In reading through my Corbin
book, Across Iowa on the
K&W and H&S Railroads,
I was reminded of some questions
I have had regarding early
railroads, financing and
building.
There are some good pages in
there where Corbin describes
some of the components that made
up the two respective railroads,
but some of the details (to me)
seem to have been lost in time.
Perhaps someone here can share
some insight...
So let me just state a few
things which I think are
incumbent upon understanding the
situation, someone can add or
correct any of these
assumptions:
- 1850s-1880s settlements all
wanted to be a part of the new
railroad system, as it meant
easier transportation and
receiving/shipping of goods.
Being left with no rail line
at all severely impaired the
community. This meant that
people in town were willing to
spend a lot of money to get a
railroad to their town.
- Railroad companies were
willing to put in stations at
set intervals to bring more
traffic to the railroad,
leaving a 20 mile stretch of
line without any station at
all actually also impaired the
railroad if there were farms
along the route.
Now to the questions...
- Why were there so many
in-corporations that changed
every few years? A lot of the
changes are not listed, so it
makes me wonder if they were
all to bankruptcy? Or what?
I'm guessing that some of the
incidents were the result of
swindlers preying upon towns
who were willing to throw cash
to anyone who seemed like they
could promise a railroad...and
a lot of cash was being thrown
around.
- In the book, Corbin talks of
some rivalry between the
Wabash and CB&Q for new
territory. I'd be interested
in hearing how some of this
worked, as it appeared that
railroads were started on
behalf of other railroads with
the sole purpose of being
under them. Was there a
purpose for this? Federal
law?
- Why were there so many
bankruptcies in this early
industry? Miscalculation of
funds required to build a
railroad? Miscalculation of
railroad usage?
A little more discussion on
how the early financing worked
would be interesting as well, I
think. From what I can see, it
appears that a corporation is
started, and then bonds sold to
anyone who would buy them (based
on a dollar-amount-per-mile
figure that the railroad had
come up with to support the
building and creation of the
railroad). This this also
include figures for purchase of
the locomotives and rolling
stock? Or was it just trackage
& stations? Or even just
trackage, and the stations would
be supported by either the
railroad or the town?
Finally, I guess it all
culminates with the eventual
(and somewhat rapid) downfall of
the railroads, that in the early
1900s the Model T began to give
anyone the ability to move goods
and people easily, and therefore
the decision to drive cattle or
people to a larger town rather
than wait on rail
shipment/transportation (and
possible tariffs) just offset
the original usefulness and
convenience of the railroad.
At any rate, I'm sure this
group has people who are very
knowledgeable in this subject,
as always... :)
Cheers!