Railroad Industry Research Paper

Words: 880
Pages: 4

The railroad industry is one of the greatest developments in history. Such a large, successful, and long-standing institution did not achieve this feat flawlessly. There were issues concerning the construction of railway tracks, the management of large companies, and turning a profit from such a top-heavy business. These necessary obstacles all seemed to be solved within a 50-year period, beginning in the second half of the 19th century extending just into the earliest part of the 20th century.
For the construction of a railroad, there is a need for large sums of capital up-front. The reason for this was that completion of a railroad was necessary for it to make any profit. However, the problem with this is that many individuals did not have the amount of money necessary for the endeavor by themselves. The solution for those needed to acquire more capital than they developed was incorporation which is defined as, “the process of legally declaring a corporate entity as separate from its owners (Investipedia).” The corporation allowed the individuals to raise capital quickly.
The corporations obtained money in three
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This was important because for coordinated rail activity between the companies, any train needed to be able to cross any track. Another innovation for the railroad was the use of Bills of Lading, which accompanied freight denoting every station that it passed through, and by whom handled it. This system proved more efficient because it removed the need for rebooking freight at every stop, served as a quick reference point, and reduced losses. There was also a new field created which brought new professional journals, and issues of establishing ethical standards. The ethical standards were to avoid and reduce corruption within the industry for example, with the rewarding of contracts based on