- Joined
- Apr 4, 2017
- Location
- Denver, CO
A tremendous amount of railroad work occurred during the Civil War. Under the pressure of war, work that did not make sense economically, nonetheless had to be done, to sustain the war effort in areas in which the US army could not operate in any other way.
The volume of traffic proved the need for the use of coal as fuel, and the need for steel rails. This knowledge was developing before the Civil War, the war demonstrated the power of these innovations.
In the areas of civil engineering, the need to rapidly repair and efficiently maintain railroads, led to rapid progress, from the management level all the way down to crew chief.
In the area of mechanical engineering, the design of steam engines and railroad car equipment, the volume of production produced new equipment, reworked old equipment, and demonstrated the need for improved breaking systems and automatic couplers.
In the area of industrial engineering, the organization of production, the volume demands led to sorting out who was organized and who was not organized.
The truth is that railroads after the Civil War were not the same thing as railroads before the Civil War.
The locomotives were heavier, and faster. The railroads ran on tighter schedules and the companies realized that through traffic meant more traffic and more revenue for everyone.
The pressure during the Civil War, to not only supply the US army, but to allow Midwest wheat to supply a saleable commodity that could be exchanged with Britain, led the railroads to compress a fantastic amount of work into four years. From the work came the realization of how powerful faster and more efficient railroads could be.
The same type of pressure exerted itself in the clothing industry with respect to standardized sizes, pork production, and even surgery and hospital care.
It was the knowledge generated by the war that created a qualitative difference in post Civil War life.
The volume of traffic proved the need for the use of coal as fuel, and the need for steel rails. This knowledge was developing before the Civil War, the war demonstrated the power of these innovations.
In the areas of civil engineering, the need to rapidly repair and efficiently maintain railroads, led to rapid progress, from the management level all the way down to crew chief.
In the area of mechanical engineering, the design of steam engines and railroad car equipment, the volume of production produced new equipment, reworked old equipment, and demonstrated the need for improved breaking systems and automatic couplers.
In the area of industrial engineering, the organization of production, the volume demands led to sorting out who was organized and who was not organized.
The truth is that railroads after the Civil War were not the same thing as railroads before the Civil War.
The locomotives were heavier, and faster. The railroads ran on tighter schedules and the companies realized that through traffic meant more traffic and more revenue for everyone.
The pressure during the Civil War, to not only supply the US army, but to allow Midwest wheat to supply a saleable commodity that could be exchanged with Britain, led the railroads to compress a fantastic amount of work into four years. From the work came the realization of how powerful faster and more efficient railroads could be.
The same type of pressure exerted itself in the clothing industry with respect to standardized sizes, pork production, and even surgery and hospital care.
It was the knowledge generated by the war that created a qualitative difference in post Civil War life.