In article , Tim Streater
wrote:
On 30 Nov 2020 at 12:07:27 GMT, Jethro_uk
wrote:

On Mon, 30 Nov 2020 11:55:53 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Train tracks did not, but the huge speed and power advantage of a
steam engine over dobbin - either pulling a cart or pulling a barge -
meant there was a massive commercial pressure to build them. And,
once built, people wanted to travel in them. It was easier and
quicker than a stage coach.

You missed the intermediate step of canals - which meant the skillbase
for laying railway lines was already easily available.

Funny, I was going to make that point too. But railways (as it happened)
followed hot on the heels of canals, so canals tend to be the forgotten
solution. A railway line (certainly of the time) was a lot easier to put
in than a canal.

Canals carried on being useful until the big freeze of 1947

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England
"I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle