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Comment by pier25

5 hours ago

Did railroads change the world though?

They only lasted a couple of decades as the main transportation method. I'd say the internal combustion engine was a lot more transformative.

Pretty much every major historical trend of Western societies in the second half of the eighteenth century, from the development of the modern corporation to the advent of total war, was intimately tied to railroad transportation.

Transportation of people, yeah, but it still carries a majority of inter-city freight in North America.

Umm yes? The metro even if not a big deal in the states is like a small but quiet way it has changed public transport, plus moving freight, plus people over large distances, plus the bullet train that mixed luxury, speed and efficiency onto trains, all of these are quietly disruptive transformations, that I think we all take for granted.