Building the Rails

 Unlike the steamboats that followed routes of nature, railroads were man-made routes.  Western railroads made settlements wherever they were laid along those routes.  Where the railroad went, so did the people.  As one traveler recorded in 1856, "the prairies and the railroads were made for each other.  For hundreds of miles you didn't need to do anything but raise the turf and lay the rails...in one level unwavering line your road passes through the plain."

The technology of progress and haste defined the Western rails.  Great prizes were received for the first to complete the railroad as in the building of the first transcontinental railroad.  Under the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862, the Central Pacific Railroad was to build eastward from California to join tracks with the Union Pacific in Nevada.  However, the act was amended by Central Pacific lobbyists which allowed both railroads to build as far as they could until they met - with the reward of between $16,000 and $48,000 for each additional mile laid.

The first transcontinental railroad went from an engineering project to a race in which the construction practices of the competitors became a national scandal.  The Credit Mobilier Scandal came to light in 1872 and involved the illegal manipulation of contracts by the Union Pacific Railroad and the Credit Mobilier construction company.  An extensive inquiry was made into charges of bribery when the head of Credit Mobilier gave stock to members of Congress in exchange for construction favors.  Nothing definite could be proved and the matter was dropped, but not before the scandal was the hottest news of the time.

Next time...Construction Practices

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Today in Pioneer History: "On September 16, 1893, the largest land rush in history begins with more the 100,000 people pouring into the Cherokee strip of Oklahoma to claim valuable land that had once belonged to Native Americans.  With a single shot from a pistol, the mad dash began and the pioneers on horseback and in carriages raced to stake their claim of the best acres.

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.

Building a Railroad

Grenville Dodge took the position of chief engineer of the Union Pacific in 1866 totally aware of the troubles ahead.  The railroad was still basically a pipe dream, with only 100 miles of track laid west of Omaha.  No sure route was even known and problems like recruiting labor, transporting supplies, holding the Indians at a distance, even finding the lumber for building were just becoming known.

The track was to be laid under the supervision of two brothers, John ("Jack") and Daniel Casement.  They made good overseers, tough and resourceful and they had the full support of Dodge.  Dan searched the country for labor and supplies, while Jack supervised hundreds of Irish, Civil War veterans, and former slaves who were doing the actual building.  Although Jack was a physically small man, he became a ruthless driver of the human machine that built the railroad.

The Union Pacific was in danger of losing its government support unless 100 miles was completed by July 1866.  With Dodge at the head and the Casement brother driving the operation, construction began to proceed at amazing efficiency.  Several hundred miles west of the workers, surveyors were mapping out the precise route to follow.  Beyond that, the grading crews with their picks and shovels (as well as rifles against the Indians), were preparing the route chosen.  Then came the actual track layers, the iron men - all of them advancing the line westward rail by rail.

As the railroad advanced into the open plains, the hardwood for the ties became impossible to find.  Soft cottonwood had to be treated with chemicals to improve its durability until the rails moved back into mountain country and hardwood was once again available.  Following the railroad ties, the iron rails were laid.  Each rail required five men to lift each rail, another group to place it across the ties and then "spikers" to drive the spikes into place. 

The workers labored labored in all weather, in all seasons for the completion of the Union Pacific.  By the end of 1866, 265 miles were laid and by December, the railroad was near Nebraska's western border, and the team of Dodge and Casement was thought to accomplish miracles.

Next time...a real threat to progress
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Today in Pioneer History: "On April 30, 1789  George Washington, the great military leader of the American Revolution, is inaugurated as the first president of the United States in New York City.