Did it? I always assumed the US train boom aligned with shipping companies more than land at the destinations, which is why even today cargo gets priority over Amtrak.

Outside of the Eastern part of the US, the railroad land grant programs were a major part.

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

This is a part of why there were so many tiny little towns out West which were essentially just a railroad stop and a few buildings.