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CONNECTING A CONTINENT THE STORY OF AMERICA'S RAILROADS Spangenburg and Diane K. Moser ilay i*K» -- BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY U 1fli THE STORY OF AMERICA'S RAILROADS CONNECTING CONTINENT A • • THE STORY OF AMERICA'S RAILROADS Ray Spangenburg and Diane K. Moser FactsOnFile New York • Oxford 6 — To alltherailroadpeople engineers, track layers, condu—ctors, entrepreneursandhobos and to allwho love the hauntingsound offaraway train whistles and clackingwheels TheStoryofAmerica'sRailroads Copyright© 1991 byRaySpangenburgandDiane K. Moser Allrightsreserved. Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedorutilizedinanyformorbyanymeans, electronicormechanical, includingphotocopying, recording,orbyanyinformationstorageorre- trievalsystems,withoutpermission inwritingfrom thepublisher. Forinformationcontact: Facts On File, Inc. FactsOn FileLimited 460ParkAvenueSouth CollinsStreet NewYorkNY1001 OxfordOX4 1XJ USA UnitedKingdom LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Spangenburg, Ray, 1939— Thestory ofAmerica'srailr—oads/ byRaySpangenburgandDiane K. Moser. p. cm. (Connectingacontinent) Includesbibliographical referencesandindex. Summary:TracesthehistoryofrailroadsinAmerica,focusingon the technology, people, andlifeon therailroads. ISBN0-8160-2257-7 — — 1.Railroads—UnitedStates History—Juvenileliterature. [1. Railroads History.] I. Moser, Diane, 1944- . II.Title. IIL_S£.ries: Spangenburg, Rav, 1939- Connectingacontinent. £TF23.S72 1991 J> <-/ . 91-11553 BritishCIPdataavailableonrequestfromFactsOnFile. FactsOnFilebooksareavailableatspecialdiscountswhenpurchasedinbulkquantitiesforbusi- nesses,associations,institutionsorsalespromotions. PleasecontacttheSpecialSalesDepartmentof ourNewYorkofficeat212/683-2244 (dial 800/322-8755exceptinNY,AK,orHI). TextandJacketdesignbyDonnaSinisgalli CompositionbyFactsOnFile,Inc. ManufacturedbytheMaple-VailBookManufacturingGroup Printedin theUnitedStatesofAmerica 1098765432 1 Thisbookisprintedonacid-freepaper. 5 . CONTENTS Acknowledgments vi 1 Birth ofthe Iron Horse 1 2. RailroadsArrivein America: 1812-1832 6 3. TravelTransformed: Railroad NetworksReplaceCanals, 1833-1860 1 4. Railroading Fights aWar: 1859-1865 25 5. Building a RailroadAcrossAmerica: The Central Pacific Builds Eastward, 1853-1869 33 6. Building a RailroadAcrossAmerica:The Union Pacific BuildsWestward, 1848-1869 42 7. Heydayofthe Railroads: 1870-1914 51 8. Building a Northern Crossing: 1864-1894 61 9. The Decline Begins: Railroads 1914-1960 67 10. The Age ofMergers: Conrail andAmtrak, 1960to the 1990s 75 Epilogue 82 Glossary 83 Bibliography 84 Index 86 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We'dlike to thank the manyindividuals, too numerous to name,who helped uson — this project we greatly appreciated both their aid and enthusiasm. Several made special contributions, going out of their way to help make this book better, including,especially,AnneBennofoftheAssociationofAmericanRailroads,aswell as: Anne Calhoun of the B&O Museum; Bob Durham; Dave Letourneau of the Burlington Northern Railroad; Connie Menninger, manuscripts archivist at the Kansas State Historical Society; and Bill Shank ofthe American Canal and Trans- portation Center.AspecialthanksalsotooureditoratFactsOn File,JamesWarren, for his many insightful suggestions in shaping this series.