The West the Railroads Made

The West the Railroads Made PDF Author: Carlos A. Schwantes
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 262

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Book Description
Includes schedule of the California Zephyr, and brief comments about points of interest along the route from Chicago to San Francisco.

The West the Railroads Made

The West the Railroads Made PDF Author: Carlos A. Schwantes
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 262

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Book Description
Includes schedule of the California Zephyr, and brief comments about points of interest along the route from Chicago to San Francisco.

From the River to the Sea

From the River to the Sea PDF Author: John Sedgwick
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1982104309
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
“Riveting...A great read, full of colorful characters and outrageous confrontations back when the west was still wild.” —George R.R. Martin A propulsive and panoramic history of one of the most dramatic stories never told—the greatest railroad war of all time, fought by the daring leaders of the Santa Fe and the Rio Grande to seize, control, and create the American West. It is difficult to imagine now, but for all its gorgeous scenery, the American West might have been barren tundra as far as most Americans knew well into the 19th century. While the West was advertised as a paradise on earth to citizens in the East and Midwest, many believed the journey too hazardous to be worthwhile—until 1869, when the first transcontinental railroad changed the face of transportation. Railroad companies soon became the rulers of western expansion, choosing routes, creating brand-new railroad towns, and building up remote settlements like Santa Fe, Albuquerque, San Diego, and El Paso into proper cities. But thinning federal grants left the routes incomplete, an opportunity that two brash new railroad men, armed with private investments and determination to build an empire across the Southwest clear to the Pacific, soon seized, leading to the greatest railroad war in American history. In From the River to the Sea, bestselling author John Sedgwick recounts, in vivid and thrilling detail, the decade-long fight between General William J. Palmer, the Civil War hero leading the “little family” of his Rio Grande, and William Barstow Strong, the hard-nosed manager of the corporate-minded Santa Fe. What begins as an accidental rivalry when the two lines cross in Colorado soon evolves into an all-out battle as each man tries to outdo the other—claiming exclusive routes through mountains, narrow passes, and the richest silver mines in the world; enlisting private armies to protect their land and lawyers to find loopholes; dispatching spies to gain information; and even using the power of the press and incurring the wrath of the God-like Robber Baron Jay Gould—to emerge victorious. By the end of the century, one man will fade into anonymity and disgrace. The other will achieve unparalleled success—and in the process, transform a sleepy backwater of thirty thousand called “Los Angeles” into a booming metropolis that will forever change the United States. Filled with colorful characters and high drama, told at the speed of a locomotive, From the River to the Sea is an unforgettable piece of American history “that seems to demand a big-screen treatment” (The New Yorker).

Nothing Like It In the World

Nothing Like It In the World PDF Author: Stephen E. Ambrose
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 9780743203173
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 468

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Book Description
The story of the men who build the transcontinental railroad in the 1860's.

The Railroad Fuels Westward Expansion (1870s)

The Railroad Fuels Westward Expansion (1870s) PDF Author: Russell Roberts
Publisher: Mitchell Lane Publishers, Inc.
ISBN: 1612283640
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 52

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Book Description
There was once a time when the idea of a transcontinental railroad was considered foolish—a waste of time and resources. After all, what use was a railroad through the desolate regions of western America? However, as the United States began to expand and more and more settlers made their way west by horseback or covered wagon, the concept of a railroad spanning the country made more and more sense. Finally, in the midst of an epic civil war, President Abraham Lincoln signed the law that called for the building of a transcontinental railroad. There were many obstacles for the railroad builders to overcome. Harsh weather, mountains, hostile attacks, and even a lack of manpower were just some of the problems that had to be overcome. However, eventually the railroad builders triumphed, and finally train whistles could be heard echoing over the once quiet landscape of the western United States.

Historical Memoir of the Western Railroad

Historical Memoir of the Western Railroad PDF Author: George Bliss
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Railroads
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description


The Story of the Western Railroads

The Story of the Western Railroads PDF Author: Robert E. Riegel
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 380

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Book Description
Account of the railroad conquest of the United States.

Iron Muse

Iron Muse PDF Author: Glenn Willumson
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520955420
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 329

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Book Description
The construction of the transcontinental railroad (1865–1869) marked a milestone in United States history, symbolizing both the joining of the country’s two coasts and the taming of its frontier wilderness by modern technology. But it was through the power of images—and especially the photograph—that the railroad attained its iconic status. Iron Muse provides a unique look at the production, distribution, and publication of images of the transcontinental railroad: from their use as an official record by the railroad corporations, to their reproduction in the illustrated press and travel guides, and finally to their adaptation to direct sales and albums in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Tracing the complex relationships and occasional conflicts between photographer, publisher, and curator as they crafted the photographs’ different meanings over time, Willumson provides a comprehensive portrayal of the creation and evolution of an important slice of American visual culture.

The History of the Western Railroads

The History of the Western Railroads PDF Author: Jane Eliot
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780671069841
Category : Pacific railroads
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
A history of the western railroads, and the difference they made in the exploration and settling of the American West.

Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America

Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America PDF Author: Richard White
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393082601
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1000

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Book Description
A Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize "A powerful book, crowded with telling details and shrewd observations." —Michael Kazin, New York Times Book Review The transcontinental railroads were the first corporate behemoths. Their attempts to generate profits from proliferating debt sparked devastating economic panics. Their dependence on public largesse drew them into the corridors of power, initiating new forms of corruption. Their operations rearranged space and time, remade the landscape of the West, and opened new ways of life and work. Their discriminatory rates sparked a new antimonopoly politics. The transcontinentals were pivotal actors in the making of modern America, but the triumphal myths of the golden spike, Robber Barons larger than life, and an innovative capitalism all die here. Instead we have a new vision of the Gilded Age, often darkly funny, that shows history to be rooted in failure as well as success.

Empire Express

Empire Express PDF Author: David Haward Bain
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101658045
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1432

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Book Description
After the Civil War, the building of the transcontinental railroad was the nineteenth century's most transformative event. Beginning in 1842 with a visionary's dream to span the continent with twin bands of iron, Empire Express captures three dramatic decades in which the United States effectively doubled in size, fought three wars, and began to discover a new national identity. From self--made entrepreneurs such as the Union Pacific's Thomas Durant and era--defining figures such as President Lincoln to the thousands of laborers whose backbreaking work made the railroad possible, this extraordinary narrative summons an astonishing array of voices to give new dimension not only to this epic endeavor but also to the culture, political struggles, and social conflicts of an unforgettable period in American history.