Very different, yet still very similar, the Erie Canal and the American railroads carved their own path through history. The Erie Canal traces its beginning to 1807 and the writings of Jesse Hawley, who wrote an early description of a canal which would join the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. The railroads can trace their roots to 1808, in England, when Richard Trevithick utilized a steam locomotive that ran on a circular track — two distinct beginnings and very similar endings. Both were hugely successful in their own era, and both were made obsolete by the desire for increased speed in transportation. Both modes of travel were responsible for opening up our nation for settlement.
It was a close race for a while, and the canal took an early lead, but the race goes to the swiftest, and the canal yielded to the pressure of the railroads. The Erie Canal opened its full route in 1825, while the railroads were still experimenting with design and function. The first railroad in America, the Baltimore and Ohio, opened a 13-mile route in 1830. On Aug. 9, 1831, the Mohawk and Hudson opened a short railroad line between Albany and Schenectady that would parallel a section of the Erie Canal. It took the name “Dewitt Clinton” for its locomotive. The railroad was hugely popular with passengers, but struggled to gain a foothold moving freight. The Mohawk and Hudso” returned a $9,000 profit in its first four months of operation, exclusively as a passenger service. By 1842, a total of six separate railroad lines had joined together to provide service from Albany to Buffalo, along the course of the Erie Canal. Our own local entries were the Attica and Buffalo line, as well as the Tonawanda Railroad.
By 1851, within 21 years time, the network of railroads had been established from New York City to Buffalo. During that period of time, the trains had advanced from primitive to very powerful devices. They were able to pull large loads of freight and could carry passengers safely and quickly. The 10 individual railroads between New York City and Buffalo were merged into one powerful rail line, the New York Central, in 1853. By 1860, there were 30,626 miles of railroads in America.
The railroads had an immediate effect on passenger travel on the Erie Canal. By the 1850s, people preferred the comfort and speed of the railroads to the problems associated with packet boat travel on the canal. The railroads were more expensive, but not extremely. The rail fare from Buffalo to Albany in 1850 was $10. The corresponding fare by packet boat on the Erie Canal was $6.50 including meals for the five-day sojourn. There really was no longer any contest; the packet boat passenger had become a novelty. So much so, that the packet boats went out of business by 1860. (It’s a sad commentary that not one original Erie Canal packet boat remains in existence today!)
To be continued …
Doug Farley is the director of the Erie Canal Discovery Center and his column runs every Saturday. The Erie Canal Discovery Center has been visited by 73,396 guests to date. Hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. In addition to many on-site activities, the Discovery Center also features the new “Walk the Canal Village” walking tour. Copies of the new Old Home Week Parade DVD are now for sale in the gift shop.
Canal Discovery w/ Doug Farley
Related Photos
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Doug Farley is director of the Erie Canal Discovery Center. His column runs every Saturday. The Erie Canal Discovery Center is once again open for the season. Hours of operation are now 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
CANAL DISCOVERY: Railroads along the canal — part one
- Canal Discovery w/ Doug Farley
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CANAL DISCOVERY: Charles Dickens’ NY travelogue
The British had a great deal of interest in America and its early Yankee culture, and that interest certainly extended to stories about the Erie Canal.
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CANAL DISCOVERY: Canal a route for mass migration
In the 19th century, the Erie Canal carried hundreds of thousands of European immigrants into the heartland of America.
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CANAL DISCOVERY: Canal line boat a rare specimen
The era of heavy commerce on the original Erie Canal began before 1825 and continued onward through the 20th century and the Barge Canal conversion.
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CANAL DISCOVERY: Facelift for Buffalo’s Inner Harbor
The Erie Canal Harbor in Buffalo received a “facelift” and is celebrating its new rebirth.
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CANAL DISCOVERY: Fighting along the Erie Canal
Some of the most interesting stories of the Erie Canal tell of the hand-to-hand combat that took place along the canal.
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CANAL DISCOVERY: Story of ‘Fat Man in a Berth’
“I awoke in the night with a dreadful feeling of suffocation. Cold perspiration stood on my forehead, and I could hardly draw my breath; there was a weight-like lead on my stomach and chest."
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Child labor on the canal
Life on the Erie Canal represented a way of life, all its own. Its unique culture included its own vocabulary, its own laws, its own dangers and its own beauty. In the view of some, it was a hard, demanding life, and no doubt it was for many of the 50,000 or more folks whose livelihoods depended on it during the canal’s peak years
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CANAL DISCOVERY: Railroads along the canal — part one
Very different, yet still very similar, the Erie Canal and the American railroads carved their own path through history.
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CANAL DISCOVERY: Garrity, Cook — Part 2
We have learned much about life on the Erie Canal from one of its best friends, Richard Garrity of the Tonawandas.
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CANAL DISCOVERY: Garrity, cook — part two
We have learned much about life on the Erie Canal from one of its best friends, Richard Garrity of the Tonawandas. His remembrances of growing up on the canal help us to picture the scene in our minds eye. The following narrative about cooking on the canal is graciously attributed to Garrity and is continued from last week’s edition of Discovery.
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