Freight train

Not long after their introduction to America in the early decades of the 1800s, railroads crisscrossed the nation. In a few decades-by 1869-the Union Pacific and Central Pacific lines connected in Promontory, Utah, forming the first transcontinental railroad. Rail transportation had changed American permanently. Trains not only chugged through American towns, but also found a place in American homes and popular culture as well. Trains became the subject of books, songs, and board games, and they appeared in miniature form, to the delight of children and collectors alike. Manufacturers produced toy trains, like this black, gold, and maroon model, in mass quantities to meet the immense demand for replicas. Even though automobile and air travel have since eclipsed trains as preferred modes of travel, miniature trains remain popular today.