There was a shortage of railways in the _________?

Question

which caused negative results in the Civil War?

Starts with an S.

Answer 1

Sri Lanka

Answer 2

Dang

Until I read the second part of your question, I was going to put down the "stone age"

now I can't :=(

Answer 3

"South."

Google the "Great Locomotive Chase."  Interesting stuff.

The Union army destroyed as much rail infrastructure as was possible.  The ability to move men and equipment by rail was vital to the prosecution of the war for both sides.

Fortunately for the North, much of the constructed rail lines of the day lay in the north and were used by them to great extent.  The railroads of the north began supplanting the canals that were used for transport in the early 1830s.

The south was slower to develop rail lines, owing to the ready availability of the great water ways and the low lying swamps and bayous that were used for transportation.  These same waterways became obstacles and made rail lines impractical owing to the swampy nature of vast areas in the gulf states.