Dear Agnes:

This is a 'letter' I had to write for Social Studies. We're learning about the Industrial Revolution, and the Transportation Revolution, and I had to pretend I was writing a letter to a friend in a neighboring town and tell them about a railroad that was built in my town. It's cheesy on purpose, don't worry. Here it is:


Dear Agnes, June 26, 1816

Have I told you that a railroad has been put into our town? It has! Our town decided to let a railroad be put in, and it’s been very good…well, for the most part. The big dairy here in town is doing very well now because it has a siding right next to their barn, so instead of having to put their products into wagons and moving them to a station, the train is right in their backyard! The government had to put the rails into people’s properties, so because they were intruding on their property, they paid the people money, so not only does the dairy have an easier job of loading the trains, they were given money, too!

This railroad business hasn’t been all good, though. One man had to have his house and barn torn down because the railroad designer had no other choice but to go through his home. He was paid as well, but in my opinion, it wasn’t enough to lose an entire home. The small store had to close down as well because too many people were purchasing goods from large factories that ship their goods in with the train, and they weren’t relying on the store anymore.

There is also a large cow farm that had some trouble with the train station being in town. One thing is that the railroad cuts right through their farm road, and through their cow’s pastures. Just last week a train was going through town and a coal from the firebox of the car landed on the family’s roof during the night, and the whole roof burned! The family also claims that the cow’s milk hasn’t been as good as before the railroad came into town. The good thing for them is that since they now have a railroad near them, they can ship their milk out to other towns and sell it, which means that they make more money. I’d bet that your city has been getting milk from our town!

I like the railroad. I’m just a regular, living in town, and I love that I can get so many products from big cities that I would normally have to travel a long way to get! It’s wonderful! It’ll also be much easier to visit you my dear-I can just catch a train to Allentown, where you live! I bet I could be there 3 times faster then going by wagon. I’ve heard the trains are SO much better to travel with then by stagecoach. It’s very fast, and it has seating areas, and dining. It’s probably very expensive, but it’s much better then traveling 5 hours with Jack and the wagon. Poor Jack gets very tired of pulling all that weight the whole way, so I have to take time and rest the poor horse throughout the ride. This railroad has certainly been a good investment. Faster, smoother, safer, cleaner, the list goes on and on.

I’d have more to say, but I must go now. I believe I just heard a train whistle, so I’m eager to go out and see if the train’s brought in any new products.

That's it!......