The Transcontinental Railroad

Welcome to Civics and Coffee. My name is Alycia and I am a self-professed history nerd. Each week, I am going to chat about a topic on U.S history and give you both the highlights and occasionally break down some of the complexities in history; and share stories you may not remember learning in high school. All in the time it takes to enjoy a cup of coffee. 

INTRO MUSIC

Hey everyone. Welcome back. 

On May 10th, 1869 government officials, laborers, and businessmen traveled to a little town in Utah to celebrate a monumental achievement: the completion of the nation’s first transcontinental railroad. As the iconic golden spike was driven into the final rail, cannons on both coasts went off, church bells rang throughout the country, and townsfolk gathered for a series of parades all in celebration of the country uniting from east to west. The transcontinental railroad altered the landscape of the United States and permanently altered the nation’s economy, but it wasn’t always considered a sure thing. 

This week I am diving into the history of the transcontinental railroad. How did the idea originate? Who built the tracks? And what legacy did the rail leave behind? 

Grab your cup of coffee, peeps. Let’s do this. 

Railroads in the United States date back to 1826 when The Granite Railway opened a three mile track in Quincy, Massachusetts. Initially, railroads were local efforts and individual tracks did not extend beyond a few miles. However, as technology evolved so too did the ideas for how to leverage this new source of transportation and by 1850, over 9,000 miles of track existed but was overwhelmingly spread throughout the Northeast. Despite the thousands of Americans who went west under the pull of Manifest Destiny, railroads had not yet followed, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying. One of the railroads earliest supporters and promoters was a man named Asa Whitney who published a booklet in 1849 pushing the idea of a coast to coast railroad. Titled A Project for a Railroad to the Pacific, Whitney wrote about the expediency required to establish a railroad and highlighted how the increased migration to the western half of the country demanded prompt action. While Congress did not authorize Whitney’s plan, he was successful at making the idea of a railroad to the Pacific Ocean a topic of conversation throughout the country. Interest in a coast to coast railroad only increased after gold was discovered along the river banks of California as the United States Army became interested in protecting the territory as well as the cargo traveling from coast to coast. In 1853, Congress appropriated funding for the Army Topographic Corps who would be overseen by Secretary of War Jefferson Davis, to conduct land surveys to determine the best route for a railroad that ran from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.

On the eve of the Civil War, just over 31,000 miles of track existed throughout the United States, still mostly focused on the eastern half of the country. As they were usually locally built, there were no uniform standards of measurements or shared platforms or terminals. President Abraham Lincoln supported a rail length of 4 feet 8.5 inches - and railroad companies soon adopted it as their standard measurement, making it easier to eventually connect the various rail lines. In 1860, practically trained engineer Theodore Judah saw the potential in building a railway in the west and approached several others including future California Governor Leland Stanford to incorporate as the Central Pacific Railroad. However, before the investors put out any money to build the rail, they wanted to know exactly how much it would cost. Judah had thus far been unable to finance an independent survey of the area and managed to convince investors to fund his project. The engineer trekked up the Sierra mountains and believed he could leverage the natural landscape to build the railroad. Judah estimated that building the railroad would cost 12 million dollars. Congress was initially hesitant to issue any funding for construction as the nation was in the midst of a Civil War, but President Lincoln believed there was more to be gained than lost in securing a route to the west. As historian Richard White observes, quote: “it was through Judah’s efforts and the support of Abraham Lincoln, who saw military benefits in the lines as well as the bonding of the Pacific Coast to the Union, that the Pacific Railroad finally became a reality,” end quote. 

Thus, in July 1862, Congress passed the Pacific Railway Act which authorized land subsidies and loans to build the first ever transcontinental railroad. The act authorized the distribution of government bonds to private companies interested in constructing the rail and gave two rail companies the authorization to begin construction, Theodore Judah’s Central Pacific who build from west to east and the Union Pacific, who would be tasked with building the railroad west starting near the Missouri river. The bill provided railroad companies 6400 acres of land for every mile of track laid and up to 48 thousand in government bonds for every mile of track finished. Congress built in some safeguards, including a provision holding back 20% of the payments until the entire line was complete and stating no money would be issued until the companies built 40 miles of working railroad. Congress gave the companies 12 years to get the two lines done and connected - otherwise they’d forfeit all associated railroad assets. 

With funding in hand, the Central Pacific broke ground on January 8, 1863. Merchant Charles Crocker was selected to be the Central Pacific’s contractor, a decision that did not sit well with Theodore Judah. Opportunities for grift and fraud were abundant when it came to establishing the railroad and the company's decision to use Crocker as its contractor made Judah worry that the company was perhaps less serious than it stated publicly about actually building the rail. Not to be deterred, members of the Central Pacific pushed Judah out and refused to honor contracts Judah signed with suppliers. The members of the company gave Judah two options: either he could buy them out, or they would buy him out. Judah travelled east in an effort to raise money, but contracted typhoid or yellow fever and died before he could try to take his company back. 

Meanwhile, the Union Pacific focused on maximizing profit over construction. Thomas C. Durant, the Union Pacific’s Vice President, chartered a separate company titled the Credit Moblier, a fake construction company that allowed shareholders to reap significant profits over the supposed costs associated with constructing the railroad without having to risk anything beyond their initial investment. The Credit Moblier was established as a limited liability corporation - one of the first in American history. Under the terms of this new company, investors were able to put money into the company, but were only responsible for their investment should something go wrong. Prior to the Credit Moblier, investors were liable for the entirety of the loss, meaning their personal holdings were also at risk so the idea of limited liability was a very attractive investment strategy and Durant used this perk to entice some Congressmen to invest in the company - the same men who were seemingly charged with performing oversight over the railroad’s construction. Durant over inflated the costs of construction, such as charging the federal government $50,000 for each mile of track. The contract for the first 247 miles of track was listed as costing 12 million, double the actual costs, ensuring a massive amount of profits for investors. However, because Congressional oversight was nonexistent, schemes like this ran rampant to the point that by July 1865, not a single track had been laid, despite the massive profits from the Credit Moblier. 

Congress began to get cold feet at the lack of progress and there was a sense that perhaps they would pull their support for the Union Pacific. This motivated Vice President Durant to actually start construction and the Union Pacific, benefitting from a pool of Civil War veterans in search of work, began laying track, completing 40 miles by the end of 1865. Out west, the Central Pacific’s biggest hurdle continued to be attracting and keeping a workforce. Despite issuing a handbill calling for 5,000 men, only 200 showed up. Desperate, Charles Croker suggested the company explore hiring Chinese laborers. Some members of the Central Pacific were skeptical that the Chinese would be up for the job - suggesting they lacked the strength necessary to build. Crocker countered this hesitation by highlighting that if the Chinese could be the Great Wall, they should have no issues building the rail. Still unsure of the efficacy of hiring the Chinese, the Central Pacific initially hired just 50 Chinese workers as a trial. When they proved successful, the company hired 50 more. Then 100 before eventually, the company was dominated by Chinese laborers who comprised up to 80% of the Central Pacific’s workforce. 

The earliest miles laid out west were the easiest, but they quickly hit massive roadblocks as the company reached the Sierra Nevada mountains. Building platforms for the rail was a long, tedious, manual process which called for chiseling one foot into the rock’s surface, filling the hole with black powder, and then getting out of the way as quickly as possible before the fuse exploded. The Central Pacific went through over 500 kegs of black powder every day in their attempts to command the granite mountain. And while building platforms was a dangerous exercise, the hardest work facing the Central Pacific was the seven separate tunnels that needed to be built at Donner Summit, including the 1,659 foot Summit Tunnel. Construction began in the fall of 1866 as workers faced snow storm after snowstorm. Despite the frigid temperatures, crews worked in man made caves nonstop, splitting the work over three shifts, averaging a measly one foot per day. Concerned that they would be outpaced and outmatched by the Union Pacific, members of the Central Pacific began looking for anything that could help speed up their work, including the use of liquid nitroglycerin - a powerful, yet incredibly unstable, form of explosive. According to a PBS documentary, liquid nitroglycerin was so dangerous that transportation of the explosive was prohibited in California. Luckily for the Central Pacific, a scientist came forward claiming he could mix the explosive on site and he was quickly sent to the construction zone to help get through as much rock as possible. 

The gamble paid off and workers were able to double the amount of work completed in a day. Of course it was the Chinese laborers who were tasked with the most dangerous aspects of the work. They received no hazard or bonus pay for their efforts and were the least compensated. Chinese laborers briefly attempted to strike to demand a higher rate of pay, but the Central Pacific played hardball, cutting off food and supplies to those in the field, prompting the Chinese to relent and agree to go back to work for $35 a month. 

Out in the east, the Union Pacific’s major hurdles lie in bad management practices and dealing with indigenous americans who were trying to protect their historic homelands. Members of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes tried desperately to safeguard what little land they had left and were concerned about the loss of their main staple, the buffalo. Struggling with starvation and disease, some members of the tribes attacked wagon trains, stole livestock, and occasionally scalped white settlers. Despite these hurdles, the Union Pacific was still able to lay an impressive 3 miles of track per day and workers stayed close to the worksite, sleeping in rolling dormitories built specifically for the rail. In 1866, one estimate states the Union Pacific laid an impressive 265 miles of track, further increasing pressure on the Central Pacific to increase their output. As historian Richard White observed quote, “pitting the Central Pacific against the Union Pacific ensured that what might have been done relatively methodically, efficiently, and cheaply would be done badly, expensively, but quickly. Much of it would have to be redone,” end quote. 

Speed was not something the Central Pacific could accomplish easily as the materials needed to build the rail were manufactured in the eastern half of the United States and had to be shipped via boat to the port in San Francisco before heading on a barge on the Sacramento River. Combining shipping delays with the fact that their route mandated tunneling through rock in the Sierras, it is perhaps no surprise that it took the Central Pacific five years to lay just over 100 miles of track. Out east, the Union Pacific began to feel the pain previously felt by their competitor when it reached the eastern mountains of Utah, which were made of black limestone and quartzite. Despite the hurdles, both companies were feeling the pressure to build as much as possible and once the Central Pacific hit Nevada, they were committed to laying as much track as possible, successfully laying 6 miles in a single day. 

As the nation watched, both companies built at a frantic pace yet still had not decided on a meeting place. Previous discussions aimed at deciding a final meeting place often devolved into shouting matches as both sides wanted to make sure they maximized profits to the fullest extent possible. The failure to reach an agreement meant that the competing companies began overlapping their lines as surveyors laid two separate routes. The corruption was at a fever pitch and the press, who was once impressed with the efforts of the two railroad companies, began to turn the tide - and by extension, public support - for the rail. Thus, the two companies finally came together and decided that the two tracks would meet in the Promontory Mountains in Utah at a place called Promontory Summit, which one historian described as quote unquote the most god forsaken place you could imagine. 

With the meeting place decided, the country waited for word that the construction was complete. Finally, on a bright day on May 10th, 1869 government officials and company men joined the hundreds of laborers at Promontory Summit to watch as Leland Stanford drove in the ceremonial golden spike to mark the completion of the railroad. Seven years after Congress authorized construction, the country was connected via the rail. The news of the railroad's completion spread throughout the country.  

As the New York Times wrote quote: “The completion of the Pacific Railroad has monopolized public attention here today to the exclusion of everything else. The feeling is one of hearty rejoicing at the completion of this great work. There were no public observances, but the arrangements made by the telegraph company to announce the completion of the road simultaneously with the driving of the last spike were perfect. At 2:20 this afternoon, Washington time, all the telegraph offices in the country were notified by the Omaha telegraph office to be ready to receive the signals corresponding to the blows of the hammer that drove the last spike in the last rail that united New York and San Francisco with a band of iron,” end quote. 

To say the railroad permanently altered the country would be an understatement. Railroads influenced local economies, driving up the value of the land near train stations; they made it possible to move large quantities of goods for minimal cost. As historian Jill Lepore notes, the railroads made it quote “possible to move one ton of freight one mile for less than 7/10 of 1 cent,” end quote. By 1885, 200,000 miles of track existed in the United States, more than all of Europe. And while the railroad helped fuel the economy, it also created a lot of instability in the markets and contributed to economic recessions. There were casualties in building the rail; hundreds, if not thousands, of iron workers and Chinese laborers died while constructing the rail. And of course, the ultimate casualty was the tremendous loss of the buffalo and the freedom plains indians once had as they were forcibly placed onto reservations in order to allow white settlers to establish towns and cities along the newly established rail.

The quest to build a national railroad created stiff competition where unethical businessmen found new and creative ways to make a fortune off of government contracts. The railroad connected the two coasts, making it possible to ship goods and people thousands of miles in a fraction of the time, but its construction came at a significant cost. In the end, the railroad was more than just an engineering marvel; it was a symbol of ambition, greed, and the consequences of unchecked power.

Thanks, peeps. I will see you next week.

Thanks for tuning and I hope you enjoyed this episode of Civics & Coffee. If you want to hear more small snippets from american history, be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening and I look forward to our next cup of coffee together. 

OUTRO MUSIC