U.S. railroads historical maps

The first American locomotive at Castle Point in Hoboken, New Jersey, c. 1826

1869: The ceremony for the driving of the golden spike at Promontory Summit, Utah on May 10, 1869; completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad. At center left, Samuel S. Montague, Central Pacific Railroad, shakes hands with Grenville M. Dodge, Union Pacific Railroad (center right).

Railroad mileage history

(adapted from History of rail transportation in the United States (wikipedia))

Railroad Active Mileage by Region
Region	1830	1840	1850	1860	1870	1880	1890
New England	30	513	2,596	3,644	4,273	5,888	6,718
East		1,484	3,740	11,927	18,292	28,155	40,826
South	10	737	2,082	7,908	10,610	14,458	27,833
Midwest			46	4,951	11,031	22,213	35,580
South Central (LA, AR, OK/Indian Territory)		21	107	250	331	1,621	5,154
West (including TX, CO, KS)				239	4,578	15,466	47,451
TOTAL U.S.	40	2,755	8,571	28,920	49,168	87,801	163,562

Maps - similar maps showing growth over time

See Rail transport maps of the United States - Wikimedia Commons

1840, 1850, 1860

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  1840 History of transportation in the United States before 1860 (published 1917) (14757946611)

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  1850 from History of transportation in the United States before 1860 (published 1917) (14760797742)]

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  1860: History of transportation in the United States before 1860 (published 1917) (14574497328)

1840, 1850. 1870, 1880, 1890 see https://archive.org/details/americanrailwayt1908john/page/17/mode/1up?view=theater

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  1840 Canals and Railroads

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  1840 Railroads

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  1850 Railroads

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  1870 Railroads

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  1890 Railroads

1850, 1916

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  1850 railroad map from "The story of corn and the westward migration" (published 1916) (14784116252)

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  1916 railroad map from "The story of corn and the westward migration" (published 1916) (14804330853)

Maps by decade

1830s

U.S. railroads in 1835

1850s

1850 map showing all the canals, railroads, telegraph lines and principal stage routes, drawn by Henry A. Burr, topographer to the Post Office Dept. Washington, D.C.; Author: J. Disturnell. ( Disturnell's New Map of the United States and Canada - NARA - 78117081)

1852 Andrews Railroad Map of the United States - Geographicus - UnitedStates-andrews-1852; description: A rare and attractive wall sized railroad map of the United States issued in 1852 for Israel de Wolf Andrew’s report for the Treasury Department. Depicts from the Great Lakes south to the Gulf of Mexico, and from the states of Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana eastward to the Atlantic ... Essentially an updated version of McLellen’s map of 1850. Drawn and engraved under the direction of the editor of the “American Railroad Journal”.

1856: Ensign, Bridgman & Fannings rail road map of the United States, showing the depots & stations (4584053944)

Civil War related

1860: History of transportation in the United States before 1860 (published 1917) (14574497328)

Railroad of Confederacy-1861

1863 Map from "The Appeal to Arms, 1861-1863 (published 1907) of "means of transportation" available during the Civil War. (Image is juxtaposed pages from book scan, thus the missing middle portion of the map at the binding)

1860s

Map of the route of the First Transcontinental Railroad. Crossing to the Western United States to/from California. Built in the 1860s, and opening in 1869. Central Pacific (red line) Union Pacific (blue line) Western Pacific (green line)

Profile of the Pacific Railroad from Council Bluffs/Omaha to San Francisco. Harper's Weekly December 7, 1867

1869 Railroad map of the United States to accompany the "Commercial travellers guide book" (NYPL b15829349-1952948)

1870s

1870 Railroad Map "Close of the Civil War"(From: 'The History of the last Quarter-Century in the United States, 1870-1895 ... With ... illustrations' (11298291644)

1873 Colton's Railroad and Commercial Map of the United States and Canada Page 1

1873 Colton's Railroad and Commercial Map of the United States and Canada - NARA - 86744253 (page 2)

1877 Peel Atlas pg76-77 Railroad map of the United States PN2019 21865-8

1880s

1890L American railway transportation (published 1908) (14572826500)

1883: New Official Railroad map of the United States and Canada - DPLA - c7a911d967987d386dc73ac839640637

US Transcontinental Railroads 1887

1890s

1894 Railroad Map (From 'The History of the last Quarter-Century in the United States, 1870-1895 ... With ... illustrations' (11297669956)

1900s

1908 map of the Harriman system (one company's rail lines) American railway transportation (1908) (14756360721)

1919 map: Railroad distance map of the United States, Mexico and Canada (14009382364)

The railroad builders; a chronicle of the welding of the states (1919) (14573598059)From: The railroad builders; a chronicle of the welding of the states : Moody, John, 1868-1958 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

1918: Railroads of the United States in 1918 - Project Gutenberg eText 16960

1920s

1920s: Map of Trunk Line Railroads in the United States - NARA - 7369127

2000s

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Travel time by rail

Map shows travel time in days from New York City to three regions across the U.S.

Travel times in days from New York City to various locations across the United States in 1930

National Highways

> section to be placed in separate page

1918: National Highways Map of the United States WDL11550