All Aboard!
In the first half of the 1900s, before airplane travel was common, many people traveled by rail. Railroads moved about 80% of passengers and goods.
Today, passenger trains carry only about 5% of travelers between cities. Still, more people are riding the train every year. Trains serve American cities throughout the country, but mostly in the Northeast. Reaching west
The first U.S. rail service began in 1831 in South Carolina. Twenty years later, railroad companies were building tracks that reached west to the Mississippi River. Trains carried settlers, goods and mail to the Midwest.
In the early 1860s, the Union Pacific railroad began building track west from Omaha, Nebraska. The Central Pacific started laying track east from Sacramento, California.
In 1869, the two tracks met at Promontory Summit in Utah. North America became the first continent to have a railroad from coast to coast. Freight trains
Freight trains are the kind you probably see most on the tracks. They carry goods such as cars, steel, livestock and other products. They carry more coal than any other material. Passenger trains
Two types of trains carry passengers:
• Commuter trains carry people around a city or to and from their homes outside the city. They generally have a lot of seats but no dining or sleeping cars.
• Intercity trains carry passengers longer distances, sometimes overnight. Overnight trains often have sleeping cars and dining cars.
Who’s who on the crew?
• A conductor takes tickets and is responsible for the safe operation of the train. He is the first one off the train when it pulls into a station.
• Assistant conductors carry two-way radios and stay in touch with the engineer.
• Engineers and assistant engineers run the train.
• The steward manages the dining car. The chef and cooks prepare the meals, and waiters serve them.