C&O Canal vs. B&O RR: Railroads of America 3

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The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad both broke ground on July 4, 1828. Which one would reach the Ohio River first?
Why the rush? After the completion of the Erie Canal across New York in 1825, the cost of moving freight from Buffalo to Albany dropped by an order of magnitude from wagons pulled by oxen on primitive roads. Every major city on the east coast looked to building their own canals to avoid losing the interior trade from the Ohio River valley and the Great Lakes.
Washington could send a canal west along the Potomac River.
Baltimore had no good route for a canal, so they decided to try a railroad. Canals were a proven technology, while railroads were still experimental. But the barrier of the Allegheny Mountains would put any technology to the test. The future economic prosperity of Washington and Baltimore depended on the success of their respective ventures.
Produced by John Z Wetmore, producer of "Perils For Pedestrians".