Incredible black-and-white pictures capture how railroads and steamboats helped forge its future..

UK Daily Mail ^ | July 19, 2012 | Staff

[C19fan]

They are images of a nation in motion - of a country building its future with expanding railroads and industrial opportunities. These glorious black-and-white photographs, which have been released by the Library of Congress, reveal America reveling in its new-found productivity, at a time when steam engines and steamboats were forging the nation ahead. The images, taken between 1870 and 1920, capture the determination with which America tackled the new century - and how the country also began enjoying the fruits of the 19th century's industrial labour, in what was termed the Gilded Age.

[C19fan]

The SS Tashmoo is a handsome ship. Always love to see photos of the ladies in Victorian/Edwardian fashions.

[foreverfree]

Ironic that this link about US railroads should come from the UK, birthplace of the railroad. I'll look at it later. Got work. Thanks, C19 and Daily Mail.

ff

[C19fan]

The Brits did provide a lot of the capital to build our railroad system. :)

[afraidfortherepublic]

Riiiiiight! And we used Chinese and Irish labor. We did NOTHING on our own. sarc/off

[SMARTY]

I thought someon ‘else’ did that FOR us?!! Hmmm...

[Eric in the Ozarks]

My grandfather served on the Oregon.

[iowamark]

Great pictures at the link.

[oh8eleven]

Notice how people back in the day had the smarts not to get run over by a train.
Today, people climb fences, get whacked while walking the tracks, and the family sues the railroad for negligence.

[BubbaBobTX]

Speed had something to do with it. In a city environment that steam train was not moving much faster than one could walk. Look at the smoke coming out of the stack that train was barely moving.

[rusureitflies?]

thank you... we live in a house built in 1865.. those were the days...

[drpix]

"Always love to see photos of the ladies in Victorian/Edwardian fashions."

Students study home economics at McKinley HS, Wash. DC in 1910

From the opening of America's 20th Century to its 21st Century...

Students from McKinley HS storm the doors of a building in protest (link)

[Clioman]

Smokestacks belching pollutants! Airplanes without seat belts! Rail lines without fences or warning lights! Imperialist military hardware! Bathing beauty contests! Oh, the horror! The horror!!

[C19fan]

Was he serving when the Oregon went all the way around South America just in time to help whack the Spaniards?

[bgill]

That first pic - I don’t think an excursion to the Chicago drainage canal would be on the top of my must see vacation sights.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Don’t know.

[drpix]

"Airplanes without seat belts!"

Notice that someone did make sure the lady's dress was tied securely below the knees to stop it from blowing up. Modesty before life itself!

[MondoQueen]

My great grandfather built the first railroad across the Mississippi. He was a civil engineer and the bridge opened in 1868.

[Fiji Hill]

And we used Chinese and Irish labor. We did NOTHING on our own.

"Oh, no, you didn't build that."--Barack Obama

[Opinionated Blowhard]

I always enjoy looking at these pictures but I find it amusing that we are nostalgic about the railroads today. Until they went into decline, the American public absolutely hated the railroads. When they first appeared in the 1830s and 1840s, there was story after story about the filthy black smoke belching out of them, and horror stories about railroad accidents. Then in the late 1800s, the public looked at railroads as oppressive concentrations of wealth and their owners as no better than thugs. Don't get me wrong, I like the history, but railroads seem to only be viewed with fondness in retrospect.

[ops33]

I wonder if that’s how the “General Slocum” looked before she caught fire.

I also thought the photo of the woman in the airplane was interesting. She had to hang on but at least her skirt was tied down.