Paul's Market Insights
Paul's Market Insights is our bi-weekly communique to provide clients with current insights on financial markets.
Written by Paul Siluch
October 10, 2025
The railway boom began with a boom. Literally.
Up until 1768, steam engines were underpowered and risky. They were useful for pumping water out of mines, but due to high pressure and poor-quality iron, early steam engines had a bad tendency to explode.
Along came James Watt in 1769. His efficient – and lower-pressure – steam engines ushered in the industrial revolution (Wikipedia). In particular, the steam locomotive. The railway boom swept across the world with a frenzy of building from 1850 to 1873 in the United States.
Capable of moving goods at less than half the cost of a canal boat, steam-powered locomotives changed the world. They moved people and goods faster than at any time in history. War accelerated the build-out even more, once governments realized how quickly they could move troops, signalling the end of the horse-drawn era.
