Nothing Like It in the World The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869

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Nothing Like It in the World The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869 Page 50

by Stephen E. Ambrose


  at completion ceremony, 363, 367

  labor force maintained by, 179, 184, 211, 274, 277, 327, 329

  track-laying operations run by, 170, 173-74, 210, 212, 226, 273-74, 351, 353

  weather delays and, 207, 324-25

  Casement, John S. “Jack,” 330, 354, 382

  on alkali desert, 269

  background of, 170, 330

  Civil War experience of, 18, 170

  at completion ceremony, 363, 367

  construction workforce maintained by, 177, 179, 182, 184, 210, 211, 221, 274

  on finance problems, 330, 342

  Indian relations with, 209-10

  Julesburg vice activities quelled by, 220

  on living conditions, 169, 337

  on rate of progress, 227, 228, 262, 277, 337

  supply facilities built by, 190

  track-laying operations run by, 170, 171, 173-74, 208, 209, 210, 212, 226, 273-74, 275, 323-24, 346, 351, 353

  weather delays and, 207, 325, 361

  casting, 119

  cattle grazing, 267

  Central Pacific Railroad (CP):

  accidents on, 325-26

  bridges constructed by, 107-8, 154-55, 234, 237, 338-39

  camp train of, 313, 314

  Chinese construction workers on, 18, 21, 149-58, 159, 161-62, 164-65, 198, 204-5, 231, 240-42, 243, 247, 298, 300, 308, 310, 327, 378

  clearing of roadbeds for, 157-58

  codes used by, 292

  in completion ceremonies, 354, 360-62, 363-67

  congressional legislation on, 77-81, 155

  construction contracts of, 105-6, 288-90, 321, 342, 375

  construction schedule of, 81, 102, 107, 165, 166, 204, 206

  corporate management of, 19, 43, 106, 111, 112-13, 114, 115-16, 321

  costs of, 71, 78, 102, 104, 106, 124, 147, 155, 161, 163, 165, 187, 200, 230, 231, 235, 245, 246, 247-48, 300-303, 372

  county and municipal support of, 109, 148

  eastern limit of, 95, 104, 155, 193-94, 225, 238, 254-55, 288, 289, 291, 312, 313, 315-17, 326-27, 332, 335, 339-40, 341, 345, 358

  engineers of, 19, 105, 110, 114, 116, 118, 158

  establishment of, 70-74, 365

  financial management of, 102-3, 106, 110-11, 113, 121, 124, 147-49, 165-66, 196, 246-47, 298, 301, 321, 374

  first runs made on, 117-18, 121, 306-8

  freight and passenger rates charged by, 305

  government bonds for, 102, 108, 109, 121, 123, 148-49, 165, 166, 195, 230, 238, 245, 312, 313, 330-31, 333-35

  grading work on, 118, 119-20, 147, 155-57, 237, 288-92, 332-33, 341

  groundbreaking ceremony of, 89, 106-7

  highest altitude of, 206, 210, 244

  initial investors in, 70-73, 105, 106, 121, 122, 196-97, 360, 379-80

  inspections of, 158-60, 165, 297, 300, 311-12, 313-14

  labor on, 107, 110, 118-20, 121, 147-48, 149-50, 152-55, 163, 198, 204-5, 206, 210, 231-32, 233-34, 240-42, 243, 246, 247, 281, 289, 298, 300, 306, 311-12, 314-15, 332-33, 349, 354, 378

  land grants to, 101, 103, 124, 238

  lobbying by, 193, 321-22

  locomotives of, 102, 115, 117, 124, 147, 298, 307, 312, 325, 331-32, 361

  Mormon contractors used on, 288-90, 291-92

  new states served by, 18

  passenger service of, 121-22, 124, 148-49, 203, 306-8, 323, 360, 361

  photos of construction on, 122

  political attacks on, 305, 318-20, 373, 374

  profitability of, 104, 121-22, 124, 149, 166, 238, 306n-7n, 374

  promotional excursions of, 118, 120-21, 159

  quality vs. speed in building of, 117, 252, 297, 300, 312, 323, 338-39

  rates of progress on, 148-49, 155, 161, 165, 166, 195, 201, 203, 206, 230, 231, 236, 244-45, 247, 252, 297-301, 305-9, 310, 312, 315-17, 332, 345, 346-52

  rival railroads’ charges against, 111, 122-23

  rolling stock of, 124, 298

  route of, 98, 112, 124, 201-2, 237-38, 286, 299, 305, 306, 312, 313, 316-17, 319, 343

  Sacramento office of, 103-4

  Sierra Nevada route of, 19, 74-75, 109-10, 118, 162-63, 230, 231, 244, 247-48, 306-8, 343

  snow problems on, 147, 233, 234-35, 245, 302-4, 305, 323-24

  Southern Pacific as successor to, 165, 377-78, 379, 380

  speed of, 121, 323

  stock sales of, 124, 165-66, 230

  supply transport on, 19-20, 118, 147, 203, 206, 231, 234, 237, 249, 301, 308-10, 321, 331

  towns developed along, 304, 309, 311, 313

  track-laying on, 118, 244, 311-12, 315, 346-52

  tunnels built by, 20, 75, 78, 104, 124, 147, 155-56, 160-61, 196, 197, 202, 203, 204-5, 206, 207, 230, 231-32, 233-34, 235-36, 244, 291, 307

  UP rivalry with, 155, 193-94, 201, 203, 225, 230-31, 238-39, 241, 242-43, 244, 247, 248, 249, 252, 274, 277, 282-83, 290-92, 300, 304-5, 306, 313, 316-17, 322-23, 337-40, 341-42, 346-52, 362-63, 365, 371-72

  wagon road constructed for, 72, 76-77, 104, 111, 112, 195, 233

  water supplies of, 195-96, 202, 230, 237, 301, 309

  weather problems experienced by, 147, 195, 197-98, 203-6, 231, 232-34, 245, 296, 302-3, 305, 323-24, 331

  Chandler, Alfred D., 100

  Charles Crocker Contract and Finance Company, 105-6, 111, 165, 246-47, 321, 339, 375

  Chesapeake & Ohio, 379

  Cheyenne, Wyo., 220-21, 227, 228, 229, 251, 259, 263, 271

  Cheyennes, 130, 136, 172-73, 211, 214, 222, 225-26, 265

  Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, 126

  Chicago and Northern Railroad, 254

  Chicago Howe Truss Bridge Company, 211

  Chinese workers:

  backgrounds of, 152-53

  blasting expertise of, 235, 236

  Cape Horn grading work of, 156-57

  China returned to by, 164, 165

  Cornish miners vs., 200

  on CP construction, 18, 21, 149-58, 159, 161-62, 164-65, 198, 204-5, 231, 240-42, 243, 247, 298, 300, 308, 310, 327, 378

  discrimination against, 150-51, 153, 378

  Dodge on, 349

  in domestic service, 151, 153

  after end of CP construction, 164-65

  fatalities of, 204, 205, 206, 236, 237

  food provided for, 161-62, 232, 289

  Indians feared by, 310

  industry of, 315

  Irish workers’ conflicts with, 327

  living conditions of, 161-62, 204, 231, 232

  numbers of, 198, 237, 298

  recruitment of, 243

  strike by, 240-42

  on Trans-Siberian Railway, 18

  wages of, 300

  white foremen as bosses of, 231, 311

  Chinn, Thomas W., 204

  Civil War:

  codes used in, 292

  end of, 133

  former slaves’ participation in, 86

  military railroad work in, 84-85, 96

  national optimism after, 253

  onset of, 41, 73, 74, 102

  as organizational model, 19, 172, 253, 283, 353

  prisoners of war in, 119

  progress of, 77, 79, 80, 88, 96-98, 103, 110, 111-12, 114-15, 118, 123

  railroad blasting power vs., 119, 158

  railroads constructed by veterans of, 17, 18-19, 21, 137, 143-44, 172, 177, 218, 253

  riots in Northern cities during, 114

  Clark, William, 19, 38, 42, 59, 100, 127, 143, 356

  Clarke, Thomas Curtis, 25

  Clay, Henry, 27, 87-88, 100

  Clayton, D. B., 182

  Clement, Lewis M., 364, 382

  background of, 110

  on blasting operations, 160, 201

  Cape Horn grading overseen by, 157

  construction progress urged by, 203

  on costs, 111, 301

  as CP engineer, 19, 116, 117, 316

  on Crocker’s construction oversight, 163-64

  curved tunnel routes laid out by, 232

  on laborers
’ defections to mining, 148

  on locomotives for supply transport, 147

  on railroads’ Ogden union, 340

  on roadbed clearing of tree stumps, 158

  snowsheds designed by, 235, 302, 304

  Summit Tunnel engineered by, 244

  Utah construction led by, 291, 316, 332

  on water supplies, 309

  coal mining, 128, 189, 220, 224

  Cochran, Thomas, 93, 193

  codes, 292

  Cogswell, Milton, 363

  Cohen, Alfred, 197

  Cole, Cornelius, 71, 72, 154

  Coley, George, 349

  Colfax, Schuyler, 158, 159, 275, 367, 374

  Collins, Casper, 130

  Commager, Henry Steele, 376

  Congress, U.S.:

  on CP-UP connection point, 193, 194, 238, 255, 291, 304-5, 340, 341, 371, 372

  Crédit Mobilier shareholders in, 227, 320, 339, 374

  on domestic iron usage, 14, 301

  lobbying on transcontinental railroad in, 59-61, 64-68, 75-76, 193-94, 196, 321-22

  partisan control of, 70

  railroad finances investigated by, 373-75

  on railroad routes, 31, 304-5

  transcontinental railway legislation of, 75-76, 77-81, 89, 94-96, 101, 147, 254, 304-5

  on UP financial dispute, 336-37, 339

  Wyoming territorial status granted by, 210n

  construction workers:

  African-American, 177, 241, 274

  age of, 295-96

  blasting operations of, 119-20, 138, 155, 156-58, 160-61, 199-201, 204, 231-36

  Chinese,see Chinese workers

  Civil War veterans as, 21, 137, 143-44, 172, 177, 218, 253

  cooperative teamwork of, 213, 287

  Cornish miners as, 200

  CP-UP rivalry of, 327

  daily routines of, 179, 232

  dangers undergone by, 156-58, 160, 200-201, 204-5, 267-68

  drinking habits of, 162, 176, 217, 219, 257-58, 286, 296, 378

  fatalities of, 201, 204-5, 206, 233, 236, 237, 264-65, 267-68, 326

  food provided for, 138, 161-62, 177, 179, 182, 183, 232, 289

  grading work of, 118, 119-20, 136-39, 147, 323

  health care of, 137

  Indian hostilities as threat to, 173, 211, 214-15, 220, 310

  injuries to, 120, 156, 164, 231

  Irish, 18, 21, 118-20, 296, 327, 349, 378

  living conditions of, 22, 137, 138, 161-62, 177-78, 179, 204, 231, 232, 293, 309, 315

  management style and, 120, 137-38, 198, 201, 314-15

  Mormon, 189, 242, 261, 281-91, 294-95, 316, 327n, 329

  numbers of, 18, 17, 181, 198, 206, 210, 211, 284

  physical demands on, 21, 118, 178, 296

  recreational activities of, 217-18, 219-20, 353, 372

  release of, 354-55

  slang terms developed by, 182

  snow removal by, 147, 302-3, 305

  songs of, 138, 179, 286-87

  strike actions of, 137, 198, 240-42, 329, 378

  on telegraph vs. railroad track, 257

  wages of, 107, 118, 122, 137, 148, 153, 178, 179, 198, 240, 241, 242, 275, 283, 285, 294, 296, 300, 302, 329, 351, 359

  weather extremes experienced by, 147, 178, 203-6, 231, 232, 296, 323, 324-25

  Western mining opportunities of, 107, 119, 121, 148, 154

  work pace maintained by, 179, 181, 182-83, 231, 275, 311-12, 346-52

  Continental Divide, 45, 87, 128, 136, 216, 223

  Cooke, Philip St. George, 174

  “coolies,” 150

  Corinne, Utah, 319, 337, 353, 354

  cottonwood, 133, 139-40, 187, 227, 252, 274

  Council Bluffs, Iowa, 33-34, 35, 36, 37, 38-39, 254, 276

  Cox, Jacob Dolson, 281-82, 335

  Cox, S. S. “Sunset,” 96

  CP,see Central Pacific Railroad

  C. P. Huntington, 115, 122

  Crane, H. C., 257, 259

  Crane, James, 286-87

  Crédit Mobilier of America, 131

  construction contracts signed over to, 93, 99

  creation of, 92-93

  Contract and Finance Company vs., 105, 246

  directors of, 281

  dividends paid by, 227, 270, 277, 318, 320, 374-75

  holdings of congressmen in, 227, 320, 339, 374

  political scandal over, 320-21, 373-75

  profitability of, 98, 374

  stockholders of, 132, 140, 190, 226, 320

  UP finances vs., 139, 212, 227, 270, 277, 336

  Creighton, Harry, 175

  Crocker, Charles, 19, 154, 206, 364, 380

  background of, 43-44

  on blasting operations, 200, 201, 235, 236, 323

  in business, 54, 62, 71, 73, 103, 106

  Chinese workers appreciated by, 150, 164, 200, 242, 243

  construction overseen by, 43, 105-6, 107-8, 110, 111, 112, 116, 117, 118, 122, 148, 157, 161, 163-64, 165, 195, 196, 197, 200, 202, 236, 237, 244-45, 246, 258-59, 298, 306, 308-9, 310-11, 316, 317, 322-23, 328-29, 331, 335, 346-52

  Contract and Finance Company of, 105-6, 111, 165, 246-47, 321, 339, 375

  CP investments of, 72, 73, 105, 114, 124, 165

  on CP’s finances, 121, 124, 165, 198

  eastern route extension desired by, 238, 362-63

  laborers handled by, 119, 120, 121, 149, 150, 152, 153, 164, 198, 199-200, 240, 241-42, 289, 306, 310, 328-29, 347, 348

  later years of, 379

  marriage of, 310-11

  physical appearance of, 44, 163

  political involvement of, 71

  on railroad across Sierra, 147

  as railroad director, 74, 106

  on rate of progress, 236, 239, 297, 298, 306, 312, 317, 322-23, 328-29

  on snowsheds, 302, 304

  on UP rivalry, 241, 258-59, 340, 346, 348, 349, 351

  wagon road owned by, 76

  on weather conditions, 323

  westward overland journey led by, 44-47, 49, 53

  Crocker, E. B., 112

  on Chinese workers, 154, 240-41, 242, 243, 298, 300

  on construction progress, 236, 244, 245, 246, 297, 300

  Contract and Finance Company holdings of, 165, 246, 247

  on popularity of railroads, 249

  on Strobridge’s construction oversight, 236-37

  on UP-CP rivalry, 238, 239, 242, 243, 297

  on UP management conflicts, 255

  on weather problems, 206, 239, 244

  Curtis, Samuel R., 66-67, 68, 70, 84

  cushions, 182

  cuts, excavation of, 119-20, 138, 196

  Dakota Territory, 210

  Dale City, Wyo., 259-60

  Dale Creek, 221, 227, 251, 256, 257, 258, 259-61, 262, 380

  Daley, Thomas, 349

  Dana, Charles A., 86, 275

  dance halls, 218, 219

  dance the carpet, 182

  Davenport and Iowa City Railroad, 33

  Davis, James W., 360

  Davis, Jefferson, 31, 34-35, 59, 60, 280, 377

  Deep Gulch, 154

  DeLamater, C. B., 46

  DeMille, Cecil B., 217

  Democratic Party, transcontinental railroad supported by, 66

  Dennison, Eli, 363

  Dent, Frederick, 344

  Dent, Lewis, 342-44

  Dey, Peter A., 90

  on Dodge’s expertise, 32-33

  Platte Valley route surveyed by, 36-37

  resignation of, 98-99

  UP routes surveyed by, 89, 91-92, 127-28, 131, 132n, 135, 136, 142, 382

  Dillon, Sidney, 271, 281-82, 359, 363, 367, 370-71

  ditch companies, 195-96

  Dix, John A., 37n, 40, 89, 91, 99, 191

  Dodge, Anne Brown, 34

  Dodge, Grenville, 19, 90, 290, 349, 377

  administrative recommendations of, 171, 273

  agricultural opportunities noted by, 212, 229

  annual reports written by, 228-29


  army protection of UP workers requested by, 211, 214

  background of, 31-33

  on bridge construction, 183, 187, 344

  business interests of, 37-38

  as chief engineer, 18, 97, 130, 131-32, 171-72, 176, 183, 211, 221, 228-29, 254, 271, 336, 381

  Civil War experience of, 18, 79, 84-85, 86-87, 88, 96-98, 130, 171, 216, 219, 253, 272, 353

  in completion ceremonies, 354, 363, 365, 366, 367-68, 370

  as congressman, 186, 273, 320

  Durant’s rivalry with, 270-73, 329-30

  on end of construction, 355

  federal bond releases and, 330, 334

  former slaves armed by, 86

  on Indian threat, 130-32, 133, 141, 173, 211, 214-15, 216, 221, 223

  Judah vs., 112

  on labor concerns, 286, 327, 342, 378

  land grants managed by, 187-88, 212, 219-20, 221, 271

  later years of, 381

  Lincoln’s meetings with, 23-24, 26, 39, 86-88, 97, 270-71

  maps created by, 228

  marriage of, 34

  on mineral interests, 187, 188, 189

  personnel assignments by, 171-72, 216

  political support for railroad sought by, 39-41, 253-54, 272-73

  on promotional excursions, 186, 261, 277

  on railroad route, 24, 26, 32-39, 40-41, 87, 89, 127, 131, 135-36, 188-89, 190-91, 210, 221, 223-25, 230, 254, 271-73, 279-80, 285-86, 333, 382

  ransom payment urged by, 359-60

  on rate of progress, 174, 191, 210, 221, 227, 228, 342, 355

  surveying teams praised by, 191

  towns established by, 220, 221, 224, 228, 259

  on UP western limit, 230, 254-55, 330, 339, 341, 342, 355, 362-63

  on war veterans as railroad workers, 19, 177

  on westward movement of rain belt, 212

  Dodge, Nathan, 90

  Donner Party, 146

  Donner Pass, 68, 69-70, 72, 75, 111, 160, 201, 202

  Douglas, Stephen A., 23

  Drew, Daniel, 336

  drone cage, 182

  Duff, John, 186, 211, 359, 360, 367

  dumping boss, 137-38

  Durant, Frank, 170

  Durant, Thomas “Doc,” 19, 217

  background of, 35-36

  chief engineers appointed by, 91, 97, 130, 131, 171, 271

  at completion ceremonies, 359, 363, 365, 367, 381

  construction company set up by, 92-93

  construction progress urged by, 140, 143, 144, 210, 230, 238, 261, 273, 275, 277, 282-83, 290, 352, 381

  construction reports received by, 174-76, 183, 187, 190, 208

  corporate leadership of, 88-90, 91-92, 97, 98-99, 134, 170, 172, 174, 176, 191, 226, 271, 285-86, 375, 381

  CP rivalry and, 239, 242, 255, 282-83, 290, 313, 348, 349, 351

  Crédit Mobilier holdings of, 190, 212, 270

  financial management of, 139, 270, 277, 282, 294-95, 318-20, 335-36, 359-60, 372, 382

 

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