GBN, the nineteenth century land was more than the railroads needed, and seems like a stronger argument for giving Amtrak way than the twentieth century regulatory relief. Maybe!
As for canals, I'm not sure how that weighs in, except that there's a long history of government subsidy for all kinds of infrastructure, pretty enthusiastic at times, and lackadaisical in the case of railroads in the South before the Civil War. Mainly just shortlines capturing head-of-navigation markets there, like Augusta, Georgia.
East-west canals: Kanawha (James River), C&O (Potomac), Erie, and St. Lawrence are the ones I know, so I must not be getting the point. Chicago turned its river backwards. Now what are you saying about old Huck? Right before the rail era, a canal was built that crossed the Kanawha on an aqueduct at Columbia, Virginia. The railroad tore it down, despite some local opposition on historic grounds, during the Second World War, but it had been out of use for a long time.
The Intracoastal from Boston to Texas has been a boon, to say the least, for industry and pleasure. The Tennessee-Tombigbee, completed in 1984, turned out to be a boon for pleasure craft mostly, but it does keep them off the busy Lower Mississippi, especially if they're doing "the circuit" around the East Coast.
As for canals, I'm not sure how that weighs in, except that there's a long history of government subsidy for all kinds of infrastructure, pretty enthusiastic at times, and lackadaisical in the case of railroads in the South before the Civil War. Mainly just shortlines capturing head-of-navigation markets there, like Augusta, Georgia.
East-west canals: Kanawha (James River), C&O (Potomac), Erie, and St. Lawrence are the ones I know, so I must not be getting the point. Chicago turned its river backwards. Now what are you saying about old Huck? Right before the rail era, a canal was built that crossed the Kanawha on an aqueduct at Columbia, Virginia. The railroad tore it down, despite some local opposition on historic grounds, during the Second World War, but it had been out of use for a long time.
The Intracoastal from Boston to Texas has been a boon, to say the least, for industry and pleasure. The Tennessee-Tombigbee, completed in 1984, turned out to be a boon for pleasure craft mostly, but it does keep them off the busy Lower Mississippi, especially if they're doing "the circuit" around the East Coast.
Last edited by kitchin on Mon May 03, 2021 2:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.