 23 2009 at 2:07 AM

Really??? Obama is so demanding! Well things are going like what he wanted but does it help us to cope up with the problem we are now facing? Well, the recession didn't stop them from doing it anyway, but this year's New York Auto Show was a stripped down affair. No short-term loans were needed to put on the spread, but they still unveiled new models like the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The new models shown off aren't likely to spark sales, as they have been nothing short of abysmal for the last

.... More

year. Facebook is riddled with phishers and scammers trying to get personal info to commit identity crimes, and Facebook has been found wanting as far as doing anything about it. Its doubtful short-term loans could get Facebook to do something about the http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2009/05/14/check-121im-facebook-... check121.im scamsters.

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Guest May 21 2009 at 12:49 PM

Ulysses S. Grant, General and President, was not born in 1881. He would have had a pretty tough time leading the Union to victory between 1860 and 1864 (American Civil War) had he been born in 1881. He was born in 1822 and died in 1885. His grandson, Ulysses S. Grant III, was born in 1881.