Transcontinental Railroad Effect, Essay Example

Known as the Pacific Railroad, the first transcontinental railroad served as an overland route that connects US to the pacific coast located at the San Francisco bay. The “creation of the said rail trail in 1832 specifically allowed for the advocating of better trade transport” (Tzu-Kuei, 1999). Among the products traded then was coal. The “Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 became the primary rule that headed the creation of a new railroad that stretches out from the Missouri river towards the Pacific” (Beebem, 1969).

Since coal was discovered in Wyoming during the time of constructing the railroad, it was evident how this became the starting point of coal being mined and produced for later trading activities. “Expedition of coal in areas across Wyoming and Utah became evident enough that the said product became a source of trade competition between the two states” (Ambrose, 2000). Not only that; the train itself needed coal for power hence making it the primary receiver of the coal products mined within the area. The income that would come from the said operation has made a distinct impact on the coal industry both in Utah and Wyoming.

Evidently, the establishment f the transcontinental railroad affected the coal industry in two ways, one is through empowering the transport of the product from one point to another therefore allowing it to reach from merchant source towards the point of delivery among the buyers. On the other end, it also “increased the demand for coal as the said product is used to power the very transport operations that the rail hosts” (Bain, 1999). From this point, it could be realized how the transcontinental railroad revolutionized not only the transportation options offered to human passengers as well as that of the trade-products exchanged between industries among different states, but it also created a better option of operation among particular industries including that of coal.

References:

Ambrose, Stephen E. (2000). Nothing Like It In The World; The men who built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863–1869. Simon & Schuster.

Bain, David Haward (1999). Empire Express; Building the first Transcontinental Railroad. Viking Penguin.

Beebe, Lucius (1969). The Central Pacific & The Southern Pacific Railroads: Centennial Edition. Howell-North.

Tzu-Kuei. (1999). “Chinese Workers and the First Transcontinental Railroad of the United States of America”, p. 128.