Role of Steam Energy in the Development of Early Railway Transport in the United States
Steam energy was the driving force behind the steam locomotives which were iconic inventions of the Industrial Revolution. The 19th century was marked by several limitations including ways of travelling. Despite many attempts by different people to invent the steam engine, James Watt is recognized as official historical inventor of steam engine because his invention was key to kick-starting the Industrial Revolution.[footnoteRef:0] Steam was a very important historical source of energy because it helped revolutionize transport during the early Industrial Revolution days making an enormous contribution to the daily lives of people and Industrial processes in terms of movement. [0: Corliss, George Henry. In the Matter of the Petition of George H. Corliss, for an Extension of His Letters Patent: For Improvements in Steam Engines. Providence Press Company, printers, 1870.]
Through the development of the steam engine by James Watt, the same technology was used by Robert Fulton in the development of more durable military war vehicles which were first used by the United States military.[footnoteRef:1] However, these warships were a bit slow and took longer for them to be redesigned to have better speed. The steam engines greatly improved transportation capacity of goods and people making a huge contribution to the United States development of industries and ferrying of goods to other areas.[footnoteRef:2] People who had initially relied on crude methods of land transport especially relying on animals now had a better method. Travelling could now be done with speed and a better level of comfort. It through the invention and technology provided through steam locomotives that more modifications continued to happen and led to the modern railway transport systems powered by diesel and now electricity[footnoteRef:3]. [1: Hills, Richard L. Power from steam: A history of the stationary steam engine. Cambridge University Press, 1993.] [2: Lamb, J. Parker. Perfecting the American steam locomotive. Indiana University Press, 2003.] [3: Rosenberg, Nathan, and Manuel Trajtenberg. A General purpose technology at work: the Corliss steam engine in the late 19th Century US. No. w8485. National Bureau of Economic Research, 2001.]
My future research on this topic will focus on the real developments along the transport on railroads. I will focus on determining how steam engine was used for goods and human transport in the United States. I will deal with different areas of the US, separately and explore the impact and changes made to make it more effective. I will also find more information about the use of coal to provide energy for creation of steam as well as the use of wood.[footnoteRef:4] These historical developments will lead me to come up with comprehensive information about the steam energy use in transport sector within the United States and how it impacted the rest of the world as well as how it defined the future of the country’s transport and Industrial and Urban life. [4: . Lovland, Jorgen. “A history of Steam power.” Department of Chemical Engineering, NTNU Trondheim, Norway (2007). ]
References
Corliss, George Henry. In the Matter of the Petition of George H. Corliss, for an
Extension of His Letters Patent: For Improvements in Steam Engines. Providence Press Company, printers, 1870.
Hills, Richard L. Power from steam: A history of the stationary steam engine.
Cambridge University Press, 1993.
Lamb, J. Parker. Perfecting the American steam locomotive. Indiana University Press,
2003.
Lovland, Jorgen. “A history of Steam power.” Department of Chemical Engineering,
NTNU Trondheim, Norway (2007).
Rosenberg, Nathan, and Manuel Trajtenberg. A General purpose technology at work:
the Corliss steam engine in the late 19th Century US. No. w8485. National Bureau of Economic Research, 2001.
