Airplanes: Technology of

the Present

After the Civil War…Travel was made more comfortable by the sleeper and dining cars of the Pullman Car Company. Air brakes were invented by George Westinghouse, allowing trains to stop more reliably, which previously had been a significant problem.

Westinghouse Steam and Air Brakes A Pullman Sleeper

Car (left) and Dining Car (above)

The First Transcontinental The First Transcontinental RailroadRailroad

• The Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railways were given the task by the government to create the first transcontinental railroad, going from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

• The two companies met to complete the tracks at Promontory, Utah on May 10, 1869.

• As an incentive to complete the railroad, the two companies were given 640 acres of public land for each mile of track laid down.• This was only the first of many railways to cross from one ocean to the other. Many more followed and made the railway the best way to travel across the country, replacing the wagon.

As railroads became a more common form of transportation, regulations were required, leading to…

A standard width of track, which resulted in less transfers being necessary.

The formation of time zones, to make it easier for railroads to keep schedules and avoid wrecks, to

replace a town’s “local” time.

ProgressProgress• Since the introduction of the railroads, the people

had a much greater access to goods. The goods were now cheaper because it cost less to put them on a train across the country than to put them on a wagon.

• Trains also gave people more opportunities to go west and to make a new life for themselves.

• In the late 1800s the amount of railroad tracks grew very fast, from 35,000 miles of track in 1865, to 163,000 miles in 1890.

• The railroads opened the doors to many new opportunities for people in business as well. Businesses could go farther now that it was easier to travel across the country.

Dishonest BusinessDishonest Business• Some times, railway companies would

set up pools with other companies, and they would promise that none of them would lower the price of something so that there would be no competition between them. This was illegal, and hurt the consumers because they had to buy the product for whatever price the pool set it at.

• There were also some companies that made Trusts. This was when a company would buy out all the companies that were needed to run the main company, so that they could charge themselves a low rate.

• It was not until 1887 that Congress passed a law to stop the dishonest practices of the railway business. In that year it created the Interstate Commerce Commission to keep the railway industry in line.

Cheating the PeopleCheating the People• While the railroads bound the country together, they did

not always care about the people that used the railroads.• The railroad companies often cheated their customers.• It would sometimes cost more to ship goods on the

railroads a long distance than a shorter one.•Because they did not

announce their prices, one farmer could be charged a great deal more for the same shipment than another.

•Many times the government officials that could stop the railway companies from cheating the people were profiting from the dishonest behavior themselves.

Regional Airlines Get Wings Clipped by Big Partners •Regional airlines grew after the terrorist attacks in 2001, as larger airline companies outsourced routes to cut costs. •Larger airlines were so desperate that they gave smaller companies generous terms, such as large profits, in addition to selling tickets, setting schedules, and buying fuel.•Now, however, larger airline companies are cutting back on some of these flights or pushing for better terms with smaller companies.•As this continues, bankruptcies, liquidations and "shotgun mergers" are expected as the regional airlines adjust. •Bill Swelbar, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's International Center for Air Transportation, suggests that consolidations will leave only four larger providers from the remains of the regional airline companies.

BUSINESS DECEMBER 30, 2009

Airline Tickets: Fairer Fares•Citizens are requesting that Delta Air Lines consider changing the rates between two Georgia cities.•On Christmas eve, from Charleston to Atlanta, a ticket cost $578, as might be expected because of the lack of low-cost competition. •However, from Savannah, which is closer to Atlanta, a ticket was selling for $650.•The author acknowledges that the company needs to make money, but other businesses besides the airlines are struggling in the current economy as well.•Delta essentially has a monopoly on the Savannah-to-Atlanta run.•Because of this, it can charge as much as it wants, or as much as consumers are willing to pay.•The author states that despite this, “the sky shouldn’t be the limit when it comes to ticket prices,” and he or she, as well as his or her peers, hopes that Delta will drop prices to reasonable rates.

December 26, 2009

AirlinesRailroadsRailroads

•First airplane flight in 1903•Main mode of long distance transportation in the 21st century•Trusts illegal because of the Sherman Antitrust Act•Smaller companies, due to lack of monopolies, have a better chance of success•Lack of tracks make them more flexible in transportation routes•Monopolies still exist on a smaller scale

•First transcontinental railroad completed in 1869•It was the main mode of transportation in the 1800s and 1900s•Trusts and Pools were used by railroad companies to keep down competition•Many large corporations, very few smaller companies•Monopoly

•Use hubs•Transportation

•Large Businesses control the majority

of the industry•Moving items

shorter distances sometimes cost

more.•Technology

developed very fast to evolve with the

times•Different classes

for different incomes

First Class in the Gilded

Age- Pullman First Class Car

(left)

First Class in the Present- First Class

Cabin (right)

Progression of Routes from the Early 1900s to today- Airlines (left), Railroads (right)

“Airline Tickets: Fairer fares.” SavannahNow.com. Savannah Morning News. 26 Dec. 2009. Web.

2 Jan. 2010. <http://savannahnow.com/opinion/2009-12-26/airline-tickets-fairer-fares>.

Carey, Susan. “Regional Airlines Get Wings Clipped by Big Partners.” WSJ.com. The Wall Street

Journal Digital Network. 30 Dec. 2009. Web. 2 Jan. 2010. <http://online.wsj.com/

article/SB10001424052748704234304574626192740931538.html>.

“A Classification of American Wealth.”.American Wealth Classification. Raken.com. 2008. Web. 2

Jan. 2010. <http://www.raken.com/american_wealth/Gilded_age_index4.asp>.

“The Gilded Age: Binding the Nation by Rail.” UsHistory.org. UsHistory.org. 2008. Web. 2 Jan.

2010. <http://www.ushistory.org/us/36a.asp>.

Works Cited