A Revolution in transport

Before the Industrial Revolution, goods could only be transported either by road or sea

Because of the poor state of the roads, transport was slow – only light loads could be carried

The need to transport goods manufactured in factories encouraged people to find new and better types of transport

Canals, Tar McAdam, Railways, coaches and steam ships were all developed during the Industrial Revolution

The problem of carrying goods

Canals

Before Canals, one horse was only able to transport ½ a ton of material

Canals allowed a single horse to transport 60 tons of material

Canals

Steam Ships instead of sailing ships

Railways

Because of the heavy loads needed to be carried (coal from mines, raw material to factories, finished products from factories)

Solution was to have things run on steel rails which could take the weight – hence the “railway”

George Stephenson an early developer of Steam powered railways

Developed a new type of steam engine for a competition, called it Stephenson’s Rocket

Railways

Stephenson’s Rocket today

New developments – a camber, a curved road surface to help water run off the road

Roads

Tar McAdam – stone chippings held together by tar – made for a durable and waterproof surface

Roads

Turnpikes were basically “tolled roads” where the toll money was used to keep the road in good condition

“Turnpike” in Ennis was a road that was once tolled

Turnpikes

Telegraphs – communication by signals along electric wires (morse code) – signals were sent across the Atlantic in the 1860s

Penny Post – invention of postage stamps made letter writing easy

Changes in Communication

1840s Penny Stamp

Faster journeys Cost of carrying goods fell – goods became cheaper Use of watches and clocks grew (due to timetables) Faster spread of news Migration of people made easier (such as Irish to

America)

Effects of the Transport Revolution