U.S. Bureau of the Census, Railroad Mileage and Equipment: 1830 to 1890 (1975)

This table, “Railroad Mileage and Equipment: 1830 to 1890,” is on p. 731 of Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1957 (1975). It shows miles of railroad operated and owned in the United States over time, and the number of locomotives (which provide the pushing or pulling power) and revenue cars (which carry freight, passengers, baggage, mail, etc.) in the United States over time. We used this table to create a bar graph showing changes in miles of railroad operated in the United States from 1830 to 1890. The original table, a recreated table, and the bar graph can be found in these spreadsheets.