lifetime. His work helped make the use of electricity more efficient and also contributed many major inventions.
             Colonel John Stevens first conceived the concept of constructing a railroad in the United States, in 1812. He described his theories in a collection of works called "Documents tending to prove the superior advantages of railways and steam carriages over canal navigation."
             The earliest railroads constructed were horse drawn cars running on tracks, used for transporting freight. The first to be established and built was the Granite Railway of Massachusetts (1826), that ran approximately three miles. The first regular carrier of passengers and freight was the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, completed on February 28, 1827. It was not until Christmas Day, 1830, when the South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company completed the first mechanical passenger train, that day the modern railroad industry was born. This industry would have a profound effect on the nation in the coming decades, often determining how an individual lived his life.
             By 1835, dozens of local railroad networks had been put into place. Each one of these tracks went no more than a few miles, but the true potential for this mode of transportation was finally being realized. With every passing year, the number of these railway systems grew incredibly. By 1850, over 9,000 miles of track had been lain. Along with the generating of railroads came increased standardization of the field. An ideal locomotive was developed which served as the model for all subsequent trains. Various companies began to cooperate with one another, to both maximize profits and minimize expenditures.
             This interaction of various companies initiated the trend of combination, which would continue through the rest of the Nineteenth Century. In 1850, the New York Central Railroad Company was formed by the merging of a dozen small railroads between the Hudson River and Buffalo. Single comp...