the Erie Canal is a canal located in New York city and was completed in 1825. we benefited from Railroads and canals when shipping goods because it made shipping goods cheeper, faster, and you could transport them a greater distance. before there where railroads and canals it wold take longer because the had to hand deliver goods causing a lot of goods to go bad because of the length of time it took to get the goods to there destination.
hope this helps! :)