Jul 30, 2025 | History, Industrial Revolution, North American Expansion
The Antebellum Era: A Time of Inferior Materials As the American railroad network was first being laid in the first half of the 19th century, it posed safety risks symptomatic of any new technology. U.S. President Franklin Pierce’s personal tragedy on January 6, 1853,...
Jul 18, 2024 | Benefits & Use, History, Industrial Revolution
At the turn of the 20th century, innovations in railroad technology spurred the development of new kinds of railroad networks centered around urban areas. These short-line railroads continued to depend on wooden crossties treated and preserved with creosote. And while...
May 29, 2024 | Benefits & Use, History, Industrial Revolution, North American Expansion
At the start of the 19th century, there was no Texas as we know it today. Rather, west of Louisiana—the French colony-turned-state at the conclusion of the War of 1812—was a dry and rugged patchwork of native American and Mexican-held lands. After two rounds of war...
Feb 19, 2024 | Benefits & Use, History, Industrial Revolution
Crosstie wood preservation methods have been vital to the development of railway transportation, infrastructure, and supply chains around the world. This timeline illustrates the role that coal-tar creosote and other wood preservatives have played in economic...
Mar 29, 2023 | Benefits & Use, History, Industrial Revolution
Every good “ghost story” tells the life story of the person whose soul is stuck between this life and the after-life. The audience learns his or her trials and tribulations, and usually what “unresolved issues” are keeping the spirit circling its childhood home. The...
Sep 12, 2022 | Benefits & Use, History, Industrial Revolution
A History of the Shortline Railroad from Montreal to Portland, Maine In the early 1800s, shipping remained the dominant way of transporting goods in the United States, yet the harsh environment of the northeast posed serious challenges to commerce. Temperatures there...
