They could never do the same amount of cargo as a train could. Instead, they were able to carry far more cargo than a modern commercial aircraft back on Earth, depending on their size, and at higher altitudes and at a fraction of the upkeep costs. They got to their destinations a lot slower than planes, sure, but much faster and with less bullshit than trains, hence their substantial economic value in this world. Handy often wondered why they weren’t already filling the skies as it were, but then he recalled the horrific cost in actually getting one airborne that decimated his last nest egg of gold. He had even had to enlist the king’s help in initially getting it off the ground. They should be seeing much more of them in the coming decades as the merchant guilds all start pitching in for airships of their own.