re: #392 iossarian

Thanks for that! I’m looking for my next reading project, maybe I’ll look into the history of the railways.

Still think that “the efficient routes won out” is a different way of saying “natural monopoly” though :)

I got a book (~300 pages) that concentrated on railroad development in the western NY state area (roughly Buffalo - Syracuse) though it discussed the associated nearby areas in passing. The two major East-West lines that developed was using the grade of the Hudson and Mohawk valleys (New York Central) and the PRR (Pennsylvania Railroad that eventually worked its way through the Alleghenies via tunnels and Horseshoe Curve.

In and around this development is a mass of short- and long- lived competing and cooperating lines of various gauges, lengths, and purposes. Some did commuter rail as well. My presumption is that a lot of the initial rail development in the US (and Canada) followed this pattern to some degree.*

* - A couple of side notes:
1. I was in an abandoned quarry west of Rochester, NY and found a piece of hard coal lying there. The land owner identified the railroad that it probably came from and that the coal was mined in northeastern PA.

2. If you’re a board gamer you have probably encountered railroad games in some form. “1830” is an example. Most of them basically involve developing infrastructure connecting cities for trade while maintaining and getting enough cash to improve your network and by better engines (carrying capacity).