Re: The joy of Technology

On Sun, 3 Nov 2024 21:12:25 -0000 (UTC), Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:

On Sun, 3 Nov 2024 09:55:42 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
 

The history of transport is absolutely dominated by economics.

 
The history of everything technological is absolutely dominated by
economics.
 

In the UK we built canals, which were cheaper than horse and cart, but
then the railways came, and they were even cheaper, and finally we had
motor vehicles and they were cheaper still.

 
And yet the canals are still there. Somebody must be maintaining them.

Many have become historic sites.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erie_Canal

Along with the supporting industries:

https://eriecanalway.org/get-involved/matton

My father worked at Matton's in the '60s and I've been to a launch there.
Even then the end was in sight.

Some canals are still active like those on the St Lawrence Seaway or the
Intracoastal Waterway but for many only some segments are still remaining.

The Mississippi and other rivers still move a lot of freight.