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First Transcontinental Railroad
Railroad ran from California to Omaha replacing the pony express and wagon travel. This allowed one to travel across country in one week instead of the previous travel time of 6 months. According to Henry Williams "The Pacific tourist" the construction took 300,000 tons of iron rails and 3 years, 6 months, and 10 days to complete. America had a direct economic impact with the lower cost of distribution of goods across the United States. -
First Electronic Trolley
Andrew Smith Hallidie invented the first self propelled railroad car that operates on tracks thru city streets to carry passengers in San Francisco. The trolley greatly decreased the amount of time the average American could get to work. In turn this allowed more people to work further away from their homes and allowed cities to grow in size. Trolleys were also knows as "the cars that built the cities". -
Synchronous Multiplex railway telegraph
Granville T Woods was issued a patent in New York for a telegraph system that would change the course of railway travel forever. This telegraph allowed communication between trains with other trains and stations. This greatly decreased lives lost in accidents by alerting those aboard of potential dangers ahead during travel. -
Wright brothers first Airplane
In Kitty Hawk North Carolina Wilbur and Orville Wright from Ohio were the first ever to make a successful human flight with a craft powered by an engine. This milestone impacted travel thru out the whole world. The US government later encouraged the first mass production of airplanes and saw it as a powerful weapon in WW1. The most obvious impact of the invention of air travel is the reduction in travel time. -
First model T
Henry Ford completed the first model T Ford in Detroit. This new way of travel changed how Americans would travel and work. The Model T was affordable and made it possible for more Americans to own a car. The model T eventually let to gas stations with mechanics earning a living fixing cars. Travelers need places to stay so Motels started to line the roads. The automobile provided freedom to most Americans and independence. Also traffic jams came with the abundance of new cars. -
First moving assembly line
Henry Ford installs the first moving assembly line for the mass production of an entire automobile. Cutting time of production from 12 hours to two hours and and 30 minutes. According to Henry Fords essay "the first assembly line" Ford stated the car contained 5,000 parts and the first step of the assembly line was taking the work to the men instead of bringing the med to the work. -
First traffic light
Police officer William Potts of Detroit made the first three light traffic sign. Potts also placed a timer to help coordinate traffic in the city. Traffic jams became an issue for the first time so more regulations and laws were put in place to safety. With sudden growth of cities traffic needed to be better managed and the traffic lights allowed for more safe road conditions and less accidents. -
Liquid filled rocket
Robert H Goddard launched the worlds first liquid filled rocket in Massachusetts. The rocket was powered by liquid oxygen and gasoline. The rocket flew to an altitude of 41 feet. Goddard was the first man to actually give hope to future space travel. In 1919 Goddard published "A method of reaching extreme altitudes". In his book Goddard outlined his future proposed theory of a unmanned rocket to the moon. -
Invention of car radio
Chevrolet were the first car makers who made radios for cars.The first car radio cost 200.00 and had a antenna that covered the cars entire roof. The radio's allowed not only leisure activity of music while driving but also as a way to transmit information to the public. Paul Galvin of Motorola had to first major product for successful car radios in 1929.
