Teacher Guide to Student Worksheet 4- The Growth of the ...



Teacher Guide to Student Worksheet 5- The Growth of the Railroad

Name: _____________________

Directions: Using Student Handout 3- The Railroad Images, answer the following questions using complete sentences.

1) What year did the railroad begin in Pennsylvania according to these maps?

It began in 1829. (Note to teachers: During this year the Stourbridge Lion steam locomotive was brought over from England to be operated by the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company. It was the first steam locomotive to be operated in America.)

2) What region of Pennsylvania had the greatest number of Railroad routes in 1860? Look at your natural resource maps again. Is there a relationship between the production of natural resources and the expansion of railroads? Why do you think this region was expanding more quickly?

The East region of Pennsylvania had the greatest amount of railroad routes during this time period. In 1860 eastern Pennsylvania was producing vast quantities of lumber, anthracite coal, and iron which needed transporting. Railroads could replace canals in the development of these industries by creating more economical and efficient ways to bring them to market.

3) Allegheny County also contributed heavily to iron, steel, and lumber industries. Once transportation linked Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, these cities could share very strong markets. By what year did Pennsylvania have a railroad system which crossed the entire state?

By 1854 it was possible to cross the state entirely by railroad (Pennsylvania Railroad). (Before that a series of canals, railroads, and inclined planes called the Main Line of Public Works were used to cross the state.)

4) Describe the change in railroad mileage between 1829 and 1940. What do you think led to this change?

Between 1829 and 1940 the railroad mileage greatly increased—from mileage in the hundreds in 1829 to twelve thousand miles in 1940. The Industrial Age of America led to this change. Pennsylvania was mining natural resources to make products (iron/steel) to enable the building of a mass transportation system, and this transportation system, in turn, fueled more industrial growth.

5) Explain in your own words how the growth of the railroad industry and the growth of the iron industry related to one another.

The growth of the railroad and the growth of the iron industry are directly related to one another. The growth of the railroad was made possible by the production of solid, strong materials such as iron. The railroad used iron in numerous ways—from tools such as anvils used to build the railroads, to the nails or spikes they hammered, to the rails themselves in the early building stages of railroads. The iron industry grew because of the railroad. With the expansion of the railroad, iron products could be transported to various regions throughout the state and country, thus increasing the demand for iron products. The railroad was also a good harbinger (foreteller) of what lay ahead for the iron industry. When the railroad decided to switch to steel tracks, iron tracks were no longer needed. Steel eventually becomes the new “iron”—the strong material used for building things. Steel, however, needs pig iron to be made.

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