Baltimore-Ohio Railroad Construction And Urban Development(1827-1860)

Transportation is crucial to urban development and the artery of economic development.The inland transportation infrastructure between the early British North American colonies was very backward,and the means of transportation were mainly carriages and sailboats.Even though the west of the United States has extremely rich resources and expanding markets,it cannot play its due role due to limited transportation.This situation did not improve much until the end of the 18 th century,which seriously restricted the trade exchanges between the East and the West.In the1920 s and 1930 s,the domestic improvement movement was launched all over the United States.In 1825,the Erie Canal was successfully completed,pushing the internal transportation improvement movement to a climax.Each state has implemented transportation infrastructure improvement plans based on its own terrain and commercial interests.Baltimore,an important port city on the Chesapeake Bay,became one of the transportation hubs connecting the eastern cities of the United States and the hinterland of the West in the late 1920 s.The key is to rely on the Baltimore Ohio railway.The development of transportation industry is always related to commercial trade.As a commodity distribution market in the eastern United States,Baltimore,in order to enhance its commercial competitiveness,pioneered the establishment of the first railway in the United States to provide mass transportation and regular passenger and freight services,namely the Baltimore Russia railway,under the construction of "canal fever" in various states.The Baltimore Ohio railway chose to start construction on the independence day of the United States in 1827,led by the Baltimore Ohio railway company and jointly participated by the Baltimore municipal government.As the crystallization of modern engineering such as machinery,steel and civil engineering,the railway has aroused widespread concern of Baltimore citizens at the beginning of its construction.The further construction and operation of the railway has triggered great changes in Baltimore’s social economy,resulting in great changes in the industrial structure and urban space along the line.The study of the Baltimore-Ohio Railroad between 1827 and 1860 begins with the planning and construction of the Baltimore-Ohio Railroad,the introduction of the railway line into the city streets and the interaction between the railway and the canal,which further improved the layout of urban transportation and led to the development of urban space.The construction of the railway was accompanied by innovations in transportation dynamics and trackage,and technological updates led to continued steady growth in the amount of transportation available to the railway.The growth in transport volumes further contributed to the industrial development of the cities along the railway lines,which at the level of company management produced a change from public and private capital together to privately managed companies.