Railroad Problems from Within

The most serious problems the railroad faced were from within.  Durant showed more interest in lining his own pockets that in building a railroad.  He had promised not to interfere with the way Dodge managed the railroad construction, but he was constantly trying to lengthen the route to gain more land grants and government aid.   In 1868, Dodge finally told him, "You are now going to learn that the men take orders from me and not from you.  If you interfere, there will be trouble."

Dodge wasn't making idle threats.  Oakes Ames, Congressman who was also feuding with Durant, announced that General Ulysses Grant (candidate for President) would be in Laramie in July and wanted to hear the two sides of the argument between Durant and Dodge.  Grant was Dodges' friend from the Civil War days.  If elected President, Grant would also carry weight with all those federal grants and aid that Durant was so fond of.

At the meeting, Dodge declared that he would quit if Durant or anyone else ever tried to change his routes again.  Grant reportedly turned to Durant and laid down the law.  "The government expects the railroad company to meet its obligation and the government expects General Dodge to remain with the railroad as its chief engineer until it is completed."  Durant had no choice but to tell Grant that "we all want Dodge to stay with the railroad."

Dodge had his victory, but there remained almost 10 months of hard labor before the Union Pacific could unite with its rival from the East and truly span the American continent by rail.

As a side note:  In Dodges' own words he describes the building of the railroad from the chief engineer's point of view..."At one time we were using at least 10,000 animals and most of the time from 8,000 to 10,000 laborers.  They worked from 3-20 miles ahead of the track.  To supply one mile with material required 40 cars - rails, ties, bridging, fastenings, supplies, fuel.- had to be transported from the Missouri River.  We moved westward every hundred miles, adding to our transportation.  /It was so systematically planned that work was never delayed for want of materials."

Next time - the Central Pacific
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Today in Pioneer History:  "On May 7, 1763, Pontiac’s Rebellion begins when a confederacy of Native American warriors under Ottawa chief Pontiac attacks the British force at Detroit. After failing to take the fort in their initial assault, Pontiac’s forces, made up of Ottawas and reinforced by Wyandots, Ojibwas, and Potawatamis, initiated a siege that would stretch into months.

A Shady Partner of Deals

The Railroad Act of 1864 doubled the size of the railroad's land grants and offered investments to attract investors.  It was particularly beneficial to Union Pacific's Vice President, Thomas Durant. 
Collis Huntington had met Durant while in Washington lobbying for the passage of the act.

Durant believed that the Union Pacific would never be profitable and decided as he put it:  "to grab a wad of money from construction fees and get out."  With that in mind, he had his associate buy a Pennsylvania construction company called Credit Mobilier (French for "Credit on Movable Property") in 1863.  Durant then hired it to construct the Union Pacific Railroad and overcharged the railroads by millions of dollars. 

The venture cost Durant the services of his chief engineer, Peter A. Dey, who resigned in 1864 rather than participate in the scheme.  Durant then tried to hire Grenville Dodge, a Union General, surveyor, and railroad builder, but he refused to leave the Army.  After the Civil War when again offered the position, Dodge accepted the job of chief engineer in 1866, but on the condition that he had complete control on the route the rails would take.

A member of Congress, Oakes Ames of Massachusetts was a stockholder in the Credit Mobilier Company.  In 1867, Ames thought to sell stock to his friends in Congress for far below value.  One of those "friends" was Schuyler Colfax, future vice-president of the United States, who bought stock in the company.  In 1872 rumors of the company's fraudulent dealings surfaced and Durant was investigated.  Ames seized control of the company and escaped unscathed but died shortly thereafter.

Oakes Ames, James Brooks and Schuyler Colfax were all ruined by the scandal.  We will revisit Mr. Thomas Durant later on...

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Today in Pioneer History: "On April 16, 1889, future Hollywood legend and silent film pioneer Charlie Chaplin is born Charles Spencer Chaplin in London, England. In 1918, he signed a contract with First National for $1 million for eight films. A masterful silent film actor and pantomimist who could elicit both laughter and tears from his audiences, Chaplin founded United Artists Corporation in 1919 with Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and director D.W. Griffith.