As a result of these modernization and rebuilding practices and using the newer stronger steel rails both in the south and also in the north by the 1870's high speed 40-60 mph travel was almost common between almost all northern and southern cities east of the Mississippi.
How fast was a train in the Civil War?
Railcars at the time– rail engines could only pull at about 20 miles per hour. They were still not terribly fast means of transportation, and they would often get overcrowded by the demands of an army.
How fast did a Civil War train go?
By 1863 a quarter of the South's locomotives needed repairs and the speed of train travel in the South had dropped to only 10 miles an hour (from 25 miles an hour in 1861). Fuel was a problem as well. Southern locomotives were fueled by wood–a great deal of it.
How fast were trains in the 1800s?
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