Historical Timeline — Transportation
17th-18th Centuries
18th century
Transportation by water, on trails, or through wilderness
1794
Lancaster Turnpike opened, first successful toll road
1800
1800-30
Turnpike building (toll roads) improves communication and commerce between settlements
1807
Robert Fulton demonstrates practicability of steamboats
1815-20
Steamboats become important in western trade
1820
1825
Erie Canal finished; canal building era begins (1825-40)
1830
Peter Cooper's railroad steam engine, the Tom Thumb, runs 13 miles; beginning of railroad era
1840
1840
3,000 miles of railroad track constructed
1845-57
Plank road movement
1850s
Major rail trunk lines from eastern cities cross the Appalachian Mountains; steam and clipper ships improve overseas transportation
1860
1860
30,000 miles of railroad
1869
Illinois passes first designated "Grander" law regulating railroads; Union Pacific, first transcontinental railroad, completed
1870s
Refrigerator cars introduced, increasing national markets for fruits and vegetables
1880
1880
160,500 miles of railroad
1888
Meat is first shipped in railroad cars cooled by mechanical refrigeration; nearly 50 years pass before this technology is widely adopted
1900
1909
The Wrights demonstrate the airplane
1910
1910-25
Road-building accompanies increased use of automobiles
1916
Railroad network peaks at 254,000 miles; Rural Post Roads Act begins regular Federal subsidies to road building
1917-20
Federal Government operates railroads during war emergency
1920
1920s
Truckers begin to capture trade in perishables and dairy products
1921
Federal Government gives more aid for farm-to-market roads
1925
Hoch-Smith Resolution requires the Interstate Commerce Commission
(ICC) to consider agricultural conditions in setting railroad rates
1930
1930s
Farm-to-market roads emphasized in Federal road building
1938
Motor Carried Act brings trucking under ICC regulation
1940
1942
Office of Defense Transportation established to coordinate wartime transport needs
1950
1950s
Trucks and barges compete successfully for agricultural products as railroad rates rise
1956
Interstate Highway Act
1960
1960s
Financial condition of northeastern railroads deteriorates; rail abandonments accelerate; agricultural shipments by all-cargo planes increase, especially shipments of strawberries and cut flowers
1970
1972-74
Russian grain sale causes massive tie-ups in rail system
1980
1980
Railroad and trucking industries deregulated
1990-2000
1990s
Consolidation of rail lines reduces transportation options for rural residents
1998
Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century greatly increases highway spending
