Sloss Furnaces and the Rise of the Birmingham District: An Industrial Epic (History of American Science and Technology)

The "planning" taking place back then was a bunch of upstarts trying to lay as much rail as possible as quickly as possible to "win." Similar to the current AI bubble. The overbuilding of railroads was a factor in the Panic of 1893. Further reading for those interested: https://www.amazon.com/Sloss-Furnaces-Rise-Birmingham-District/dp/0817307087