Life on The Rails

Congress in the 1840’s were debating on the issue of building the railway. Then in 1848 the California gold rush made it all more urgent to make a decision. In 1850, more than 9,000 miles of track covered the United States. By 1860, railways were rapidly expanding into the upper Midwest. By 1860 the number had risen to over 30,000 miles more miles of rail than the rest of the world altogether. In 1869 the first continental railroad was completed. When the two lines connected at Promontory in northern Utah, it was the beginning of a dramatic transformation of the West. A 3,000-mile journey that had previously taken months to complete could now take only days by rail.

In 1865 the Central Pacific had enough work for around 4,000 men, but they could only have barely 800 working full time. Most of the early workers were Irish but railroad work is hard and the management was chaotic. Those two things led to a poor amount of men working on the rails. The Chinese were fantastic workers and had very good work ethic. As soon as 50 Chinese were hired the Irish worked harder because they feared that they would lose their jobs to the Chinese. Even though the Chinese worked harder the Irish still got paid more and better benefits. Chinese employees received wages of $27 to $30 a month, minus the cost of food and a place to stay. By contrast the Irish were paid $35 per month with a place to stay provided. Workers normally lived near the rail in tent like houses. The Irish ate mostly beef & potatoes while the Chinese ate vegetables and seafood.

In Kansas the Kansas Pacific Railroad began in 1855 as the Leavenworth, Pawnee and Western Railroad. It was reorganized in 1863 into the Union Pacific Railway Company, Eastern Division. It was established under the Pacific Railway Act. Eventually in May 31st 1868 the Union Pacific Railway Company, Eastern Division became the Kansas Pacific. The company began construction on its main line westward from Kansas City in September 1863. Most of the railways were being built on government land called “land grants”. Most of the railways had amry protection from the government against white protesters and Native Americans. The railroad began operation in 1866. The Kansas Pacific ran lines until 1874 when Jay Gould, a powerful investor took, majority control of the company. Eventually in 1880 the railway line was consolidated with the Union Pacific.

There are a number of railroad museums in Kansas. There is one in Belton, Wichita and two in KC.

Works Cited

"American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series." PBS. PBS, 2012. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.

<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/tcrr-cprr/>

"First Transcontinental Railroad Is Completed." History.com. History.com Staff, 2009. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.

<http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-transcontinental-railroad-is-completed>

"Union Pacific Railway." Kansaspedia. Kansas Historical Society, July 2011. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.

<https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/union-pacific-railway/17182>