Editing Industrial Revolution (section)

===Transportation===
{{Main|Transport during the British Industrial Revolution}}
{{See also| Productivity improving technologies (economic history)#Infrastructures}}
[[File:Gas-works-near-regents-canal-1830.jpg|thumb|[[Gas Light and Coke Company|Imperial Gas Company]]’s gasworks on the [[Regent's Canal]], 1828]]
At the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, inland transport was by navigable rivers and roads, with coastal vessels employed to move heavy goods. [[Wagonway]]s were used for conveying coal to rivers for further shipment, but [[canal]]s had not yet been widely constructed. Animals supplied all motive power on land, with sails providing motive power on the sea. The first horse railways were introduced toward the end of the 18th century, with [[steam locomotive]]s introduced in the early 19th century. Improving sailing technologies boosted speed by 50% between 1750 and 1830.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Coren|first1=Michael J.|title=The speed of Europe's 18th-century sailing ships is revamping history's view of the Industrial Revolution|url=https://qz.com/1193455/the-speed-of-europes-18th-century-sailing-ships-is-revamping-historians-view-of-the-industrial-revolution/|access-date=31 January 2018|work=[[Quartz (publication)|Quartz]]|date=31 January 2018|archive-date=1 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501131436/https://qz.com/1193455/the-speed-of-europes-18th-century-sailing-ships-is-revamping-historians-view-of-the-industrial-revolution/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Industrial Revolution improved Britain's transport infrastructure with turnpike road, waterway and rail networks. Raw materials and finished products could be moved quicker and cheaper than before. Improved transport allowed ideas to spread quickly.

====Canals and improved waterways====
{{Main|History of the British canal system}}
[[File:Barton-on-Irwell 11.05.02R.jpg|thumb|The [[Bridgewater Canal]], which proved very commercially successful, crossed the [[Manchester Ship Canal]], one of the last canals to be built.]]
Before and during the Industrial Revolution navigation on British rivers was improved by removing obstructions, straightening curves, widening and deepening, and building navigation [[Lock (water navigation)|locks]]. Britain had over {{convert|1000|mi|km|order=flip}} of navigable rivers and streams by 1750.<ref name="David S. Landes 1969"/>{{rp|46}} Canals and waterways allowed [[Bulk cargo|bulk materials]] to be economically transported long distances inland. This was because a horse could pull a barge with a tens of times larger than could be drawn in a cart.<ref name="McNeil1990" /><ref name="Grübler">{{Cite book
 | last1 = Grübler
 | first1 = Arnulf
 | title = The Rise and Fall of Infrastructures: Dynamics of Evolution and Technological Change in Transport
 | year = 1990
 | publisher = Physica-Verlag
 | location = Heidelberg and New York
 | url = http://www.iiasa.ac.at/Admin/PUB/Documents/XB-90-704.pdf
 | access-date = 30 January 2013
| archive-date = 1 March 2012
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120301221205/http://www.iiasa.ac.at/Admin/PUB/Documents/XB-90-704.pdf
 }}</ref>

Canals began to be built in the UK in the late 18th century to link major manufacturing centres. Known for its huge commercial success, the [[Bridgewater Canal]] in [[North West England]], was opened in 1761 and mostly funded by [[Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater|The 3rd Duke of Bridgewater]]. From [[Worsley]] to the rapidly growing town of [[Manchester]] its construction cost £168,000 (£{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|168000|1761|2013|r=-1}}}} {{As of|2013|lc=y}}),{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}}<ref>{{Harvnb|Timbs|1860|p=363}}</ref> but its advantages over land and river transport meant that within one year, the coal price in Manchester fell by half.<ref name="Bridgewatercollieries">{{cite news |newspaper=The Times |title=Bridgewater Collieries |url=http://archive.timesonline.co.uk/tol/viewArticle.arc?toDate=1985-12-31&fromDate=1785-01-01&currentPageNumber=1&resultsPerPage=10&sortBy=default&offset=0&viewName=&addFilters=&removeFilters=&addCat=&queryKeywords=bridgewater+canal&sectionId=1040&currPgSmartSet=1&pageId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1913-12-01-08&articleId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1913-12-01-08-001&xmlpath=&pubId=17&totalResults=1638&addRefineFilters=&removeRefineFilters=&addRefineCat=&next_Page=false&prev_Page=false&date_dd_From=1&date_mm_From=01&date_yyyy_From=1785&date_dd_to_range=31&date_mm_to_range=12&date_yyyy_to_range=1985&date_dd_from_precise=1&date_mm_from_precise=01&date_yyyy_from_precise=1785&isDateSearch=false&dateSearchType=range&refineQuerykeywordText= |date=1 December 1913 |access-date=19 July 2008 | location=London}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> This success inspired [[Canal Mania]],<ref>{{Harvnb|Kindleberger|1993|pp=192–193}}</ref> canals were hastily built with the aim of replicating the commercial success of Bridgewater, the most notable being the [[Leeds and Liverpool Canal]] and the [[Thames and Severn Canal]] which opened in 1774 and 1789 respectively.

By the 1820s a national network was in existence. Canal construction served as a model for the organisation and methods used to construct the railways. They were largely superseded by the railways from the 1840s. The last major canal built in the UK was the [[Manchester Ship Canal]], which upon opening in 1894 was the world's largest [[ship canal]],<ref>{{Cite news |title=1 January 1894: Opening of the Manchester ship canal |quote=Six years in the making, the world's largest navigation canal gives the city direct access to the sea |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/from-the-archive-blog/2011/may/17/guardian190-manchester-ship-canal-opens |newspaper=The Guardian |date=1 January 1894 |access-date=28 July 2012 |archive-date=17 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517080559/https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/from-the-archive-blog/2011/may/17/guardian190-manchester-ship-canal-opens |url-status=live }}</ref> and opened Manchester as a [[Port of Manchester|port]]. However, it never achieved the commercial success its sponsors hoped for and signalled canals as a dying transport mode in an age dominated by railways, which were quicker and often cheaper. Britain's canal network, and its mill buildings, is one of the most enduring features of the Industrial Revolution to be seen in Britain.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A History of the Canals of Britain |url=https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/The-Canals-of-Britain/ |access-date=2022-10-13 |website=Historic UK |language=en-GB |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013112947/https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/The-Canals-of-Britain/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Roads====
[[File:Rakeman – First American Macadam Road.jpg|thumb|Construction of the first macadam road in the United States in 1823. In the foreground, workers are breaking stones "so as not to exceed 6 ounces in weight or to pass a two-inch ring".<ref name="rakemanPainting">[https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/rakeman/1823.htm "1823 – First American Macadam Road"] ''(Painting – [[Carl Rakeman]])'' US Department of Transportation – Federal Highway Administration (Accessed 10 October 2008)</ref>]]
France was known for having an excellent road system at this time; however, most roads on the European continent and in the UK were in bad condition, dangerously rutted.<ref name="Grübler"/><ref name="Hunter_1985">{{cite book |title=A History of Industrial Power in the United States, 1730–1930, Vol. 2: Steam Power |last1=Hunter |first1= Louis C.|year=1985 | publisher =University Press of Virginia|location= Charlottesville |page=18}}''"There exist everywhere roads suitable for hauling".''[[Robert Fulton]] on roads in France</ref> Much of the original British road system was poorly maintained by local parishes, but from the 1720s [[turnpike trust]]s were set up to charge tolls and maintain some roads. Increasing numbers of main roads were turnpiked from the 1750s: almost every main road in England and Wales was the responsibility of a turnpike trust. New engineered roads were built by [[John Metcalf (civil engineer)|John Metcalf]], [[Thomas Telford]] and [[John Loudon McAdam|John McAdam]], with the first '[[macadam]]' stretch of road being Marsh Road at [[Ashton Gate, Bristol|Ashton Gate]], [[Bristol]] in 1816.<ref>Richard Brown (1991). "Society and Economy in Modern Britain 1700–1850" p. 136. Routledge, 1991</ref> The first macadam road in the U.S. was the "Boonsborough Turnpike Road" between [[Hagerstown, Maryland|Hagerstown]] and [[Boonsboro, Maryland]] in 1823.<ref name="rakemanPainting" />

The major turnpikes radiated from London and were the means by which the [[Royal Mail]] was able to reach the rest of the country. Heavy goods transport on these roads was by slow, broad-wheeled carts hauled by teams of horses. Lighter goods were conveyed by smaller carts or teams of [[packhorse]]. [[Stagecoach]]es carried the rich, and the less wealthy rode on [[Un-sprung cart|carriers carts]]. Productivity of road transport increased greatly during the Industrial Revolution, and the cost of travel fell dramatically. Between 1690 and 1840 productivity tripled for long-distance carrying and increased four-fold in stage coaching.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gerhold|first=Dorian|date=August 1996|title=Productivity Change in Road Transport before and after Turnpiking, 1690–1840|journal=The Economic History Review|volume=49|issue=3|page=511|jstor=2597761}}</ref>

====Railways====
{{Main|History of rail transport in Great Britain}}
[[File:Opening Liverpool and Manchester Railway.jpg|thumb|A portrait depicting the [[opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway]] in 1830, the first inter-city railway in the world and which spawned [[Railway Mania]] due to its success]]
Railways were made practical by the widespread introduction of inexpensive puddled iron after 1800, the rolling mill for making rails, and the development of the high-pressure steam engine. Reduced friction was a major reason for the success of railways compared to wagons. This was demonstrated on an iron plate-covered wooden tramway in 1805 at Croydon, England.
<blockquote>A good horse on an ordinary turnpike road can draw two thousand pounds, or one ton. A party of gentlemen were invited to witness the experiment, that the superiority of the new road might be established by ocular demonstration. Twelve wagons were loaded with stones, till each wagon weighed three tons, and the wagons were fastened together. A horse was then attached, which drew the wagons with ease, {{convert|6|mi|km|0|spell=in|disp=sqbr}} in two hours, having stopped four times, in order to show he had the power of starting, as well as drawing his great load.<ref>
{{cite book
|title=Railroads of the United States, Their History and Statistics
 |last=Fling
 |first= Harry M.
|year= 1868|publisher =John. E. Potter and Co.
|location= [[Philadelphia]]
|pages=12, 13
}}
</ref></blockquote>

Wagonways for moving coal in the mining areas had started in the 17th century and were often associated with canal or river systems for the further movement. These were horse-drawn or relied on gravity, with a stationary steam engine to haul the wagons back to the top of the incline. The first applications of steam locomotive were on wagon or plate ways. Horse-drawn public railways begin in the early 19th century when improvements to pig and wrought iron production lowered costs.

Steam locomotives began being built after the introduction of high-pressure steam engines, after the expiration of the Boulton and Watt patent in 1800. High-pressure engines exhausted used steam to the atmosphere, doing away with the condenser and cooling water. They were much lighter and smaller in size for a given horsepower than the stationary condensing engines. A few of these early locomotives were used in mines. Steam-hauled public railways began with the [[Stockton and Darlington Railway]] in 1825.<ref>Jack Simmons, and Gordon Biddle, eds. ''The Oxford Companion to British Railway History: From 1603 to the 1990s'' (2nd ed. 1999).</ref>
 
[[File:James Pollard - The Louth-London Royal Mail Travelling by Train from Peterborough East, Northamptonshire - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|The Louth-London [[Royal Mail]] travelling by train from [[Peterborough East railway station|Peterborough East]], 1845]]
The rapid introduction of railways followed the 1829 [[Rainhill trials]], which demonstrated [[Robert Stephenson]]'s successful locomotive design and the 1828 development of [[hot blast]], which dramatically reduced the fuel consumption of making iron and increased the capacity of the blast furnace. On 15 September 1830, the [[Liverpool and Manchester Railway]], the first inter-city railway in the world, was [[Opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway|opened]].<ref>Herbert L. Sussman (2009). "Victorian Technology: Invention, Innovation, and the Rise of the Machine". p. 2. ABC-CLIO, 2009</ref> The railway was engineered by [[Joseph Locke]] and [[George Stephenson]], linked the rapidly expanding industrial town of Manchester with the port of Liverpool. The railway became highly successful, transporting passengers and freight.

The success of the inter-city railway, particularly in the transport of freight and commodities, led to [[Railway Mania]]. Construction of major railways connecting the larger cities and towns began in the 1830s, but only gained momentum at the very end of the first Industrial Revolution. After many of the workers had completed the railways, they did not return to the countryside but remained in the cities, providing additional workers for the factories.