Americans, take heed. Here is what it takes to bring one of the world’s great transportation networks to its knees: a tiny electrical fire in an obscure contraption of levers and pulleys, installed nearly a century ago.

The scenario played out last week at the Long Island Rail Road , steward of more than 100,000 daily commutes in and out of New York, after a pair of cables short-circuited and set fire to a single 1920s-era signaling machine that left the railroad unable to run trains through a crucial hub station. Delays and canceled trains plagued commuters for days, and as the workweek ended officials still could not say when full service would be restored. The ancient machine had been due for a multimillion-dollar upgrade, but it turned out the program was over budget and behind schedule.

Normally blasé New Yorkers seemed stunned at the vulnerability of their railroad, but in that, they should not have felt alone. The combination of antiquated hardware and delayed maintenance is far from uncommon in America’s infrastructure, a Colossus often held together by spit and glue.

Consider the nation’s dams, on average a half-century old. Despite their monumental size, the dams can be weakened by foraging gophers and squirrels, whose holes undermine the foundations. Or even by simple operator error. A major gate at Folsom Dam in California burst in 1995 after the wrong lubricant was used on its gears.

Tree stumps and rusting pipes can undermine levees in Sacramento . Water systems in Alaska and Washington State depend on wood pipes dating back to pioneer days. And locks on inland shipping routes can be weakened by simple flotsam like discarded tires.

The causes may be small, but the consequences can be grand: national commerce, essential utilities, and the homes of thousands can be threatened if these antiquated systems suddenly give out.