Data Literacy for Social Studies, Miles of Railroad Operated in the United States, 1830-1890

We created this bar graph using data from the table titled "Railroad Mileage and Equipment: 1830 to 1890" on p. 731 of the Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1957. This graph shows the growth in miles of railroad operated in the United States from 1830 to 1890. Railroad mileage increased from 23 miles of track in 1830 to 166,703 miles by 1890. This spreadsheet includes the graph, the original table, and a recreated table of the data used to create the graph. The expansion of railroads, especially after the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad, connected regions of the country that had previously been isolated and allowed goods, raw materials, and people to move across the nation much more efficiently. Railroad growth encouraged westward expansion, industrialization, and national trade throughout the late nineteenth century. The rapid increase in railroad mileage shown in this graph reflects how transportation innovations transformed the United States into a more economically connected and industrialized nation.