The Age of the “Iron Horse”
Growth of Railroads
Most of the first railroads in America hauled goods short distances, often from ships to
warehouses, using horses or oxen for power. The concept of the railroad as a means of
long-distance transportation may have originated with John Stevens, the inventor who
developed one of the first steamboats. In 1825 Stevens built a half-mile circular track on his
estate in New Jersey and created the first steam locomotive to run on rails in the United
States. Though his invention was not ready for commercial use, the idea sparked interest
among other inventors. Around this time, English engineer George Stephenson designed a
successful steam locomotive in England. The world’s first steam-powered, public passenger
train, the British Stockton & Darlington Railway, soon began operation, and railroads quickly
took over as England’s major transportation system.
•
Steam Engine: An engine that burns fuel to heat water into steam, which becomes the power that
turns the parts of the engine.
•
In its simplest form, a steam locomotive consists of a firebox (a box in which the fire burns), a
boiler (a tube or set of connected tubes, in which water is heated to steam), a cylinder (a tubeshaped chamber or tank), and wheels, all of which are mounted on a rigid frame. The flames in
the firebox heat water in the boiler to create steam. The steam is directed into a cylinder where its
force is used to push a plunger (a mechanism that plunges, or is thrust). The plunger is attached
to the driving wheel of the engine by a connecting rod. Driving wheels are the wheels that move a
train along, as opposed to carrying wheels which distribute the weight of the engine. The force of
the plunger causes the drive wheels to turn, which moves the engine along the track.
Americans relied almost entirely on English steam locomotive technology for their first trains.
For example, in 1830 Robert Livingston Stevens (1787–1856), the son of John Stevens and
president of New Jersey's Camden and Amboy Railroad, went to England to visit the best
steam locomotive factory. Stevens ordered a train, the John Bull, and had it sent in parts to
the United States. The John Bull was by far the most advanced steam locomotive in the
country, but it was not adapted to the United States. Because U.S. railroad tracks had
been built much more roughly than European tracks, the high−performance British
locomotive, with its fixed, four−wheel suspension, did not fare well on them, derailing and
breaking axles on the uneven rails. To make the John Bull hold to the tracks, mechanics
added a bogie truck, a set of four leading carrying wheels that could swivel independently on
the track and prevent derailing. With this adaptation, the John Bull was classified as a 4−4−0,
meaning it had four leading wheels, four drivers, and no trailing wheels. This design
became standard to the American engine, along with other adaptations, such as spark
−arresting stacks to prevent fires, cow catchers (implements that pushed objects out of the
train's way), and bells and whistles to warn people of their approach. U.S. manufacturers
soon took over construction of American steam locomotives in large new factories filled with
complex machinery and staffed by highly skilled workmen.
America’s first railroad
•
In 1826 a group of Baltimore, Maryland,
businessmen began looking for a way their
city could compete with the now—bustling
port city of New York. They decided to
launch the first American railway the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) which
would extend between Baltimore and the
Ohio River. The businessmen estimated
that they would need about three million
dollars to fund the venture. They received
approval from the state of Maryland to
create a corporation
–
–
Under this legal arrangement, the three
million dollars needed to support the venture
was to be raised by the sale of stock shares
to the public.
An enthusiastic public (twenty-two thousand
individuals) bought up the shares in twelve
days—in the end, nearly every family in the
state had purchased stock in the company.
A Baltimore and Ohio locomotive
Before Cornelius Vanderbilt founded the New York Central
Railroad, rails did run from New York City to Chicago.
Before Cornelius consolidated the railroad, it took
passengers and freight 50 hours to make the trip in which
they had to be transferred seventeen times between cities.
After consolidation, there were no transfers during a twentyfour hour trip. Iron rails and wood bridges were replaced tih
steel on his railroad and he built double tracks for safer
more efficient traffic.
In the East, there were four trunk lines that
connected the eastern seaboard cities with the
two western rail centers (St. Louis and
Chicago). These trunk lines included the
Pennsylvania Railroad, which was
headquartered in Philadelphia and connected
Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, Baltimore, D.C., and
New York. The line split in Pittsburgh—one
went to Chicago and the other went to St. Louis.
The Pennsylvania Railroad was the biggest,
wealthiest, and most powerful of the trunk lines.
The Pennsylvania Railroad was self-labeled
(“the Standard of Railroads”). The Pennsylvania
Railroad set records insofar as it paid dividends
on the New York Stock Exchange in every year
of its existence. In the 1880s and 1890s the
Pennsylvania Railroad was the largest
corporation in the United States. The New York
Central Railroad rivaled the Pennsylvania
Railroad and was organized by “the
Commodore” Cornelius Vanderbilt.The New
York Central Railroad went from New York City
to Albany and Buffalo and then from Buffalo to
both Cleveland and Chicago as well as to
Indianapolis and the Ohio Railroad. The other
two trunk lines included the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad (previous slide) and the Erie
Railroad.
By 1865 the U.S. was already the world’s leading
railway country with approximately 35 systems of
integrated lines that tied together distant markets and
regions. Except for the Baltimore ,Ohio and Erie
Railroads, American rail lines had been built by
entrepreneurs who thought in regional terms. They
had constructed their liens to connect two nearby
cities, or they had run tracks from a city into the
surrounding countryside. While useful, these feeder
lines (connecting major trunk lines) reinforced the
traditional local patterns of commerce rather than
encouraging the development of factories with
national and international markets. As a result, the
older more populated regions of the country, where
immediate profits could be made, were crisscrossed
by railroads. This pattern often led to fierce/
destructive (cut-throat) competition among the
railroads of those regions. On the other hand,
sparsely settled areas where there were only
potential profits, had few if any lines.
The cost of running a railroad is high (e.g .track
maintenance, engine maintenance, wages and
salaries for workers, fuel consumption, etc.). It cost
nearly as much money to run empty trains as it did to
run full ones. No railroad could afford to halt
operations. If and when a railroad faced competition
for traffic, it was usually forced to cut its rates (either
directly through discounts or by offering large
shippers rebates/returns of part of their payments to
keep their business). This competition was ruthless
and often self-destructive for the railroads.
A new form of business organization
An enterprise as costly as building a railroad demanded more money than any one individual
could invest. Prior to 1809 people wishing to participate in joint economic enterprises usually
formed partnerships, in which each partner was personally liable, or responsible, for the
entire debt of the organization. Corporations became the solution for financing such largescale business ventures after 1809, when courts began to recognize the right of private
enterprises to incorporate. State charters set the terms by which these early corporations
would be run. Corporations offered many benefits to industrialists. The corporation was,
and still is, a limited-liability organization. That is, each investor risked only the capital he or
she put into it. Corporations were stable, secure, and protected by state laws. They could
endure over long periods of time because they did not have to legally reorganize every time
an owner died or transferred his ownership. Additionally, a corporation was treated by the
courts as a legal “person”; it could establish contracts, sue and be sued, and own property
just like an individual person. Corporations were essential to the rise of industry in the U.S.
because they could raise huge amounts of capital by “going public,” that is, selling ownership
shares to anyone who wanted them. The huge amounts of capital made available by public
sales made it possible for businesspeople to finance large projects like establishing railroads
and factories, which would have been impossible under the old partnership agreements.
Railroads were leaders in business innovation
After the success of the B &O, other new companies also began building railroads. However, many problems
arose during these first years of train travel. The land was vast and the railroad companies did not have a lot
of money. Consequently, American tracks were rough and hastily built. The roadbeds were poorly graded and
the tracks were often uneven, causing trains to derail. Accidents were frequent. Additionally, most railroads
could only afford to build single−track lines. When two trains were scheduled for the same line, one had to
get off on a siding (a short track connected to the main track) and wait for the scheduled train to pass before
continuing. This resulted in great delays. Other problems existed because the railroad companies all used
different gauges, or widths of track, and the competing lines did not connect. Philadelphia, for example, was
served by five different railroads, and passengers and shippers had to hire wagons to carry their belongings
from one company's station to another. The iron−covered wooden rails used on early railroad routes simply
could not handle the heavy locomotives needed to pull trains over the rugged mountain ranges and deep
ravines of the Appalachians. Solid iron rails were the most obvious solution, but the American iron industry
had just begun and could not supply enough iron or skilled ironworkers. In 1830 mechanical engineer Robert
Livingston Stevens (1787–1856; son of inventor John Stevens) solved the problem by designing a solid iron
T−shaped rail. The shape of the rail provided it with more strength than the British rails and did not require
the work of skilled metalworkers on site during construction. Initially, Stevens had the rails manufactured in
Wales and shipped to the United States. The Stevens T−rail quickly became the standard. American railways
grew from about three thousand miles of track in 1840 to thirty thousand miles of track in 1860— more growth
than the rest of the world's rail systems combined. Railroads reduced the price of shipping goods by as much
as 95 percent between 1815 and 1860. These lower costs stimulated production and growth in all areas of
the nation's economy. In addition, the demands of rail construction and finance expanded the nation's
industry. Iron, and later, steel, production rose, and corporation stocks increased in value as a result. The
dramatic growth of long− distance railroads signaled the growth of the United States as an industrialized
nation. Railroads made industry possible by efficiently moving goods throughout the large nation. The railroad
developers were equally vital in setting an example of the tremendous possibilities that arose when large
amounts of capital, coupled with innovation, were used to create and improve large, complex enterprises.
Americans relied almost entirely on English steam locomotive technology for
their first trains. For example, in 1830 Robert Livingston Stevens (the son of
John Stevens and president of New Jersey’s Camden and Amboy Railroad)
went to England to visit the best steam locomotive factory. Stevens ordered a
train, the John Bull, and had it sent in parts to the U.S.. The John Bull was by
far the most advanced steam locomotive in the country, but it was not adapted
to the U.S. Because U.S. railroad tracks had been built much more roughly
than European tracks, the high-performance British locomotive, with its fixed,
four-wheel suspension, did not fare well on them, derailing and breaking axles
on the uneven rails. To make the John Bull hold to the tracks, mechanics
added a bogie truck, a set of four leading carrying wheels that could swivel
independently on the track and prevent derailing. With this adaptation, the
John Bull was classified as a 4-4-0, meaning it had four leading wheels, four
drivers, and no training wheels. This design became standard to the American
engine, along with other adaptations, such as spark-arresting stacks to prevent
fires, cow catchers (implements that pushed objects out of the train’s way), and
bells and whistles to warn people of their approach. U.S. manufacturers soon
took over construction of American steam locomotives in large new factories
filled with complex machinery and staffed by highly skilled workmen.
The iron-covered wooden rails used on early railroad routes simply could not
handle the heavy locomotives needed to pull trains over the rugged mountain
ranges and deep ravines of the Appalachians. Solid iron rails were the most
obvious solution, but the American iron industry had just begun and could not
supply enough iron or skilled ironworkers. In 1830 mechanical engineer Robert
Livingston Stevens (son of inventor John Stevens) solved the problem by
designing a solid iron T-shaped rail. The shape of the rail provided it with more
strength than the British rails and did not require the work of skilled
metalworkers on site during construction. Initially, Stevens had the rails
manufactured in Wales and shipped to the U.S.. The Stevens T-rail quickly
became the standard.
Uniform gauges
Early American railroads were inefficient because few independent companies linked up with one another. These lines went
to the same towns but did not use the same tracks. Goods being shipped over long distances and therefore on several lines
had to be unloaded at one terminal, carted across town by horse and wagon to another terminal, and reloaded onto another
train to a car that fit the gauge of the next railroad. For example, before the Civil War, Chicago and New York were linked by
rail on the map, but cargo going the entire distance had to be unloaded and reloaded as many as six times. Packages sent
by railroad from Charleston, South Carolina to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania had to change railroad cars eight times. This
problem was created by differences in gauges or the distance between the rails (measured from inside of one rail to the
inside of the other rail). Every independent railroad was free to lay track at whatever gauge they chose and of course bought
locomotives and cars that fit their tracks (specialty production of railroad cars). This meant that one company’s train could
not be run on another company’s track.
Uniform gauges
Initially, American tracks were rough and hastily
built. Roadbeds were poorly graded and the
tracks were often uneven causing derailments.
Accidents were frequent. Additionally, most
railroads could only afford to build single-track
lines. When two trains were scheduled for the
same line, one had to get off on a siding (a short
track connected to the main track) and wait for the
scheduled train to pass before continuing. This
resulted in great delays. Other problems existed
because railroad companies all used different
gauges, or widths of track, and the competing
lines did not connect.
•
Some railroad builders put their tracks six feet apart (some closer). By 1860, there were at least 11 different gauges in
U.S.. Philadelphia, for example, was served by five different railroads, and passengers and shippers had to hire wagons
to carry their belongings from one company’s station to another. Formerly, competing railroads used many different
gauges (distances between the two rails) when building their tracks. Because of this, competing lines could not connect
with each other, causing delays and accidents. Still, from the beginning quite a few lines happened to have the same
gauge. George Stephenson, an English railroad inventor, designed his locomotive to measure 4’, 81/2” between the
wheels (the usual distance between the wheels on a wagon). When Stephenson’s locomotives were imported to the
U.S., they had this standard gauge. Naturally, many early railroad lines built their tracks to fit the imported trains. During
the Civil War, in order to ship arms and troops quickly from place to place, many railroads changed to standard gauge.
The completion of the transcontinental railroad with standard gauge in 1869 settled the question because now, if a
railroad wanted to join the traffic across the continent, it’s rails had to be set 4’, 81/2” apart. It was not until 1880 that
some of the railroads of the East and Midwest began to adopt standard gauges of 4 feet 8.5 inches (by 1880,
approximately 80% of the tracks in the U.S.—mostly in the north—were converted to standard gauge with crews going
along the line and loosening the old track, measuring the standard distance between the rails and putting spikes along
the wooden ties. By 4 p.m. on June 1, 1886, southern railroads also converted to standard gauges. By 1890, gauges of
4 feet 8.5 inches was uniform to all regions because Congress passed a law requiring it.
Steel v. iron rails
1856: British engineer Henry Bessemer developed a new process for making steel cheaply. In the
Bessemer process, impurities were removed from molten pig iron by forcing a blast of preheated air
through it. Thus purified, the iron was converted into steel by adding the necessary amounts of carbon
and other substances. The process was accomplished in a large iron barrel that was shaped like a
concrete mixer and lined with bricks that were capable of withstanding high temperatures. The barrel, or
converter, was supported on two triangular frames, between which it could be tilted from a horizontal to a
vertical position. Air was blown in through vents know as tuyéres and located either on the bottom of the
barrel or in the side just above the level of the molten metal. While in a horizontal position, the barrel was
filled with scrap iron, molten pig iron, and lime. Then it was tilted vertically and air was blown through.
After this “blow,” pig iron containing a large amount of manganese was added, and the metal was poured
into a ladle containing the correct amount of carbon. This was done very carefully so that slag, or the
waste from the melting of the ores and separation of metals, would remain behind, to be removed later.
The entire process took from 15 to 30 minutes. Its progress was judged by inspecting the flare of the
flames and gases coming out of the mouth of the converter. This meant that the ironmaker had to be
skilled in estimating the state of the metal by the type and color of the flare. The first Bessemer converter
in the U.S. was built in 1864,
1858: the Siemens-Martin open-hearth method of producing steel was introduced. The first open-hearth
furnace, which was better suited to American iron ore, was built in 1868 in the U.S.
Both processes greatly increased steel production in the U.S. (and thus greatly reduced the cost of
producing steel).
Steel v. iron rails
With cheaper steel, railroad companies could begin to lay steel rails rather than the
troublesome iron ones, which tended to warp.
As the price of steel continued to drop steel rails completely replaced iron rails.
The railroad industry was an economic
multiplier insofar as the railroad was a
major consumer of coal (fired steam
engines), crude oil (lubricant in the steam
engine), and iron ore (rails, locomotive
engines/cars)
Building a transcontinental
railroad
By 1863, the U.S. already had a fairly extensive rail system (moreso in the Northeast)
As the government acquired more land and Americans began migrating West and developing an
economy out west,the idea of building a railroad connecting east-west grew in popularity.
The challenges of constructing a transcontinental line included geography (distance and engineering
obstacles) and financing.
Financing required government assistance. In 1850 Congress passed an authorization bill granting the
transfer of federal (public) land and property by deed or writing. This and other land grants in the
1850s were designed to promote and finance railroad construction.
The government subsidized land acquisition by individuals and companies in order to encourage its
development and to boost the U.S. economy.
Such policies also assisted the government in taking control of Native American lands by placing
settlers there (immigrants and others seeking to move out West for whatever reasons).
The greatest land grants resulted from the Pacific Railway Acts of 1862 and 1864.
The railroads were the biggest land grabbers.
Before the Civil War, the North and South couldn’t agree on a route. Both the North and the South wanted to reap the
fruits of a link-up with California and wanted their section to benefit from a transcontinental route. Where to build a
transcontinental railroad became the principal issue of the Franklin Pierce presidency (1853-1857). The best route was
clearly through El Paso Texas and along the southern boundary of the U.S.. The southern route would have to cross
high mountains only in what is now central Arizona. However, to build this route, the railroad would have to pass
through part of Mexican Territory. The then Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis, solved this problem in 1853 by
purchasing a triangular shaped tract of desert in present day southern Arizona from Mexico for $10 million (the
Gadsden Purchase, named after James Gadsden, the agent responsible for the deal). It appeared as though the
transcontinental railroad would be built in the south (supported by southerners). However, Senator Stephen Douglas of
Illinois, who was Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Territories, revealed a central route plan that would make
Chicago in his home state the eastern terminus of the line. In order to make a central route to California feasible,
Douglas had to organize federal territories in the unorganized prairies of the mid-west. Only in official territories could
the federal government provide the law, order, and security such a great construction project would require. However,
southern congressmen were not likely to support a plan to organize territories so far north, particularly since, under the
Missouri Compromise, slavery would be forbidden in those territories since they were north of 36°30’. Such a
development would have tipped representation in the Senate in the North’s favor jeopardizing southern interests such
as slavery. Obtaining a central route was more important to Douglas than was keeping slavery out of the territories.
Douglas therefore introduced the Kansas Nebraska Act in 1854. According to this plan, the Missouri Compromise line
would be repealed and slavery would no longer be forbidden north of 36°30’. Instead, the choice of whether to legalize
slavery would be left to the voters who settled the newly organized Kansas and Nebraska territories. Popular
Sovereignty (the will of the people) would resolve the question of slavery democratically in the territories, Douglas told
the Senate. With southern support, the Kansas Nebraska Act became law. Southerners only supported this bill,
however, because of the possibility it created to extend slavery into territory it was previously banned from. They still
supported Davis’s sponsorship of the Gadsden Purchase. Meanwhile, a number of northern anti-slavery politicians
detested the Kansas-Nebraska Act as a violation of the “sacred pledge” of the Missouri Compromise. As a result, these
politicians broke from the party and formed the Republican Party. Despite northern positions on slavery, most
northerners still supported Douglas’s proposal of a central rout. When the Civil War broke out all the southern
representatives in Congress resigned their seats and/or were expelled for supporting secession. Without southern
opposition, western farmers, northern industrialists, and businessmen, whose influence had been restrained by the
sectional interests of southerners before secession, now had a free hand to establish policies favorable to themselves,
such as constructing a transcontinental railroad in Chicago through the Central U.S..
Building a railroad was a very risky and costly investment. Investor didn’t know when, if ever, the new railroads would begin to
return a profit and, thus, reward them for their risks. The small population between eastern Kansas and California made it
impossible to attract private investment to construct a transcontinental line. With no customers along the way, there would be no
profits and without profits, no investors. The government wanted to have the railroad built to carry troops and military freight, carry
U.S. mail (would replace the Pony Express), to bind California and Oregon to the rest of the Union, and to promote industrial/
commercial expansion by providing access to raw materials and additional markets. In addition, the railroad would produce
revenue for the government in the form of interest on government loans and the sale of lands to both the railroad and
homesteaders. In fact, by 1945, railroads contributed over $900 million in payments for the land granted to them plus and
additional $103 million in interest (the 131 million acres were originally worth $123 million).
The government provided both grants of land (from the public domain) as well as cash subsidies for the construction of new lines. At the time
the grants of land were given to the railroad companies, it was practically worthless. The $ value of land is measured in terms of its
usefulness. Any land in the central U.S. that wasn’t being used and/or settled fell within the public domain (i.e. it was held by the federal
government). This land (at the time) was of little value to the government since it wasn’t developed or settled yet. It was with this land within
the public domain that the government had the means with which to underwrite/subsidize railroad construction. In 1862, the Congress had
committed the American people to underwriting the construction of a transcontinental line with the Pacific Railway Act under which the federal
government gave away large amounts of land that fell within the public domain to railroad companies for the purpose of laying tracks out
west. In order for the railroads to profit from these grants, they had to exercise their claim on it by building a track and thus encourage
settlement on the lands they received. Once used and developed, the land would increase in value (including the land still owned by the
railroad that remained unsold). This land could then be sold at a profit to the railroad. Additional profits/revenue could be earned in the form of
passenger fares and freight rates. In addition, railroads started advertising campaigns showing life on the Plains as desirable in attempts to
encourage more settlement. What’s more, railroads often offered discounts and rebates to those pioneers/prospective buyers willing to make
the trek. In addition, towns along the proposed routes enticed the builders to choose them as depot sites by offering land, money, and tax
exemptions/credits. These offers were made out of necessity because if/when a railroad bypassed a town, that town often died. Townspeople
were aware of this too as were the railroads who often bid communities against one another. For example, the Atchison, Topeka and Sante
Fe Railroad (often called the Sante Fe Railroad) did not even enter the city of Sante Fe—Instead, it passed through Albuquerque, New
Mexico which offered the better deal.
Under the Pacific Railway Act, the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads would be provided by the government with “railroad
track right of way” in the form of alternating 200 foot wide and ten mile long strips of land running from Omaha to Sacramento
and totaling 6,400 square miles of land. Railroads used this extra land surrounding the track as backing for loans and/or sold it to
raise revenue for construction. For each mile of track the two railroads built they would be given an additional 10 alternate
sections (each measuring 1 square mile) of land on each side of the track. These land grants to the railroads would be taken from
the public domain. The result was a checkerboard pattern belt of land 40 miles wide, of which the railroad company owned half.
The “total federal land grants to the railroads” was larger than the “proportionate land area actually received” because half of the
land grants was “sold to others or withheld”. Even though the federal government and state/local governments offered some help,
the tremendous expansion of the railroad network during the last four decades of the 19 th century was accomplished mainly
through the active private enterprise of railroad magnates within the railroad industry who developed innovative approaches. By
1868, each railroad line was earning approximately $32,000 for every mile of track that was laid.
To expand the amount of public land available to railroad companies, the act also authorized the U.S. to fail to carry out
government treaties previously signed with the different Amerindian groups that granted those groups the same land for their own
use. As a result, work units laying the railroad tracks were often attacked by Native Americans.
• Due to construction/financial/other
difficulties associated with building a
railroad, a number of railroads were never
finished and thus the railroad companies
never exercised their claim or sold the
land they had been given. In those cases,
the federal government took back their title
or deed to the land.
Both the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific Railroad companies began construction in 1863. The
Central Pacific Railroad broke ground at Sacramento in January while The Union Pacific Railroad
Company broke ground at Omaha, Nebraska on December 2nd with great fanfare, but the nation’s
passions, profits, and manpower were soon directed toward the war effort once the Civil War broke
out, so real construction didn’t begin until 1865 due to a labor shortage (most healthy males were
serving in the Union Army). From the start, both companies viewed the project as a race and both
worked at breakneck speed. The result: their hast resulted in a great quantity of poorly made track that
had to be replaced before a train could run on the track (and this took place after they reached Ogden,
Utah.
The Central Pacific Railroad Company was
organized in California by railroad engineer
Theodore Dehone Judah.
To handle the business end of the Central
Pacific, Dehone Judah brought together a group
of California men; “the Big Four”
Collis P. Huntington (store owner)
Leland Stanford (one term California governor
elected in 1862)
Mark Hopkins (businessman)
Charles Crocker (store owner)
Dehone Judah died before construction was fully
underway—still, the “Big Four” went on to
oversee the building of the Central Pacific
Railroad.
Control of the Union Pacific Railroad was largely
under investor and railroad Vice President
Thomas C. Durant.
Railroad construction
Amerindians called the steam locomotive
the “iron horse”.
To construct their end of America’s first transcontinental
railroad, the Union Pacific employed thousands of Civil War
veterans and new Irish immigrants as well as convicts and
freedmen to do pick and shovel work.
All told, over 1,000 miles of Union Pacific track was laid.
Former Union Army Brigadier General, Jack Casement,
was hired to oversee work along the Union Pacific line.
Casement carefully divided construction work into
specialized tasks while establishing a simple, repetitive
routine.
Groups or units were formed based on the type of work or
task: for example, Group A brought in the rail tracks on
horse-drawn carts, Group B unloaded the carts and laid out
the rails, Group C measured the rails to make sure they
were the correct gauge, Group D bolted or joined the rails,
and Group E hammered the spikes into the railroad ties to
secure the rail to the bed (surface of earth prepared with
gravel/broken stones and used as a foundation for the rail.
Through this repetitive process, the Union Pacific Railroad
line expanded at a rate of approximately 2 miles/day.
Meanwhile, workers lived in a mobile tent city which was
transported on flat cars to the point where the new railway
construction ended.
Chinese Railroad workers
Even after the Civil War the Central Pacific Railroad
faced a labor shortage as most Californians were
unwilling to do the difficult and dangerous work and
many could earn more than the railroad’s going rate
of $3-4/day. In addition, laborers in the eastern U.S.
tended to go into mining. To meet this shortage,
Crocker experimented with Chinese laborers as a
last resort. Chinese laborers were willing to accept
the harsh and dangerous conditions more readily
than others. At the time srong anti-Asian sentiment
was strong (In fact, Leland Stanford campaigned in
1862 on the promise to “protect” Californians from
Chinese immigrants). Prejudice resulted from ethnic
differences embodied by the queues (long braids),
different clothing, language, religion, etc. Many
Californians viewed the Chinese as immoral slaves
and drug users (Opium). Central Pacific Railroad
Superintendent Crocker, who wanted to employ
Chinese laborers met with initial stiff opposition from
his construction boss, James Harvey Stobridge, who
argued that the Chinese were too frail for railroad
work. To this, Crocker retorted: “Did they not build
the Chinese Wall, the biggest piece of masonry in
the world?” At first the railroad hired 50 Chinese
laborers on a trial basis and Strobridge was quickly
won over by their on-the-job performance, stating
“they learn quickly, do not fight, have no strikes that
amount to anything, and are very clean in their
habits.”
Chinese Railroad workers
The Chinese proved to be disciplined, sober, productive, efficient,
clean, and healthy (they bathed regularly and ate fresh veggies and
drank boiled tea). In addition, Chinese laborers were willing to work for
less (e.g. the Central Pacific paid Irish workers $35/day with meals
while paying Chinese workers $27/day without meals). Thus, of the
4,000 men at work on the railroad during the summer of 1865, some
90% were Chinese. Over 12,000 Chinese laborers comprised about
80% of the Central Pacific’s labor force. Furthermore, Chinese
laborers were given many of the dangerous jobs. For instance,
builders of the Central Pacific end of the line ran into many problems
while constructing through the canyons and peaks of the Sierra
Nevada mountain range. There were high passes in the mountains
through which the line could snake, but they were narrow and steep.
The work of building through the Sierra Nevada mountains was done
by approximately 10,000 Chinese immigrants who had to chip ledges
into slopes, build roadbeds of rubble in deep canyons, construct
trestles out of huge wood girders, and mine/tunnel their way through
granite when there was no way around. At times, tunnels had to be
blasted through the steep 7,000 fott high peaks. This was intense and
physically demanding work. The Chinese cut through solid rock using
mainly pick axes, often while being perched in precarious positions on
mountain peaks. Heavy loads of rock and dirt had to be carried away
on workers’ backs. In addition, the snow-capped peaks posed special
hazards (especially when blasting TNT) as well as the brutal mountain
winters and the desert heat. Originally, Chinese Workers were
organized into gangs of twenty men under a supervisor. As work
became more difficult, the gangs grew larger.
Chinese Railroad workers
When the Central Pacific needed to build a railway bed half way up the
precipice side of the American River gorge, the job seemed
impossible. Then, some Chinese workers had an idea: they asked for
reeds and wove them into waist high baskets with eyelets for inserting
rope. Each basket held one to two Chinese workers who allowed
themselves to be lowered half way down the cliff. Once there the men
used and drills to bore holes in the cliff for the insertion of blasting
powder. After lighting the fuse, they were pulled to safety before the
explosion (unfortunately, this proved fatal for some). Most Chinese
laborers worked 12 hour days six days a week, living in tents during
bitterly cold winters. On some occasions they slept in tunnels dug
deep beneath the snow. A few froze to death and many died in
avalanches or explosions. Chinese worker bones are still buried on
either side of the tracks all through the Sierra Nevada range.
• During the spring 1869, the Union Pacific
and Central Pacific construction crews
came within sight of one another. The
Union Pacific laid 1,086 miles of track at a
cost of $70-80 million while the Central
Pacific laid 689 miles of track at a cost of
$36 million. When added to existing
railroads, starting from the east coast, the
nation was connected (upon the meeting of
the Union Pacific and Central Pacific liens)
by 3,500 miles of transcontinental railroad
from New York to California.
Credit Mobilier Scandal
As in the consolidation of eastern trunk lines, the business end of financing the construction of th
transcontinental railroad was marred by gross corruption. In 1861 California chartered the Central Pacific
Railroad to build the transcontinental line east from Sacramento. The concession was won by the “Big Four”
railroad barons of California: Collis P. Huntington, Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker.
These barons won the concession partly through luck, partly because Huntington was a quick man with a
payoff. In 1862 Congress chartered the Union Pacific Railroad to build the transcontinental railroad west from
Omaha, Nebraska territory. When the two met, they were to form the nation’s first transcontinental railroad.
The federal government subsidized the building of these lines in the form of government bonds. $16,000 in
subsidies were provided for each mile of track built on the plains; $32,000 for each mile of track built through
hill country, and $48,000 for each mile of track built through mountain ranges. Stockholders in the Union
Pacific Railroad saw an opportunity to make money. These stockholders formed the Credit Mobilier
Construction Company. Construction contracts were paid for by the Union Pacific Railroad to their own
construction company (these construction costs were actually paid for by the rest of the stockholders who
invested in the Union Pacific Railroad). What’s more, The Credit Mobilier Construction Company placed
artificially high bids. The extra money (above the actual construction costs) was pocketed by those Union
Pacific stockholders with money invested in the Credit Mobilier Construction Company. Some members of
Congress owned stock in the Union Pacific Railroad. These congressmen were bribed by agents of the
company with shares of stock in the company or with stock purchased at half price. Those company agents in
turn expected the congressmen on the take to hide their misconduct and possibly block congressional
investigations in the matter. One of the government officials who was bribed was Schuyler Colfax (President
Ulysses S. Grant’s Vice President).
First transcontinental railroad
When the Union Pacific line and the Central Pacific line met at
Promontory Point in Ogden, Utah on May 10, 1869, the nation’s first
transcontinental railroad was built. Railroaders celebrated the joining
of the two lines (and subsequent linking of the U.S. coast to coast
with rails of steel) in a golden spike ceremony. Special trains
carrying railroad officials and their guests arrived for the completion
ceremony.
A golden spike bearing a prayer for national unity
was used to link the two railroad lines.
The transcontinental railroad cut the time it
took to cross the continent from ocean to
ocean from one month to one week.
Furthermore, having made multimillionaires
of its owners, the land grants to the first
transcontinental railroad encouraged other
groups to seek similar subsidies.
Despite their enormous contribution to the construction
of the transcontinental railroad, not one Chinese
worker appeared in this famous photopraph of the
railroad’s completion at Promontory Point, Utah on
May 10, 1869.
Mort Kunstler, “The
Golden Spike”
“He Missed the Spike!”
•
“He missed the Spike”
completion of the transcontinental railroad—the
driving of the golden spike as witnessed by
Alexander Toponce.
•
“When they came to drive the last spike, Governor
Stanford, president of the Central Pacific, took the
sledge, and the first time he struck he missed the
spike and hit the rail. What a howl went up! Irish,
Chinese, Mexicans, and everybody yelled with
delight. ‘He missed it. Yee.’ The engineers blew
the whistles and rang their bells. Then Stanford
tried it again and tapped the spike and the telegraph
operators had fixed their instruments so that the tap
was reported in all the offices east and west, and
set bells to tapping in hundreds of towns and
cities….Then Vice President T.C. Durant of the
Union Pacific took up the sledge and he missed the
spike the first time. Then everybody slapped
everybody else again and yelled ‘He missed it too,
yow!’ When the connection was finally made, the
Union Pacific and the Central Pacific engineers ran
their engines up until their pilots touched. Then the
engineers shook hands and had their pictures
taken, and each broke a bottle of champagne on
the pilot of the other’s engine and had their picture
taken again. The Union Pacific engine, the ‘Jupiter,’
was driven by my good friend, George Lashus, who
still lives in Ogden. Both before and after the spike
driving ceremony, there were speeches, which were
cheered heartily. I do not remember what any of
the speakers said now, but I do remember that
there was a great abundance of champagne”
Note: The telegraph message sent informed the
nation “It is done.”
After completion of the first Transcontinental
railroad, the Central Pacific became known as the
Southern Pacific. When the owner of the Southern
Pacific, Edward Harriman, advocated a merger with
the Union Pacific (“The Overland Route”), the
Interstate Commerce Commission resisted, viewing
it as an attempt to monopolize. The U.S. Supreme
Court later upheld the I.C.C. decision.
In 1864 Congress authorized the construction of the
Northern Pacific Railroad from Lake Superior to Puget
Sound, connecting Duluth, Minnesota to Portland,
Oregon and Tacoma, Washington. The Northern Pacific
grant was doubly generous than that given to the Union
and Central Pacific Railroads.
The next year two more lines of track joined the two
coasts:
The Atchinson, Topeka, and Sante Fe Railroad ran from
Kansas to Louisiana.
Also completed in 1884, the Texas Pacific Railroad came
to an arrangement in El Paso, Texas that made it
possible to ship freight straight from New Orleans to San
Francisco.
The costs were considerable: the federal government
gave the land grant railroads a total of 131 million acres
of land worth a total $123 million. The state governments
added an additional 45-50 million acres. This amounted
to an area larger than France and Belgium combined.
Still, even though this government aid was a stimulus to
railroad construction, only 8% of the total railroad
mileage built in the U.S. between 1860-1920 (18,738
miles) were built as a direct result of federal land grants
and loans (most railroad construction was funded
through private enterprise).
Between 1870-1900 some 137,000 miles of track were
laid (there were only 53,000 miles of track in 1870.
Feeder (branch) lines now linked the ½ dozen trunk
(major) lines creating a railroad network serving every
part of the country.
•
One problem in building a transcontinental railroad that was not anticipated at first
was that every town had its own clocks set to its own particular time. The
astronomers said that it was “noon” when the sun reached its zenith (the highest
point in heaven). Since the Earth was constantly in motion and since the sun rose
sooner when you were more to the east, then whether it was yet noon depended on
where you were. For example, the Pennsylvania Railroad tried to use Philadelphia
time on it’s eastern line, but that was 5 minutes earlier than New York time and 5
minutes later than Baltimore time. In Indiana, there were 23 different local times; in
Illinois, there were 27; in Wisconsin there were 38. Most railroads used the local time
for their arrival in each station. In between cities, there was the greatest confusion.
Yet for speeding trains a few minutes could make the difference between a clear
track and a fatal collision. Finally it was suggested to use railroad (standard) time
instead of sun time. In the U.S. that required marking off a few conspicuous time belts
up and down the whole country (4 time belts in all: Eastern, Central, Mountain, and
Pacific time). Standard time would then be exactly the same for every location within
each belt or time zone. At the end of each zone, time would change by one hour.
The passing of time and our measurement
of it is based on the movement of the Earth
and its relationship to the sun. The Earth
rotates counterclockwise on its axis at a
fairly regular speed, leaving parts of the
Earth in light and part in shadow at various
times throughout its constant rotation. Most
people have developed a cycle of being
awake when our particular part of the Earth
is in light and sleeping when it is in shadow.
The earth rotates 360° each day, equaling
15° per hour. Our system of time zones is
based on this rate of rotation. Since the sun
lights only part of the earth at a time, this
system makes the time when the sun begins
to light a particular place approximately the
same in each different zone. There are 24
time zones and each is calculated from a
base at the Greenwich Meridian in
Greenwich, England. Each time zone farther
east of the Greenwich Meridian is one hour
later than the preceding time zone, up to 24
hours later. There are some local variations
to the global time zone system; for instance,
in the United States, our time zones do not
measure exactly 15° in longitude. They are
delineated by state borders and natural
landscape borders as well. Before the
adoption of standard time zones, local sun
time was used. For instance, it was 12 p.m.
(high noon) when the sun reached its zenith
in the sky. Of course, local time varied from
place to place in what would be each time
zone. Such variations in time could be
deadly if one is following a tight train
schedule of departures and arrivals at any
given station or terminal.
Standard Time Zones (adopted 1883)
It took a while to convince everybody they ought to tamper with
“God’s time”. Standard time was adopted by the railroads at 12:00
p.m. on November 18, 1883. At that time, everyone everywhere in
the United States set their watches for whatever standard time it was
depending on what time zone they were in.
Congress adopted the 4 standard time zones in 1918
Standard Time Zones (adopted 1883)
•
Railroads faced some major problems as
they modernized their operations:
–
–
In order to coordinate their schedules and
employees and to avoid collisions, the
railroads were the first in the nation to adopt a
system of standard (railroad) time instead of
sun time.
Previously, the nation had run on a system of
solar time, in which the local time was
determined by the position of the sun (when
the sun was at its zenith (highest point in the
heavens directly over head), the clocks were
set to noon).
•
The use of standard time involved marking off the U.S. on a map
by a few conspicuous time belts—up and down the whole
country. Each of the 4 time belts would be several hundred miles
wide. Standard time would be exactly the same for all the places
within each zone. At the edge of each belt the time would
change by a whole hour. This system meant that everybody
could know exactly what time it was everywhere.
•
•
•
However, since the earth is constantly in motion,
and since the sun rose sooner when you were
more east, then whether it was yet noon
obviously depended on where you were (noon
in one town was several minutes apart from
noon in a town miles away).
For example, Philadelphia time was 5 minutes
earlier than New York time and 5 minutes later
than Baltimore time.
In Indiana, there were 23 different local times,
while in Illinois there were 27, and in Wisconsin
38!
In between cities there was much confusion—
given that most railroads used local time for
their arrivals and departures, a few minutes
could make the difference between a clear track
and a fatal collision for speeding trains.
The transcontinental railroad cut cross-country travel time from 26 days to 7.
Telegraph Communication
The nation sought more immediate ways of communicating over long distances than the mail. In England in
1837 a successful electric telegraph system was invented by William Fothergill Cooke (1806–1879) and
Charles Wheatstone (1802–1875). The telegraph system transmitted encoded information by signal across
a distance. But even before the English telegraph system was in place, an American scientist, Joseph Henry
(1797–1878), had been experimenting with electromagnets (a type of magnet in which the magnetic field is
created by a flow of electric current; when the current ceases the magnetic field disappears) and was able to
send controlled clicks, or signals, through a mile−long wire to a distant receiver. In 1831 Henry met
American artist and scientist Samuel F. B. Morse (1791–1872) and shared his findings with him. Morse and
his partners conducted more experiments and introduced new designs to the electromagnetic telegraph
before demonstrating the product in 1837. Morse's telegraph consisted essentially of a battery for electricity,
an electromagnet, and an electric switch known as the key. To send a message, the operator pressed down
on the key. Electricity flowed out of the telegraph, into external electrical wires, and then to waiting receivers
in other parts of the world. The electrical current flowed through the electromagnet, creating a magnetic field.
The magnetic field caused the receiver's key to be attracted to the plate beneath it. As the key came into
contact with the plate, it made a click. The sender could vary the sound of the click by holding the key down
for a shorter or a longer period of time. To read the code, the receiver used Morse's code in which short
clicks (dots) and long clicks (dashes) represented letters and numbers. Morse did not invent the telegraph
by himself, but he was largely responsible for establishing it as a communication system in the United
States. In 1843 he convinced the U.S. Congress to provide $30,000 to fund a telegraph line from
Washington, D.C., to Baltimore. The line was completed on May 24, 1844. In front of a crowd in Washington,
D.C., Morse sent to Baltimore the first official telegraph message, which read: "What Hath God Wrought.“
Within a few years there were fifty telegraph companiesin the United States. No other industry, not even the
railroad, experienced more rapid growth. In 1848 every state east of the Mississippi except Florida was
connected to the growing network. By 1852 more than twenty−three thousand miles of telegraph lines had
been built. Newsgathering, business, financial, and transportation interests were revolutionized by the new
means of instant communication. The telegraph, like the railroad, symbolized the advent of the new era in
which the distances between people, institutions, and political units were drastically reduced.
Samuel F. B. Morse sending the first telegram.
Railroad construction
Notice the telegraph
lines that ran alongside
the railroad as our
nation’s “nervous
system” (Samuel F.
Morse invented the
telegraph in 1844—
Morse code was used to
communicate messages
in the form of dots and
dashes). Imagine the
disaster that would
follow from an arriving
train reaching the station
before a departing train
left, or two trains
traveling in opposite
directions down a one
lane track! Clearly
railroad schedules must
be followed precisely. In
this way, telegraph wire
service was just as
important as standard
time zones.
Railroad communications
•
Railroads were among the first businesses to set up a system of railroad telegraphers
to relay information about train arrivals or delays to distant station.
•
Prior to the widespread use of telegraphs in railroads, tight scheduling was nearly
impossible and railroad collisions were frequent and deadly.
Developments in Railroad travel
Once trunk lines were built, further developments were introduced making railroad travel both safer
and more comfortable:
Double sets of tracks were laid to replace single sets; not only would it be necessary for an eastbound
train to get off on a siding so a westbound train could pass on a single set of tracks, but railroad
shipments could be doubled because rather than rail shipments waiting for a track to be cleared so
they could be sent out, they could be sent out immediately.
Steel rails replaced iron rails which shattered under heavy loads (no shipments don’t have to wait
while damaged iron rails were replaced)
More durable iron/steel bridges replaced weaker wooden bridges/trestles
Coal replaced wood to burn in locomotive engines (coal was a more efficient fuel) allowing goods to be
shipped at cheaper rates.
t
Railroad mileage doubled between 1865-1873, increasing by some 30,000 miles. This was an increase well
beyond the immediate market needs/demands of the country. The sparsely populated west, the operation of so
many trains was unjustified—thus, the returns on railroad investments were very poor. By 1890, the railroad
network became overbuilt as competing lines were racing to put down track in order to lay claim to the best
sites (whether railroad services were needed there or not). Many of the powerful businessmen were out for
personal profit and did not care how long/well their company operated. The reckless expansion of the railroad
triggered a financial panic in 1893 and hundreds of railroads collapsed. By 1895, one-third of the nation’s
railroad mileage was in bankruptcy.
t
During the 1870s and 1880s, four great transcontinental railroads opened up the West for
settlement along with their branch lines serving as the “veins and arteries” of our rapidly
industrializing, commercializing, and urbanizing society with commerce (travel and transport)
serving as the “blood” and urban centers representing “organs”.
Improvements in railroad transportation:
George Pullman invented sleeping cars
George Westinghouse invented air brakes (1869)
Pullman sleeping cars
In 1851 contractor George Pullman took his first overnight train ride from Boston to
Westfield, Massachusetts. At that time overnight passengers who wished to sleep were
given cots or mattresses. Many sat up all night on stiff benches in smoky cars. Due to the
growing number of businessmen traveling between cities, Pullman realized there was a
market for comfort. Under a contract with the Chicago and Alton Railroad, he designed two
oversized coach cars, dividing the space into ten sleeper sections with curtains. He hinged
the upper berths so they could be opened at night and did the same with the chairs, so that
both could swing up out of the way. Pullman paid enormous attention to details, outfitting the
cars with cherrywood berths, plush upholstered seats, and soft, glowing oil lamps. Pullman’s
next luxury car, the Pioneer, was patented in 1864. The sleeper was huge at 54 feet long
and 10feet wide, with accommodations for fifty passengers. Each car contained thick
carpeting, heavy curtains, French plate mirrors, black walnut woodwork, oil chandeliers, and
fine linens that were changed daily. Porters carried baggage and attended to their riders’
needs. The luxury cars cost four times more to build than other sleepers, but the $2 fare for
an overnighter in Pullman’s Pioneerwas only fifty cents more than conventional sleepers,
and travelers loved them. In 1865 the Pioneer was chosen to transport the body of
assassinated president Abraham Lincoln back to Springfield, Illinois, for his funeral. Pullman
went on to add new elements of luxury to train cars. In 1868 he unveiled the first dining car,
known as the Delmonico. In 1875 the first parlor car was introduced and featured
upholstered swivel reclining seats. Within ten years of starting his business, Pullman had a
virtual monopoly on luxury train travel in the United States.
Air brakes
•
Quite often the braking systems were responsible for railroad accidents that occurred
quite commonly and cost thousands of lives.
–
•
Inventor George Westinghouse created a train brake that consisted of an air pump
powered by the train’s engine and which ran the length of the train with mechanical
devices installed on each car to activate the brakes.
– By equipping every car in a train with brakes and air pumps operated from a
central point controlled by the engineer or brakeman using pneumatic (air) pressure,
–
•
•
To stop the early railroad cars the engineer sent out whistle signals to brakemen stationed
along the length of a train. These brakemen then turned hand brakes on each car.
Westinghouse solved the problem of stopping long strings of cars, thus allowing for longer
trains and reducing both lives and profits lost in train accidents.
In 1893, Congress passed the Railroad Safety and Appliance Act requiring railroads to equip
all their cars with air brakes as well as with Janey automatic couplers (automatically lock so
cars can’t come together).
By 1900 75 percent of all trains were equipped with air brakes, making them much
safer.
Westinghouse became a multimillionaire from his invention
The transcontinental railroad made it easier to settle
the West. Railroad expansion helped destroy the
buffalo (formally called the North American bison).
Cattle replaced the buffalo on the range and
provided meat for fast-growing Eastern cities. The
introduction of the refrigerated rail car by Gustavus
Swift and Philip Armour facilitated this process.
Trains carried cattle to Eastern markets and
supplies to Western settlers.
Until completion of the transcontinental
railroad, those hesitant to travel west by
overland route went around Cape Horn.
“The Granger Roads”
Railroads that connected Chicago and St.
Louis with the western transcontinentals
Map of the Chicago
and Northwestern
Railroad
Connected Chicago to Omaha and
Minneapolis/St. Paul.
Black lines are trackage now
owned by Union Pacific; green lines
are trackage now owned by
Canadian Pacific Railway (operated
by DM&E); blue lines are now
owned by other railroads; dotted
lines are abandoned.
Map of Chicago, Rock
Island & Pacific
Railroad
Connected Chicago to Omaha,
Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma
Chicago, Burlington,
and Quincy Railroad
map
AKA “The Everywhere West”
Railroad
Connected Chicago with Omaha,
and Kansas City, Denver, and
Minneapolis/St. Paul
• Before railroad business consolidation (i.e.
monopilization/oligopolization), fierce
competition among/between railroad
tycoon and magnates was self-defeating/
self-destructive in many respects.
The Erie War (1860s)
•
A bitter feud between Cornelius Vanderbilt and the Erie Railroad marked by attempts by tycoons
of both railroads to take the property/profits from each other as competitors. When Daniel Drewe,
Jay Gould, and James Fisk began buying up great quantities of Erie Railroad stock to the point
they became controlling directors of the New York Railroad, they found a tough opponent in
Cornelius Vanderbilt who purchased the Harlem Railroad (1857) as well as the Hudson River
Railroad and the New York Central Railroad (1867). Vanderbilt, who was known as a ruthless
businessman and competitor, already made his fortune in steamboat services. By the age of 71
(1865), Vanderbilt had a fleet of steamships worth $10 million alone. Vanderbilt started his own
business at the age of sixteen when he bought a boat and used it to ferry passengers and freight
across the New York Harbor. By the age of 70, Vanderbilt decided railroads were the wave of the
future (see above acquisitions). Vanderbilt soon merged his railroads into one system extending
from New York City to Buffalo. To eliminate the Erie Railroad, Vanderbilt (in his usual pattern)
lowered his rates on railroad services drastically to take away the Erie Railroad’s business. Rather
than lowering the rates on the Erie Railroad in response, Fisk bought a herd of cattle and shipped
it at the reduced rates on Vanderbilt’s railroad (this cost Vanderbilt greatly). A disgusted Vanderbilt
then decided to buy out the Erie Railroad altogether. He proceeded to buy all available company
shares. In response, Drew, Gould, and Fisk promptly issued 100,000 worthless shares which
Vanderbilt purchased. When Vanderbilt called for their arrest, the three men fled New York
jurisdictional law to New Jersey whereupon they bribed several New York lawmakers to pass a
law thatmade their dealings legal and they thus got away with swindling. They were able to keep
the Erie Railroad which they subsequently drove into bankruptcy (as Vanderbilt stood to los a
substantial investment). Still, despite losing the Erie Railroad, Vanderbilt went on to extend his
railroad service to Chicago. He was reputedly the richest man in the world upon his death in 1877
at the age of 82 when he was worth about $105 million.