The U.S. railroads are practically the same age as the creation of the first locomotive – they turn 190 years old this year.
Capital investment and technology
American railroad workers are one of the pioneers in the technology of all-welded rails. Nowadays, continuous or “velvet” track dominates the network.
Reorientation and Loads
In addition to optimization and innovation, U.S. railroads have shown a remarkable ability to adapt to changing market conditions.
Refusing to be redundant
The crisis of the railroads of the 1970s, in addition to government control of fares, was the difficulty in rationalizing the nineteenth-century system for twentieth-century conditions.