01x05 - The Building of the Transcontinental Railroad

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The time, April, 1866.

The Civil w*r had ended
just one year before.

The American people were struggling to
put their country back together again.

The attention of the entire nation

was focused on a symbol
of that hope for unity.

The daring attempt to build
a transcontinental railroad

to link the United States
from ocean to ocean.

The federal government had
commissioned two railroad companies

to build the transcontinental railroad.

The government would pay a
loan subsidy to each railroad

ranging from $16,000 to
$48,000 for each mile of track,

the price depending on the difficulty
of the terrain to be covered.

Huge land grants would also
be given to each railroad,

so tens of millions of
dollars were at stake.

Building eastward from
Sacramento, California,

was the Central Pacific Railroad.

The Central Pacific had
been the lifelong dream

of an engineer named Theodore Judah.

In 1861, Judah had convinced
four Sacramento merchants

to invest in and to create
the Central Pacific.

But for the first few years,

the progress had been painfully slow

across the foothills
of the Sierra Nevada.

Work crews would often
quit working on the railroad

to try their luck in
discovering gold and silver.

So youngsters were employed
to assist the crews.

By the spring of 1866,

the Central Pacific had only gone


This railroad was laughingly
called the Tortoise,

while its competitor,
the Union Pacific,

was proudly considered the Hare.

The Union Pacific,

building westward from
Omaha, Nebraska,

working over the Flat Plains,

had built 200 miles of
track in less than a year,

thus earning millions more
than the Central Pacific.

The Union Pacific employed
over 10,000 workers,

including Civil w*r veterans
from both sides, former sl*ves,

immigrants from Ireland and Germany,

and cowboys from the southwest.

But dangerous times lay ahead
for the crews of both railroads.

For the next three years,
the two railroads would attempt to do

what many experts thought
would be truly impossible.

They would have to build
a railroad of 1,800 miles

across rivers, deserts,
and mountains

in the blazing heat of summer

and blinding blizzards of winter.

Most impossible of all

seemed to be the solid
granite of the Sierra Nevada,

staring down at the workers
of the Central Pacific.

The success or failure of this greatest
construction job in American history

would determine the future of the
United States for decades to come.

♪ Get on board, little children

♪ Get on board, little children

♪ Get on board, little children

♪ There's room for many a-more

♪ The little back train a-coming

♪ I hear it around the bend

♪ I hear the big wheels rumbling

♪ Rollin' through the land

♪ Get on board, little children

♪ Get on board, little children

♪ Get on board, little children

♪ There's room for many a-more

♪ Get on board, little children

♪ There's room for many a-more

Every American was aware of and was
excited about the great competition

between the Central Pacific
and the Union Pacific.

If successful, the railroad would
not only unite the country,

but it would also reduce the time
of nationwide travel by months.

The Union Pacific started
on relatively flat land,

the plains of Nebraska.

The Union Pacific could get its supplies
from the neighboring eastern states.

On the other hand, the Central Pacific
had to ship every rail and spike

and locomotive parts 15,000
miles around Cape Horn.

Since every mile of track needed
at least eight flat cars of material,

the supply problem was a continual
nightmare for the Central Pacific.

As far as the construction
workers themselves,

the officials of the Central Pacific

had brought in Chinese workers
from throughout the state.

These workers were excellent.

In fact, they were the best workers
the railroad officials had ever seen.

So they brought in thousands
more from China itself,

until there were well
over 10,000 Chinese

working on the construction
of the Central Pacific.

Most of these Chinese workers
were very small and very thin.

And at first, many of the American
workers scoffed at them.

How could these small,
scrawny people

do the hard labor of building
a railroad across the Sierra?

Charles Crocker, in charge of
construction for the Central Pacific,

had great faith in these
Chinese workers.

He was heard to say,

If these people could build
the Great Wall of China,

then I have no doubt that they can
get through the Sierra Nevada.

Many of these Chinese
workers would sit in baskets

and then be lowered by
rope down the sides of cliffs.

They would put blasting powder
inside cracks in the cliffs,

light the charge, and then swing out
from the mountain to avoid the blast.

Both railroads used similar
methods of construction.

Working many miles ahead
of track were the surveyors.

They would map out the easiest
possible route for the railroad.

The surveyors of the Central
Pacific were most fortunate.

They had the notes of Engineer Judah
completed many years before

on a possible route
through the Sierra Nevada,

one of the most imposing
mountain ranges in North America.

When the surveyors couldn't figure
out how to go around a mountain,

then they had to figure out
how to go through a mountain.

After the surveyors came the graders.

The graders cut through the gorges,

graded the roadbeds,

and built the trestles and bridges.

They used pick and shovel
to dig up the earth.

Some of the earth was
removed by wheelbarrows,

and much of it was removed by
horse-drawn or pony-drawn wagons.

♪ I've been working on the
railroad all the live long days

♪ I've been working on the railroad
just to pass the time of day

♪ Can't you hear the whistle blowing

♪ Rise up early in the morn

♪ Can't you hear the Capt'n shouting

♪ Diana won't you blow your horn

Once the roadbed was ready,

wooden railroad ties were laid down

from one to one and a half
feet apart from each other.

Each rail was 30 feet long and
weighed over 500 pounds.

There were about 28 ties per rail.

Four people had to unload each
rail from a horse-drawn truck,

and sometimes it took
more than four people.

They would then carry the
rail to the end of the track,

where the wooden
railroad ties awaited.

There were 2,500
ties per mile of track.

There were four spikes
driven into each railroad tie,

or about 30 spikes for each rail.

The spikers would keep a rhythm
as they drove their spikes.

This became an anvil chorus

through the mountains of the Sierra

and across the plains of Nebraska.

♪ This train is bound
for glory, this train

♪ This train is bound for glory

♪ Don't take nothing but
the righteous and holy

♪ This train is bound
for glory, this train

♪ This train don't carry
no gamblers, this train

♪ This train don't carry
no gamblers, this train

♪ This train don't carry no gamblers

♪ No hypocrites, no midnight ramblers

♪ This train is bound
for glory, this train

By winter of 1866,

the Central Pacific had progressed


and the Union Pacific had
gone 300 miles from Omaha.

Americans were starting to believe

that what many had thought
to be an impossible dream,

a railroad from ocean to ocean
might actually be possible after all.

Nearly 25,000 workers

were now employed by
the competing companies.

Small towns were born and then
died as the railroad pushed ahead.

In the Central Pacific work camps,
there were relatively few problems.

The Chinese workers were
quite well disciplined.

The Union Pacific was another story.

Boomtown sprung up as the
Union Pacific moved westward,

and life at the end of track
was not for the faint of heart.

Are you the new harmonica player?

You'd better be good.

This is a very knowledgeable crowd.

But as the winter of 1866
started to cover the nation,

suddenly the dream of a
transcontinental railroad

seemed to dim.

In fact, many started to doubt
that it could ever be completed.

It was the most devastating
winter in California's history.

Over 7,000 feet above
sea level, at the summit,

conditions were the worst
ever faced by railroad builders.

The snow was so deep that tunnels
had to be constructed through the snow

just to get to the points where
they could use pick and shovel.

For many months, most of the
workers did not see the light of day.

Everything from avalanches to blasting
powder continued to cost lives.

Entire camps were carried
away in snow slides.

Deep fills, rock cuts,
high trestles, and snaking grades

all had to fight through the
granite walls of the Sierra Nevada.

Although the Central
Pacific would only lay


entire year of 1866,

it would be the most remarkable


The final tunnel at the summit would
be 1,600 feet through solid granite.

Using some blasting powder,
but using mostly pick and shovel,

the Chinese workers could
carve out only 8 inches a day.


in shifts around the clock.

Eventually, it would take
two years, 1866 and 1867,

for the Central Pacific to
conquer the Sierra Nevada.

While thousands of workers
fought through the summit,

thousands of others had been brought
to the eastern side of the Sierra

to start construction back down to
the flatland of the Nevada Territory.


a truly remarkable feat.

Three locomotives and 40 cars had to
be carried over the mountain summit.

The heavy equipment
had to be dismantled

and carried over on sleighs and logs.

A cavalcade of sleds and wagons
and spikes and plows and food

were dragged over the summit,
enough to lay 50 miles of track.

The endurance and perseverance
of the workers was astounding.

By spring of 1868, having gone
up and down the Sierra Nevada,

the Central Pacific was finally on
the flatland of the Nevada Territory.

By July of 1868, the Central Pacific
had laid track all the way to Wadsworth

in the Nevada Territory,


point in Sacramento, California.

The Central Pacific was no longer
the tortoise chasing the hare.

The Chinese miracle workers were
laying at least a mile of track a day

across the Nevada desert.

The greatest race in
railroading history,

now captured the attention
of the entire nation.

The Union Pacific was shocked

that the Central Pacific had
overcome the Sierra Nevada

in less than two years.

They thought that it
would take twice as long.

By May of 1868, the Union Pacific
had reached Laramie, Wyoming,



But then, huge flooding
slowed the Union Pacific,

and the summer heat in the
Badlands started to take its toll.

As the alkali of the desert parched
the throats of the workers,

the Union Pacific had
always assumed that they

would reach the Great
Salt Lake Basin first.

The Salt Lake Basin was the
key to all future commerce,

east and west.

Suddenly, the impossible
was about to happen.

The Central Pacific was approaching
the Great Salt Lake first.

Throughout the summer and fall,

the 25,000 workers of the two
railroads worked round the clock.

Newspapers reported the competition,

as if a great w*r were being waged.

♪ She'll be coming round the
mountain when she comes

♪ She'll be coming round the
mountain when she comes

♪ She'll be coming round the mountain

♪ She'll be coming round the mountain

♪ She'll be coming round the
mountain when she comes

♪ Oh, we'll all go out to meet
her when she comes

♪ Oh, we'll all go out to meet
her when she comes

♪ Oh, we'll all go out to meet her

♪ We'll all go out to greet her

♪ Oh, we'll all go out to meet
her when she comes

♪ Oh, we'll all have chicken and
dumplings when she comes

♪ Oh, we'll all have chicken and
dumplings when she comes

♪ We'll all have chicken and dumplings
when she comes down the mountain

♪ Oh, we'll all have chicken and
dumplings when she comes

By the end of 1868,

the Central Pacific was 446
miles from Sacramento,

and the Union Pacific was


Only 400 miles of track were left.

The two railroads drove their
crews harder and harder.

The Union Pacific pushed
toward Ogden, Utah,

and the Central Pacific
to Promontory, Utah.

The Union Pacific, battling
the mountains of Wyoming,

finally got a taste of what their
rivals had faced in the Sierra.

But they built a railroad bridge


topping even the summit
tunnel of the Sierra.

In their rush to beat each other,

graders from both railroads
actually passed each other,

going in opposite directions.

With only 50 miles now separating
the tracks of the two railroads,

President Ulysses Grant
decided that the Union Pacific

and Central Pacific should
meet at Promontory, Utah.

California's Governor Leland Stanford

brought his rail car to the
outskirts of Promontory.

He had brought along
many prominent guests.

♪ I've been working on the railroad

♪ All the live long day

♪ I've been working on the railroad

♪ Just to pass the time of day

♪ Can you hear the whistle blowing

♪ Rise up early in the morn

♪ Can you hear the captain shouting

♪ Diana won't you blow your horn

♪ Diana won't you blow

♪ Diana won't you blow

♪ Diana won't you blow
your horn, your horn

♪ Diana won't you blow

♪ Diana won't you blow

♪ Diana won't you blow your horn

♪ Someone in the kitchen with Diana

♪ Someone in the kitchen I know

♪ Someone in the kitchen with Diana

♪ Strumming on the old banjo

Look at all the photographers
and reporters.

They're from all over the country.

Look over there.

Those workers are laying
down the last rails.

Wow! There are only
eight rails left to go.

There must be over 500 people here.

Mr. Crocker says people
will now be able to go

from one ocean to
another in ten days.

Well, up to now,
it's taken almost six months.

Look at the soldiers over there.

And the band.

♪ My eyes have seen the glory
of the coming of the Lord

♪ He is trampling out the vintage
where the grapes of wrath are stored

♪ He hath loosed the fateful
lightning of his terrible swift sword

♪ His truth is marching on

♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah

♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah

♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah

♪ His truth is marching on

See that little table, Charlie Brown?

There's a Mr. Schilling sitting there.

There's a wire running from the
table up to that telegraph pole.

As soon as they join the rails,

Mr. Schilling is going
to tap out the message

to the operators all
across the nation.

Look!

Governor Stanford is presenting
Mr. Durant with a golden spike.

And now, Governor Stanford and
Mr. Durant are shaking hands.

Governor Stanford's going
to drive the last spike.

He missed it, Linus.

He missed the spike.

Look, now Mr. Durant is going to try.

Good grief, I can't believe it.

He missed it, too.

General U.S. Grant,

President of the United States,

we have the honor

to report the last rail laid

and the last spike driven.

The Pacific Railroad is finished.

Look, Linus.

The photographer is
going to take a picture.

This was to become one of
the most famous photographs

in American history.

Ironically, although the Chinese were
the backbone of the Central Pacific,

not a single Chinese worker
appeared in this picture.

In a way, this was a symbol
of the negative side

of this unbelievable project.

Throughout construction,

workers on both sides were
underpaid and overworked,

and many lost their lives.

Also, it would be the beginning
of the end of the frontier,

the beginning of the end of the
lifestyle of the American Indian.

And yet, the Transcontinental Railroad
was truly a construction miracle.

The Central Pacific,
men against mountains.

Bloomer Cut,


a world's wonder at the time.

The west end of the
Sierra Summit Tunnel,

Central Pacific's largest trestle,
at Secret Town,



built by thousands of Chinese workers.

Engines testing Long Ravine Bridge.

The supply trains,
inching their way through the Sierra.

Removing one cartload
of dirt at a time.

And the Union Pacific.

Surveyors scaling the cliffs.

Covered wagon supplies
through the gorges.

Grading crews,
challenging the mountains.

The magnificent Dale Creek Bridge.



Risking lives by testing
how much weight

the trestle can hold at Devil's Gate.

Testing and risking again.

The trestle at Promontory.

Overall, the greatest railroad
construction in history.



The distance equal to crossing
the continent of Europe.

And completed in
half the time expected.

Immigrants from eastern states
and from foreign shores

would now pour into
the western regions.

Fruits and vegetables would
be shipped west to east.

And manufactured goods
would be shipped east to west.

Tiny makeshift towns would
soon grow to be major cities.

Many more states would be
added to the United States.

The workers of the Union
Pacific and Central Pacific

had worked a miracle.

And the United States became
a nation from sea to shining sea.

♪ Get on board, little children

♪ Get on board, little children

♪ Get on board, little children

♪ There's room for many a-more

♪ The little back trains that come in

♪ I hear it around the bend

♪ I hear the big wheels rumbling

♪ Rolling through the land

♪ Get on board, little children

♪ Get on board, little children

♪ Get on board, little children

♪ There's room for many a-more