Safety and Protection
Railroads provided better protection for people as well as the products being shipped. Fewer people died and more products made it to their final destination. This consistency in delivery lead to the products being able to be sold for less. This cheaper price kept the price low when it was sold to customers, therefore making it more likely they buy it. It was this lower price per product that was fair to both the consumer as well as the dealer, that positively affected trade across the United States. Some people argued that trade was a very boring and uncomfortable journey. They also said it was still dangerous. Even with an uncomfortable journey trade was still much more safe. They had the novelties of bathrooms, clean drinking water ,and heaters. Overall the building of railroads made trade much more safe and reliable.