The importance of British Iron to US Railroads

USS ALASKA

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Mar 16, 2016
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%

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...

Drei_Ringe_von_Krupp.jpg


Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
Last edited:
British Railroad Iron exports to the US

Year / UK exports in 1000s of tons / US production
1853 / 410 / 88
1854 / 337 / 108
1855 / 195 / 139
1856 / 165 / 180
1857 / 156 / 162
1858 / 30 / 164
1859 / 125 / 195
1860 / 138 / 205
1861 / 28 / 190

Even as late as 1871

1871 / 505 / 692

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...

View attachment 175274

Cheers,
USS ALASKA

Once the Republicans dominated the federal government they tried to cut off foreign competition for domestic iron producers with high protective tariffs that were basically a form of corporate welfare.

Chief among the proponents was Thaddeus Stevens who owned a poorly run iron foundry. As a condition for supporting the wartime Pacific Railway Acts that authorized government benefits for the first transcontinental railroads, he insisted that the railroads be required to use only iron “of American manufacture of the best quality”—meaning the highest price.

According to Ida Tarbell, “[Import] duties were never too high for [Stevens], particularly for iron, for he was a manufacturer and it was often said in Pennsylvania that the duties he advocated in no way represented the large iron interests of the state, but were hoisted to cover the needs of his own . . . badly managed works."

While admitting Stevens's commitment to racial minorities Tarbell adds, "That there was discrimination possible against your white fellow-man in applying a protective tariff, Stevens seems never to have understood."

Sources: Ludwell Johnson, Division and Reunion, 110; Ida Tarbell, Tariff in our Times, 15
 
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British Railroad Iron exports to the US

Year / UK exports in 1000s of tons / US production
1853 / 410 / 88 - 498
1854 / 337 / 108 - 445
1855 / 195 / 139 - 334
1856 / 165 / 180 - 345
1857 / 156 / 162 - 318
1858 / 30 / 164 - 194
1859 / 125 / 195 - 320
1860 / 138 / 205 - 333
1861 / 28 / 190 - 218

Even as late as 1871

1871 / 505 / 692 - 1197

I've plugged in the totals, hope it comes through reasonably legibly. The totals are remarkably consistent even as the shares of imports and domestic changed. 1858 presumably reflects the Panic of 1857 and 1861 the blockade of southern ports which were likely major importers of rail.

Also note the massive increase in rail construction in 1871, and this was after completion of the transcontinental railroad.
 
@TinCan

Sir, edited OP to show %s

And based upon that it appears that British exports had a significant impact on the growth and maintenance of American rails.

And quite a few of these were bought by floating RR and state bonds as payment. This is significant to the US railroad system.

Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
Last edited:
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%

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...

View attachment 175274

Cheers,
USS ALASKA
Your graph shows a decline in Iron being imported towards the end of the 1860s, that would appear to coincide with the introduction of steel rails. Britain switched from Iron to steel rails around 1868 and I think that the Chicago steel industry started to mass produce steel rails around the same time. The Chicago steel mills had the added benefit that they had the first rail rolling machine in the USA.
 
...they tried to cut off foreign competition for domestic iron producers with high protective tariffs that were basically a form 0f corporate welfare.

...while the Railroads clamored for 'free markets' so that they could have unfettered access to cheaper and better English products.

You are an elected official from Pennsylvania - who do you support?

:sneaky:

Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
While reading 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 - 'American Railroad Journal, XXIX (1856) 490'
954

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USS ALASKA
 
No. 2 consideration is that in order to produce its own iron rails, the US rail system had to reach Pittsburgh and Lake Ontario. That happened during the 1850's. Third consideration, the British were investing in many of those US railroads particularly so they make money of selling the equipment. The initial US railroads needed external assistance, especially in Virginia, and South Carolina.
 
No. 2 consideration is that in order to produce its own iron rails, the US rail system had to reach Pittsburgh and Lake Ontario. That happened during the 1850's. Third consideration, the British were investing in many of those US railroads particularly so they make money of selling the equipment. The initial US railroads needed external assistance, especially in Virginia, and South Carolina.
What is the importance of RRs to Lake Ontario?
 
What is the importance of RRs to Lake Ontario?
The railroads had to reach either Lake Ontario or Lake Erie, in order to bring the ore as far as possible to Pittsburgh. Also, as long as the rails were being used to build links to urban centers on the Atlantic coast, the British mills were about as good as the US mills, and the economies of scale existed in Britain.
 
The railroads had to reach either Lake Ontario or Lake Erie, in order to bring the ore as far as possible to Pittsburgh. Also, as long as the rails were being used to build links to urban centers on the Atlantic coast, the British mills were about as good as the US mills, and the economies of scale existed in Britain.
Lake Erie makes sense, bringing ore from the Mesabi and other nearby ranges to Pitts. If they used Canadian ore, I would think that it would pass through the Welland Canal to Lake Erie and hence by rail to Pitts. w/o any direct rail link to Lake Ontario. Anyway, thanks for your splendid posts on the importance of RRs to the North and the US economy in general.
 
1560345599003.png


Statistics of Iron and Cotton 1830-1860
Source: The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 2, No. 3 (Apr., 1888), pp. 379-384
Published by: Oxford University Press
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1879423
Accessed: 12-06-2019 13:14 UTC

STATISTICS OF IRON AND COTTON 1830-1860.
THE PRODUCTION AND IMPORTS OF IRON IN THE UNITED STATES.
1093

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USS ALASKA
 

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Looking through this thread, I didn't see any mention of three events that relate to all this:
  • the Panic of 1837
  • the Crimean War (1853-56)
  • the Panic of 1857
In the 1830s, there was a boom in the US, particularly in iron manufacturing. The older technology was the type of furnace operation found in what became The Wilderness in Virginia; the newer tech was found in places like Pittsburgh (and cost about 10 times more). Hard times started in Britain; British manufacturers started dumping excess production in the US, driving down prices; the Panic of 1837 followed and spread from Britain to the US. US iron manufacturers started dropping like flies, particularly those with the old tech (less efficient, many newcomers who were overextended/underfunded.etc.) Bankruptcies followed. The Virginia iron industry that had prospered from about the 1720s west of Fredericksburg died out (furnaces and farms and wood-cutting operations abandoned) to become The Wilderness by 1860 -- similar problems hit in PA and NJ and elsewhere. US manufacturers going broke developed a grudge against the British that would be long-lasting.

The Crimean War period saw British production largely devoted to the war. It also saw the British and French merchant marine cut off from the Russian trade, so the Americans rushed in. You'll see a large increase in the US import of Pig Iron about then (the Russians were the low-cost/low quality pig iron producer, but could not sell to the British and French, so they sold to the US, which took over the Russian carrying trade while the war continued). Once the Crimean War ends, the British and French shipping interests moved in on trade with Russia (cutting out the Americans) and British iron/steel interests started dumping excess capacity to the US (the British were the world's high quality/high efficiency producer)

All this leads into the Tariff of 1857 and the Panic of 1857. With excess capacity after the War ended, the British started aggressively exporting to the US again (or dumping excess capacity). At the same time, the US shipping industry hit a bust: excess capacity because of the California Gold Rush ship-building boom, sail-vs-steam tech, and the general downturn in the US business. Also a financial crisis exacerbated by the bad-timing of the low Tariff of 1857, the Buchanan administrations' spending and opposition tothe government having cash, and the general financial downturn following years of expansion. The iron-and-steel interests, particularly in PA and parts of NJ, see the British as taking advantage of this and want protective tariffs to protect themselves-- remembering full well their grudge from 1837.

Those events play a large part in the pattern of imports of iron and steel before the American Civil War. They also largely explain why the country (particularly PA-NJ) wanted higher protective tariffs in 1860-61 (bailing out the government and protecting the iron-steel manufacturers)
 
Lake Erie makes sense, bringing ore from the Mesabi and other nearby ranges to Pitts. If they used Canadian ore, I would think that it would pass through the Welland Canal to Lake Erie and hence by rail to Pitts. w/o any direct rail link to Lake Ontario. Anyway, thanks for your splendid posts on the importance of RRs to the North and the US economy in general.
Right. It was cheaper to bring the ore to the coal, than to bring the coal to the ore. And the cheapest mode of transportation was by ship for as many miles as possible.
 
Looking through this thread, I didn't see any mention of three events that relate to all this:
  • the Panic of 1837
  • the Crimean War (1853-56)
  • the Panic of 1857
In the 1830s, there was a boom in the US, particularly in iron manufacturing. The older technology was the type of furnace operation found in what became The Wilderness in Virginia; the newer tech was found in places like Pittsburgh (and cost about 10 times more). Hard times started in Britain; British manufacturers started dumping excess production in the US, driving down prices; the Panic of 1837 followed and spread from Britain to the US. US iron manufacturers started dropping like flies, particularly those with the old tech (less efficient, many newcomers who were overextended/underfunded.etc.) Bankruptcies followed. The Virginia iron industry that had prospered from about the 1720s west of Fredericksburg died out (furnaces and farms and wood-cutting operations abandoned) to become The Wilderness by 1860 -- similar problems hit in PA and NJ and elsewhere. US manufacturers going broke developed a grudge against the British that would be long-lasting.

The Crimean War period saw British production largely devoted to the war. It also saw the British and French merchant marine cut off from the Russian trade, so the Americans rushed in. You'll see a large increase in the US import of Pig Iron about then (the Russians were the low-cost/low quality pig iron producer, but could not sell to the British and French, so they sold to the US, which took over the Russian carrying trade while the war continued). Once the Crimean War ends, the British and French shipping interests moved in on trade with Russia (cutting out the Americans) and British iron/steel interests started dumping excess capacity to the US (the British were the world's high quality/high efficiency producer)

All this leads into the Tariff of 1857 and the Panic of 1857. With excess capacity after the War ended, the British started aggressively exporting to the US again (or dumping excess capacity). At the same time, the US shipping industry hit a bust: excess capacity because of the California Gold Rush ship-building boom, sail-vs-steam tech, and the general downturn in the US business. Also a financial crisis exacerbated by the bad-timing of the low Tariff of 1857, the Buchanan administrations' spending and opposition tothe government having cash, and the general financial downturn following years of expansion. The iron-and-steel interests, particularly in PA and parts of NJ, see the British as taking advantage of this and want protective tariffs to protect themselves-- remembering full well their grudge from 1837.

Those events play a large part in the pattern of imports of iron and steel before the American Civil War. They also largely explain why the country (particularly PA-NJ) wanted higher protective tariffs in 1860-61 (bailing out the government and protecting the iron-steel manufacturers)
One more note: when the Panama railroad was completed the demand for steamships to sail around the Horn decreased. The number of ships needed on both sides of the isthmus must have stabilized.
 
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