Shoddy Early Rail Construction

Early on,  American railroads were constructed in the quickest way, with little regard to safety, comfort or durability. Single tracks, steeper grades and sharper curves - no time to level inclines, cut tunnels or build up embankments.   America experimented with cheaper and quicker ways of laying tracks - with narrow gauges, wooden trestles in place of earthen or stone embankments, unballasted roadbeds and every kind of substitute material and short-cut methods.  

By mid-century American railroad wrecks due to flimsy construction and speed, over poorly constructed tracks caused numerous accidents.  The poorly graded sharp curves and unfenced track in rough terrain were the cause of western railroad mishaps as notorious as steamboat explosions in previous decades.  The need for speed driving people to get there faster was costing lives.

In 1842, Charles Dickens, who was not a man easily shocked, on his first American railway ride on the Boston and Lowell line, found it a terrifying experience.  Charles Richard Weld recorded his experience in 1855 on a train out of Cumberland, West Virginia bound for Washington, DC.  Departing late, the train was determined to make up time by increasing its speed.  Weld records his train car swaying around sharp curves to the point of having to hang on to the seat in front of him, and having a glass lamp fall from over his head.  

A fellow passenger who was experienced in railroad accidents, began to instruct him on how to prepare for a crash.  Weld, along with three ladies,  moved to the last car as that was said to be the safest car. After the crash did indeed happen, that move was credited with the reason they survived.  When Weld crawled from the wreckage, all the cars except half of the middle car and the engine were destroyed.  

Surprisingly, only Weld was willing to file a formal complaint against the conductor for excessive speed and reckless regard for passengers.  Most of those who survived were praising the conductor's efforts to get them to their destination on time!  

Next time...More on rail accidents

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Today in Pioneer History: "On September 21, 1938, without warning a powerful Category 3 hurricane slams into Long Island and southern New England, causing 600 deaths and devastating coastal cities and town.  Called the Long Island Express, the great New England hurricane of 1938 was the most destructive storm to strike the region in the 20th century.  It was expected to make landfall in southern Florida, but the storm suddenly changed direction and began moving northward parallel to the eastern seaboard, coming ashore two days later in New York.

 

Railroad Consultant

The biggest news of the 1850s was of course the railroad.  The technology existed for laying a railroad, but there was little information about where it could be easily and economically built.
Joe Walker, being one of the last and most respected trappers and traders who knew the West country beyond familiar trails, found himself in great demand as a geographical consultant.

In late 1853, a group of politicians invited Walker to speak about rail routes in Sacramento.  Walker's four page report offered two routes he thought reliable for rail due to grades, water and wood supplies.

Both of Walker's routes left California through Walker's Pass,  one across the 25th parallel across Arizona and New Mexico to Santa Fe and from there across the plains.  The second ran from Walker's Pass north along the eastern Sierra to Humboldt Sink to Salt Lake along well traveled wagon trails.

None of the rails were ever laid through Walker Pass.  Both of the trails blazed in the first half of 19th century lie beneath beds of slate and national highways.

Next Time...One Man Out of Many

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This Day in History: On December 18. 1888,  Richard Wetherill and his brother-in-law stumble upon the magnificent ancient Indians ruins of Mesa Verde while searching for stray cattle in the isolated canyons of southwest Colorado.

The Legend of the Red Light

Ever wonder why a red light was associated with prostitution? The answer goes back to the early days of the railroad...

In the early days of the Kansas-Pacific Railroad, young uninhibited railroad men would visit certain parlors during a layover in the cow towns.  While they were inside, they would hang the brakeman's lanterns outside the door so the dispatcher's call boy could find them easily when it came time to depart.

The red light district became a part of American lexicon from those early cow towns and interestingly enough, the last one was officially closed down in Deadwood as late as the 1970s.  Some thing just last too long!

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