motives. This was the first railway in America built with the purpose from the beginning of using steam locomotives, and the engine ordered from the West Point Foundry and put in operation in 1830 was the first locomotive engine built and used for regular railway service in the United States. This engine was called the Best Friend. (See Locomotive.)
Table I.—Showing the Railway Mileage of Each Country of the World in 1898
COUNTRY | Length of Railroad, Miles |
All of Germany | 30,777 |
Austria-Hungary (including Bosnia, etc.) | 21,805 |
Great Britain and Ireland | 21,529 |
France | 25,898 |
Russia (including Finland) | 26,414 |
Italy | 9,759 |
Belgium | 3,781 |
Netherlands (including Luxemburg) | 1,965 |
Switzerland | 2,303 |
Spain | 8,103 |
Portugal | 1,467 |
Denmark | 1,618 |
Norway | 1,230 |
Sweden | 6,359 |
Servia | 354 |
Rumania | 1,895 |
Greece | 591 |
European Turkey and Bulgaria | 1,595 |
Malta, Jersey, Man | 68 |
Total, Europe | 167,511 |
United States | 186,245 |
British North America | 16,867 |
Newfoundland | 592 |
Mexico | 8,498 |
Central America (Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Salvador) | 701 |
Total, North America | 212,903 |
United States of Colombia | 346 |
Cuba | 1,133 |
Venezuela | 633 |
Santo Domingo | 177 |
Brazil | 8,718 |
Argentina | 9,822 |
Paraguay | 157 |
Uruguay | 1,118 |
Chile | 2,662 |
Peru | 1,035 |
Bolivia | 621 |
Ecuador | 186 |
British Guiana | 22 |
Jamaica, Barbadoes, Trinidad, Martinique, Porto Rico | 563 |
Total, South America and West Indies | 27,193 |
British India | 21,973 |
Ceylon | 297 |
Asia Minor and Syria | 1,558 |
Russia (Transcaspian Dist.) | 1,568 |
Siberia | 2,573 |
Persia | 34 |
Dutch East Indies | 1,293 |
Japan | 2,948 |
Portuguese India | 51 |
Malay States (Borneo, Celebes, etc.) | 188 |
China | 401 |
Siam | 167 |
Cochin-China, Pondicherry, Malacca, and Tonquin | 238 |
Total, Asia and Malay Archipelago | 33,289 |
Egypt | 2,085 |
Algeria and Tunis | 2,704 |
Cape Colony | 2,348 |
Natal | 459 |
South African Republic (now Transvaal Colony) | 774 |
Orange Free State (now Orange River Colony) | 832 |
Mauritius, Réunion, Senegal, Angola, Mozambique, Congo | 2,011 |
Total, Africa | 11,213 |
Australasia | 14,490 |
Recapitulation: | |
Europe | 167,511 |
North America | 212,903 |
South America | 27,193 |
Asia | 33,289 |
Africa | 11,213 |
Australasia | 14,490 |
Total, 1898 | 466,599 |
Total, 1897 | 454,730 |
Total Increase, 1897 to 1898 | 11,809 |
Table II.—Showing the Terminal Points of the First Railway or Section of Railway Built in Each State of the United States
(From Poor's Manual of Railroads, 1900)
STATES | Termini of first section opened | Length, miles |
Year opened | |
From | To | |||
New England: |
||||
Me. | Bangor | Oldtown | 11.00 | 1836 |
N. H. | Nashua | Mass. State line | 5.25 | 1838 |
Vt. | White River | Bethel | 25.00 | 1848 |
Mass. | Boston | Lowell | 26.76 | 1835 |
R. I. | Providence | Stonington, Conn. | 50.00 | 1837 |
Conn. | Hartford | New Haven | 36.25 | 1839 |
Middle: | ||||
N. Y. | Albany | Schenectady | 16.09 | 1831 |
N. J. | Bordentown | Hightstown | 14.00 | 1832 |
Pa. | Port Carbon | Tuscarora | 9.23 | 1830 |
Del. | Newcastle | Frenchtown | 16.19 | 1832 |
Md. | Baltimore | Ellicott's Mills | 15.00 | 1830 |
D. C. | Washington | Md. state line | 4.00 | 1835 |
Central Northern: |
||||
Ohio | Sandusky | Green Spring | 22.50 | 1838 |
Mich. | Toledo, Ohio | Adrian, Mich. | 33.00 | 1836 |
Ind. | Madison | Vernon | 22.00 | 1842 |
Ill. | Jacksonville | Meredosia | 24.00 | 1839 |
Wis. | Milwaukee | Waukesha | 21.50 | 1851 |
South Atlantic: |
||||
Va. | Richmond | Chesterfield Mines | 12.00 | 1831 |
W. Va. | Harpers Ferry | Winchester, Va. | 32.00 | 1836 |
N. C. | Petersburg, Va. | Blakely, N. C. | 63.00 | 1833 |
S. C. | Charleston | West | 7.00 | 1830 |
Ga. | Savannah | West | 9.00 | 1837 |
Fla. | Saint Joseph | Lake Wimico | 8.00 | 1836 |
Gulf and Mississippi Valley: |
||||
Ala. | Tuscumbia | Decatur | 45.50 | 1834 |
Miss. | Vicksburg | Jackson | 45.00 | 1841 |
Tenn. | Nashville | Murfreesboro | 30.00 | 1851 |
Ky. | Lexington | Frankfort | 29.00 | 1835 |
La. | New Orleans | Lk. Pontchartrain | 5.00 | 1831 |
Southwestern: | ||||
Mo. | Saint Louis | West | 6.00 | 1852 |
Ark. | Memphis | West | 5.00 | 1857 |
Texas | Harrisburg | Richmond | 32.00 | 1854 |
Kan. | Kansas City | Lawrence | 40.00 | 1864 |
Colo. | Sheridan, Kan. | Kit Carson | 87.00 | 1870 |
New Mex. | Colo. state line | South | 8.30 | 1878 |
Ind. Ter. | Seneca | Vinita | 35.50 | 1870 |
Okla. | Ark. City, Kan. | Ponca | 25.00 | 1886 |
Northwestern: | ||||
Iowa | Davenport | Muscatine | 39.00 | 1855 |
Minn. | Saint Paul | Saint Anthony | 10.00 | 1862 |
Neb. | Omaha | West | 40.00 | 1864 |
N. Dak. | Fargo | Bismarck | 196.50 | 1873 |
S. Dak. | Big Sioux R. | Yankton | 60.00 | 1873 |
Wyo. | Denver, Colo. | Cheyenne | 106.00 | 1870 |
Mont. | Ogden, Utah | Blackfoot | 160.00 | 1869 |
Pacific: | ||||
Cal. | Sacramento | Folsom | 22.50 | 1856 |
Wash. | Lower Cascade | Upper Cascade | 6.00 | 1862 |
Oregon | Portland | Albany | 80.00 | 1870 |
Nevada | Truckee, Cal. | Reno | 35.00 | 1868 |
Arizona | Yuma | Adonde | 30.00 | 1879 |
Utah | Evanston, Wyo. | Echo | 36.00 | 1869 |
Idaho | Brigham, Utah | Franklin | 61.00 | 1874 |
The second locomotive for the South Carolina Railroad was built and put in operation in 1831. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, commenced in 1828 and completed from Baltimore to Ellicott's Mills, Md., 15 miles, in 1830, came next in the