Transportation Revolution

Industrial production demanded that raw materials reach factories and finished goods reach distant markets. Transportation innovations were essential.

• Canal building (1760s-1830s): Britain built thousands of miles of canals to move heavy goods (especially coal) cheaply.
• Macadamized roads (John McAdam, 1820s): Layered crushed stone roads were faster and more weather-resistant than earlier dirt roads.
• Railroads (from 1825): The Stockton and Darlington Railway opened in 1825, the first public railway using steam locomotives. By 1850 Britain had 6,000 miles of track. Railroads cut shipping costs, opened new markets, created demand for iron and coal, and reorganized time itself (the introduction of standard railroad time replaced local solar time).
• Steamships: Made transatlantic and global shipping faster and more reliable. The Suez Canal (1869) cut weeks off the trip to Asia.