During the 1800's
5 reasons would be nice

Trying to get someone else to do your homework again?

Hello
It was quicker
more reliable
Carry heavier loads
Did not change when high/low water
Did not get lost

Andy C

l will give u the number one reason. Rivers only go where rivers go.

Rail could go where ever it needed to go, & where ever the market was. The brief history of the CB & Q for example. (Chicago, Burlington & Quincy). Chicago had a very nice brick yard. It was generally down hill to Quincy, IL which was beside the Mississippi river where the bricks could go south by barge. And the now empty rail cars could go back to Chicago for another load. This means they could use a much bigger load going down to the river.

Rivers run in ONE direction (down) - So it would be more difficult & expensive to take loaded boats or barges UP river.

Also, here in the USA, one reason would be that most of the navigable rivers r aligned North & South !! So, the desire to go settle WEST (and transport timber, grain, & meat EAST) requires rail-transport. Clear thru to the 1880's, the NORMAL method to go from the East-coast to California was to SAIL down to Panama, & then sail back up the California coast. Bulk material sailed all the way down & up South America.

Another, silly, but TRUE reason is: a River is public property & can not be owned. The railroad routes were sold by the US Government CHEAP, and/ or the Government aided & abetted in stealing land already owned. NOW, the railroad OWNS the route, typically owned many of the towns ALONG the route. a built in business monopoly!!

As someone else pointed out, u also have the problem that many of the rivers r unnavigable for most of the year either due to ice or low levels near their source.

That is 4 reasons. now finish ur homework

Not many rivers cross the continental divide.

River transportation was and still is cheaper where available but rivers have a tendency to go where THEY want and not necessarily where we want them to.

Mainly speed. A train can travel a lot faster than a river or canal boat. A train can also carry more, as inland vessels r strictly limited in tonnage.

In the UK the railway companies helped this along by buying up canals & then letting them go to ruin, thus eliminating the competition. Canals & river wharves r expensive to build & maintain, so having bought up the waterway the railway would then put all its money into expanding its rail-borne traffic, while the waterway was neglected.

The exception to this rule was of course docks which could take sea-going vessels, where there was plenty of revenue to be made from the import & export of goods. In this case the railway often took over the docks, but now it was more profitable to develope & operate them as a going concern.