In the summer of 1863, an unscrupulous businessman named Thomas Durant gained control of the Union Pacific Railroad, the company chartered by Congress to build the transcontinental railroad westward from the Missouri River. Durant quickly used his new position to siphon money into his own pockets.2,000 miles to the west in California, on the other end of the ... Show More
Nov 2024
Transcontinental Railroad | Hell on Wheels | 3
In early 1866, Central Pacific workers were stalled in California, facing the monumental task of blasting 15 tunnels through solid granite in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Thousands of Chinese laborers would be pushed to their breaking point.One-thousand miles to the east, workers ... Show More
38m 52s
Dec 2024
Transcontinental Railroad | The Golden Spike | 4
In January 1869, leaders of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific met in Washington, D.C. to discuss the final stretch of construction. For years, the two railroads had been advancing toward each other without a defined location for their tracks to meet. But now, their grading cr ... Show More
39m 36s