America’s Railroads Go to War

Trains were crucial in three major wars — and they played a secret role in the Cold War

U.S. Marines in France, World War I. U.S. Army Signal Corps photographer, Library of Congress, no known restrictions on publication

Railroads are an integral part of the story of America. Before automobiles took the country by storm in the 1950s, railroads fueled expansion to the West and connected far-flung cities across the nation. Just as important, American trains were an essential means of transporting troops and materiel in three major wars — the Civil War, World War I and World War II. In addition, they served a top secret national security purpose during the Cold War.

Superior Railroads Empower the North in the Civil War

First train across Bull Run Bridge, Spring of 1863. Andrew J. Russell, photographer, Library of Congress, no known restrictions on publication

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to suggest that railroads had a direct impact on the Union’s victory over the Confederacy in the Civil War. Union railroads were superior because they were designed to support the North’s industrial society. They boasted more and better railroad equipment and a stronger and more extensive rail system than the South, largely an agrarian society not nearly as dependent on railroads.