Travel across Iowa, Nebraska and Wyoming to discover how the Union Pacific Railroad built the West 150 years ago.
A century and a half ago the Iron Horse galloped across the prairie and plains of Nebraska then over and around the mountains and across the southern Red Desert of Wyoming, spawning a few dozen cities that remain today and dozens more end-of-tracks towns that were brief enterprises.
Thomas C. Durant, vice president and general manager of Union Pacific, president of the Credit Mobilier, and a self-serving financial strategist, managed construction, but the work started slowly. Only 40 miles of track costing more than $500,000, was in place by the end of 1865, described by a newspaper reporter as “two streaks of rust across the Nebraska prairie.” Durant hired a young Union general and civil engineer, Grenville Dodge, who had built or rebuilt railroads during the Civil War and with whom Durant had worked on railroad construction in Iowa.
Our journey begins in Council Bluffs, Iowa, at Mile 0—the eastern terminus for the Union Pacific. When in Council Bluffs visit the Dodge House, the Union Pacific Railroad Museum, and the Rails West Railroad Museum. That orientation will prepare you for the journey ahead.
Across the Missouri, stately old Union Station in Omaha now houses the Durham Museum. At the nearby Union Pacific Museum you’ll find furniture and other items closely related to President Abraham Lincoln, who in 1862 had signed the Pacific Railway Act, leading to construction of the railroad.
この記事は True West の October 2018 版に掲載されています。
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この記事は True West の October 2018 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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FIREARMS COLT WALKER 47
THE LEGENDARY HANDGUN THAT REALLY WON THE WEST
HERITAGE TRAVE
THE AMERICAN WEST IN ALL ITS GLORY OUR ANNUAL FAVORITES LIST CELEBRATES DESTINATIONS ACROSS THE WESTERN UNITED STATES.
Wild Turkey, and Not the Drinkin' Kind
The actual bird was a favorite of pioneers.
THE PASSION PROJECTS OF THE MODERN WESTERN
A YEAR OF UNDERRATED EXCELLENCE
WESTERN BOOKS THEN AND NOW
THE STATE OF WESTERN HISTORY AND FICTION PUBLISHING IN 2024 IS ONE OF GRIT AND DETERMINATION.
SAMUEL WALKER VALIANT WARRIOR
While a prisoner at the castle of Perote, Walker was put to work raising a flagpole. At the bottom of the hole, Walker placed a Yankee dime, vowing to someday come back and retrieve it, at the same time exacting revenge on his Mexican captors. In the summer of 1847, when Walker's mounted riflemen returned and routed Santa Anna's guerillas, the young captain kept his promise and got his dime back.
THE BATTLE OF CENTRALIA
ON September 27, 1864, Bloody Bill Anderson and about 80 men took over the small railroad village of Centralia, looting stores and discovering a barrel of whiskey that they hauled out into the street. Wild enough when sober, they soon were roaring drunk.
THE MAN WHO SHOOTS THE WEST
Jay Dusard is a living American photographer who has made Arizona his home for over 60 years, seeing it first in 1960 on a visit, moving here for good in 1963.
A TRUE WESTERNER INDEED PHIL SPANGENBERGER 1940-2024
Spangenberger had Nevada trained to bow by the legendary horse trainer, Glenn Randall, who trained Roy Rogers' Trigger, Gene Autry's Champion, Rex Allen's Koko and the Ben Hur chariot horses, among other great equines.
Where Did the Loot Go? - This is one of those find the money stories. And it's one that has attracted treasure hunters for more than 150 years.
Whatever happened to the $97,000 from the Reno Gang's last heist? Up to a dozen members of the Reno Gang stopped a Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis train at a watering station in southern Indiana. The outlaws had prior intelligence about its main load: express car safes held about $97,000 in government bonds and notes. In the process of the job, one of the crew was killed and two others hurt. The gang made a clean getaway with the loot.
