. American railway transportation . a and Pittsburg in 1852. Since then the sys-tem has been extended by absorbing other companies andby building new lines, until it now comprises propertiesformerly owned by more than 200 companies. During the decade following 1850 many of the trunklines of the large railway systems of the present day werecompleted. The Erie Railroad joined New York andLake Erie in 1851, and the Baltimore and Ohio reachedthe Ohio River the same year. The construction of long-lines proceeded rapidly in the States east of the Missis-sippi River and north of the Ohio. By 1853 it
. American railway transportation . a and Pittsburg in 1852. Since then the sys-tem has been extended by absorbing other companies andby building new lines, until it now comprises propertiesformerly owned by more than 200 companies. During the decade following 1850 many of the trunklines of the large railway systems of the present day werecompleted. The Erie Railroad joined New York andLake Erie in 1851, and the Baltimore and Ohio reachedthe Ohio River the same year. The construction of long-lines proceeded rapidly in the States east of the Missis-sippi River and north of the Ohio. By 1853 it had be-come possible to travel from the Atlantic seaboard toChicago by rail. In the following year the Chicago andRock Island connected Chicago with the MississippiRiver. Land grants, State subsidies, and prosperous timescombined to foster the rapid spread of the railway netin the Middle West. This lasted until 1857, when thegood times were interrupted by a panic. Railroad build-ing was then so seriously interrupted that it had not. • GROWTH OF THE AMERICAN RAILWAY NET 27 regained its previous activity when the great civil warstopped nearly all industrial progress for half a decade. The construction of railroads in Illinois and beyondthe Mississippi River was greatly stimulated by grants ofland from the public domain. In 1850 the first largegrant was made, the Illinois Central Railroad being therecipient, but many other gifts of land were made duringthe next few years. This policy of giving lands to aidin railroad construction was followed by the United Statesfor nearly thirty years, and it caused the railway lines inthe Central and far Western States to be built earlierand more rapidly than they otherwise would have States also made large contributions of public fundsto induce corporations to construct railways. The United States Government made especially lib-eral gifts to the companies that undertook the great taskof building roads across the dry plains and high m
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjec, booksubjectrailroads
