If in the mid-19th century these were gifted to the railroad companies as 99 year leases, the value to the companies wouldn't have been very different, but we wouldn't be in thrall to them today.

and what if the railroads looked at the 99 year lease offer and said, "no thanks fam"? What if is such a pointless game to play.

99 year leases have been very, very common throughout history. Simply doing a present value calculation yields the result that to an investor, a 99 year lease and a 999 year lease are approximately the same value today.

nongovernment investments tend to be more sustainable, because they are driven by observed demand, instead of cronyism or politics. This was one of the few railways to survive the great railway crash, it's still operated today:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Northern_Railway_(U.S.)

> This was one of the few railways to survive the great railway crash

The government well made its money back before the great railway crash.

Let's say the Internet suffers a crash in a few decades. Few would argue that any previous investment into the Internet was not worth it.

you're cherry picking an example that succeeded. Let's say DARPA's investment in ESP doesn't turn out in a few decades. Few would argue that any previous investment into ESP was not worth it. (disclaimer: I'm being paid on a stupid darpa grant now)

Non-governmental investment - except for the 3 million acres in Federal land grants.