What was the state-of-the-art in terms of cross-country transportation in 1888? How did transport technology evolve over the previous two hundred eighty years? The recently-acquired J.L Ringwalt work entitled Development of Transportation Systems in the United States… addresses those questions in detail.
The work covers the entire spectrum of transportation of individuals and cargo, including snowshoe, horse, wagon, road, inclined-plane, turnpike, canal, railway, and ship. Descriptions and history of each mode are accompanied by pages of illustrations. Important milestones, such as the Erie Canal, Robert Fulton’s steamboat, and the development of a system of railroads, as well as more mundane aspects of transportation history, are treated by Ringwalt in meticulous detail.
The book was acquired to supplement existing manuscript collections and rare books in SC&A dealing with planning and transportation.
Development of Transportation Systems in the United States…, Published in Philadelphia by the Author, 1888, First edition, 398 pages with 47 pages of illustrations. Special Collections & Archives Fenwick Library, HE 203 .R56 1888.
I’m needing material to research the history of organized safety practices in the World and what better place to start than in CONUS. Is there a way to get a copy of this book?
Neal:
There is a copy of this available in PDF (about 50Mb) available on the Internet Archive at:
http://www.archive.org/details/developmentoftra00ring
Cheers!
Bob
SC&A