Transportation and Communication

Transportation and Communication

Vocabulary

12. Locomotive

●In 1840, North Carolina’s first two
major railroads were completed.

Railroads

●It was built to carry rock to build
the state capitol.

●One ran from Gaston to Raleigh.

●The other railroad ran 161 miles from Wilmington to Weldon. For a time,
this railroad was the longest in the world.

Multiple Choice

What year was the first railroad built

• 2012

• 1996

• 1840

• 2023

Multiple Choice

Why was the first railroad built?

• To carry rock to build the state capitol

• To carry people across the country

• For people to ride for fun

●

Railroads began reaching western North Carolina in the 1860’s.

Railroads

●

They also built trestles, or bridges
with railroad tracks on them, to
carry trains across deep valleys.

●

Workers blasted tunnels through mountains and laid tracks along steep
slopes.

●

In October 1880, the first train
reached Asheville.

●

Soon after, railroads crossed the
entire state.

Multiple Choice

How were tunnels made?

• They dug through a mountain

• They were already there

• They blasted through a mountain

Multiple Choice

How did they get a across valleys?

• They just stopped and did not go any further.

• The went a different way

• They jumped across

• They built bridges with tracks on them.

●

Early trains were powered by steam engines called locomotives.

Railroads

●

This allowed people to travel
and to move goods quickly and
inexpensively.

●

A locomotive-powered train
traveled much faster than a
horse-drawn wagon.

●

Railroads helped nearby town,
such as Asheville and Durham, to
attract business and grow.

Multiple Choice

How were early trains powered?

• Gas

• Steam engine (locomotive)

• Water

• People pushed them

●

In 1837, Samuel F.B. Morse developed the telegraph. It used
electricity to send signals over wires.

Telegraph

●

The code uses groups of short and long
signals to stand for letters.

●

Telegraph operators sent messages
using Morse code.

●

The first telegraph message in North
Carolina was sent through Raleigh in
1848.

Multiple Choice

Where was the first telegraph message sent through?

• Charlotte

• Elizabethtown

• New Bern

• Raleigh

Multiple Choice

How did telegraph operators send messages?

• Called them

• Morse Code

• Typed their message

Multiple Choice

How did a telegraph work?

• People called people

• People told it what to type

• It used electricity to send signals over wires.

●

Before the telegraph, communicating over long distances was slow.

Telegraph

●

Messages were sent by
horseback, boat, or train.

●

The telegraph allowed
people to send and
receive messages in
minutes instead of
weeks.

Multiple Choice

How were messages sent before train?

• horseback, train, or boat

• A bird

• cell phone

• a mail man

●

Telephones were first used in North Carolina in 1879. Like the
telegraph, the telephone used electricity to send signals.

Telephone

●

Telephones soon became common in
North Carolina and other states

●

However, the telephone allowed
people to communicate over long
distances with their own voices.

●

In fact, by 1900, there were more
than 1 million telephones being used
in the United States.

Multiple Choice

When were telephones first used?

• 2013

• 1997

• 1798

• 1879