FELA Lawyers

Railroad Workers - Supplying Transport's Manpower For Centuries

Railroads have been an integral part of the American, and the world's, economy for hundreds of years. Many may think that due to the advent of the Internet, air travel and high-speed trucking that railroads are no longer relevant in today's marketplace, but that couldn't be further from the truth. More raw goods are being ordered and shipped now than ever before, and below we'd like to take a look at the history of railroads, and how the passage of FELA was a reaction to what had been happening for centuries.

The Beginning

The earliest, crude design of what would become trains was put together in 1630, and the design was built for the purpose of pulling coal from mines in England. The design consisted of two boards pulled by horses. Obviously, things progressed quickly beyond that initial design.

In 1753, the first steam engine arrived in England, and that's really the point where the development of the railroad system began to take shape as we know it today. However, it wasn't until the 1780's that the steam engine trains even reached speeds of 7 miles per hour.

It wasn't until the early 19th Century that the railroad became a relevant mode of transportation in the United States, and during the first half of that century, trains grew in size and in speed steadily. By the 1830's, trains were carrying passengers and shipping goods and were also reaching speeds of almost 20 miles per hour.

Growth of Businesses

In the later part of the 19th Century, companies began to form that grew the railroads into national commodities. The names may even sound familiar to some today - Southern Pacific, Central Pacific, Northern Pacific and the Great Northern lines became quite prevalent and began to work together somewhat to build and maintain the railroads that to a large extent remain in place today, even if most of the railroads do not.

The Growth Explosion

With the dawn of the Industrial Revolution came the need for extremely dependable transport of goods, and this is really when the railroad industry integrated itself into the fiber of the American economy. Since then, railroads have been a booming business for the most part, and Congress began to help regulate the industry for several reasons, including safety concerns.

These safety concerns included injuries to railroad workers, who simply did not have any type of uniform protection until 1908, when Congress passed FELA, which remains a strong law today. If you have been injured while working on a railroad, you perhaps now have a broader perspective of the history of injuries that have occurred while this industry struggled and grew. You also have rights to enforce, so contact the FELA lawyers at Williams Kherkher today to schedule a free initial consultation.