In primitive regions today and in all pre-development ( lacking highways or railways ) regions worldwide in times before industrial development and highways, barges were the predominant and most efficient means of inland transportation in many regions of the world.

The barge and canal system contended favorably with the railways in the early industrial revolution prior to around the 1850s – 1960s for example, the Erie Canal in New York State is credited by economic historians with giving the growth boost needed for New York City to eclipse Philadelphia as America's largest port and city but such canal systems with their locks, need for maintenance and dredging, pumps and sanitary issues were eventually outcompeted in the carriage of high-value items by the railways due to the higher speed, falling costs, and route flexibility of Rail transport.

Instead, from 1 January 1923, almost all the remaining companies were grouped into the " big four ", the Great Western Railway, the London and North Eastern Railway, the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and the Southern Railway companies ( there were also a number of other joint railways such as the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway and the Cheshire Lines Committee as well as special joint railways such as the Forth Bridge Railway, Ryde Pier Railway and at one time the East London Railway ).

Coal mining, the railways, road haulage, canals and cable and wireless were nationalised in 1947, electricity and gas followed in 1948.

Through the paintings Pissarro completed at this time, he records Sydenham and the Norwoods at a time when they were just recently connected by railways, but prior to the expansion of suburbia.

In many cities, the new railway shops were the centres of technological awareness and training, so that by 1850, Germany was self-sufficient in meeting the demands of railroad construction, and the railways were a major impetus for the growth of the new steel industry.

There were some towns, where narrow gauge railways were used as tram lines or interurban lines ( for example: Sárospatak, Sátoraljaújhely, Békéscsaba, Békés, Cegléd ).

Other infrastructure needs in rural France, such as better roads and canals, were neglected because of the expense of the railways, so it seems likely that there were net negative effects in areas not served by the trains.

A broad gauge of 1600mm ( 5 ft 3in ) was agreed as the standard for the island, although there were also hundreds of kilometres of 914mm ( 3 ft ) narrow gauge railways.

They were eventually largely superseded as profitable commercial enterprises by the spread of the railways from the 1840s on.

However it never achieved the commercial success its sponsors had hoped for and signalled canals as an dying mode of transport in an age dominated by railways, which were quicker and often cheaper.

In many cities, the new railway shops were the centres of technological awareness and training, so that by 1850, Germany was self-sufficient in meeting the demands of railroad construction, and the railways were a major impetus for the growth of the new steel industry.

During the German military occupation 1940-1945, light railways were re-established by the Germans for the purpose of supplying coastal fortifications.

Historically, three railways were built in Liberia to export ore from mines ; they were damaged during civil war, and as of August 2010 only one had been brought back into service.

During this period many of Britain ’ s unprofitable railways were closed down, as most routes in the capital were widely used the Beeching Axe had little effect.

The railways were historically important in Bolivia, but now play a relatively small part in the country's transport system.

There were, historically, two industrial narrow-gauge railways ; but they no longer exist.

In most countries in Europe, railways have historically been owned and operated by state enterprises.

*-describes seven other meanings of the word " pilot " historically used on Britain's railways.

East Africa has a network of narrow gauge railways that historically grew from ports on the Indian Ocean and went westward, built in parallel under British and German colonial rule.

It has been historically associated with the construction of dams for hydroelectric power and irrigation purposes but also appears due to many other activities, such as mining and the creation of military installations, airports, industrial plants, weapon testing grounds, railways, road developments, urbanization, conservation projects, forestry, etc.

The river is still used for transportation of farming produce ; however, it is not as important as it once was due to the construction of roads and railways.

Operated by Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois ( CFL ), Luxembourg's railways form the backbone of the country's public transport network, linking the most important towns.

The Rainhill Trials were an important competition in the early days of steam locomotive railways, run in October 1829 in Rainhill, Lancashire ( now Merseyside ) for the nearly completed Liverpool and Manchester Railway.

Apart from its use for navigation ( see John Harrison ), synchronization was not important in transportation until the nineteenth century, when the coming of the railways made travel fast enough for the differences in local time between adjacent towns to be noticeable ( see ).

At the same time, railways, which have an important role in serving the suburbs of the city, deteriorated however.

The town greatly benefitted from the 1851 gold rush at Omeo as it was situated on the Port Albert to Omeo route and was an important base for the goldfields, until the arrival of the railways.

Several colour-coded plans were co-ordinated for sabotage, with the most important being Plan Vert ( Green ) for railways, Plan Bleu ( Blue ) for power installations and Plan Violet ( Purple ) for telecommunications.

Over time, important portages were sometimes upgraded to canals with locks, and even portage railways.

The town became an important location during the early development of the railways and is also located on the London canal network.

Long gone is the era of canal shipping and many of the important freight railways that served the area have gone bankrupt or bypass the city on long distance routes.

The arrival of the Industrial Revolution and the railways in 1837 signalled the end of Lichfield's position as an important staging post for coaching traffic.

Because of its length, the Lake Winnipeg water system and the lake itself was an important transportation route in the province before the railways reached Manitoba.

It is a large transport node, and a great number of important national and regional roads, railways, and waterways pass through the city.

During the 19th century, the arrival of the Moscow-Riga and Saint Petersburg-Warsaw railways transformed Rēzekne from a sleepy country town into an important city with two stations.

During the first period of Latvian independence, besides those employed by the railways, small business, trades and crafts were the most important economic activities in the town.

Together they form a large and strategically important system, which is why – unlike the other, more isolated regional railways – they have been retained under the integrated management of FEVE.

Each consisting of neighbourhoods, mostly developments of 19th century ' postal villages ' ( rural neighbourhoods ), that were built at important points along the early roads and railways ; especially the three former ' Lakeshore Municipalities ' that separated from Etobicoke in the early 20th century and Etobicoke's central Islington community:

He was closely involved in its most important activities, including efforts to better the lot of farmers living in Alberta's drought-ridden south, divest itself of money-losing railways, and obtain authority over natural resources from the federal government.

Riverboats were introduced from the Red River of the North in the nineteenth century and remained an important means of transportation until the 1890s and the coming of railways to the area.

The extension of the railways established Gore as an important hub and had a significant effect on its development.

The factory system, and textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution triggered a process of unplanned urbanisation in the area, and by the mid-19th century Ashton had emerged as an important mill town at a convergence of newly constructed canals and railways.

However, they still continue on some important railways, such as the Indian Railways, besides the heritage railways.