Antebellum Rail production
Mill / Location / Annual capacity in tons
Montour / Danville PA / 13,000
Rough and Ready / Danville PA / 4,000
Lackawanna / Scranton PA / 16,000
Phoenix / Phoenixville PA / 20,000
Safe Harbor / Safe Harbor PA / 15,000
Pottsville Iron Works / Pottsville PA / 3,000
Trenton Iron Works / Trenton NJ / 15,000
Massachusetts Iron Works / Boston, Mass / 15,000
Mount Savage / Mount Savage MD / 12,000
Great Western Iron Works / Brady's Bend PA / 12,000
New Works / Pittsburgh PA / 5,000
Washington Rolling Mill / Wheeling VA / 5,000
Crescent Iron Works / Wheeling VA / 5,000
New Mill / Portsmouth OH / 5,000
Cambria Iron Works / Cambria PA / 5,000
And in the South...
Tredegar / Richmond VA / 5,000
British Railroad Iron exports to the US
Year / UK exports in 1000s of tons / US production / % of US production
1853 / 410 / 88 / 465%
1854 / 337 / 108 / 312%
1855 / 195 / 139 / 140%
1856 / 165 / 180 / 92%
1857 / 156 / 162 / 96%
1858 / 30 / 164 / 18%
1859 / 125 / 195 / 64%
1860 / 138 / 205 / 67%
1861 / 28 / 190 / 15%
Even as late as 1871
1871 / 505 / 692 / 73%
British imports to America drastically increased after the 1840s boom of UK building peaked. Brit manufactures had excess capacity and an overseas market that couldn't get enough.
Source -
British Investment in American Railways 1834-1898 by Dorothy R. Adler. A book recommended to me by
@DaveBrt
While reading
American Railroads and the Transformation of the Ante-bellum Economy by Albert Fishlow, came across an interesting stat. After the 1840s boom of British building, UK manufactures had excess capacity and looked to the export market to for relief.
"Assessed value per ton fell from $51.01 in 1847 to $26.32 in 1850." Source in the book noted as
- 'American Railroad Journal, XXIX (1856) 490'
Imports of railroad products was very important to American lines. Germany (Krupp) also exported a tremendous amount of supplies to the US. In 1851, one of Krupp's most profitable products (because of exports to the US) was their seamless railway tyres - which is the symbol of the company.
Source -
The Arms of Krupp: The Rise and Fall of the Industrial Dynasty That Armed Germany at War by William Manchester
Cheers,
USS ALASKA