Empire Express : Building the First Transcontinental Railroad

by Bain, David Haward

• ISBN13: 9780140084993
• ISBN10: 0140084991
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-09-01
• Publisher: Penguin Books

Summary

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.

Author Biography

David Howard Bain has been published in Smithsonian, American Heritage, Kenyon Review, and Prairie Schooner, and he has reviewed for The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Newsday, Philadelphia Inquirer, and regularly for The New York Times Book Review. Bain teaches at Middlebury College, works with the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, and lives in Orwell, Vermont, with his wife and two children.

Table of Contents

Part I 1845--57: A Procession of Dreamers
``For All the Human Family''	3	(13)
``Who Can Oppose Such a Work?''	16	(10)
``I Must Walk Toward Oregon''	26	(11)
``The Great Object for Which We Were Created''	37	(10)
``An Uninhabited and Dreary Waste''	47	(10)
Part II 1860--61: Union, Disunion, Incorporation
``Raise the Money and I will Build Your Road''	57	(10)
``There Comes Crazy Judah''	67	(11)
``The Marks Left by the Donner Party''	78	(7)
``The Most Difficult Country Ever Conceived''	85	(19)
``We Have Drawn the Elephant''	104	(18)
Part III 1863: Last of the Dreamers
``Speculation Is as Fatal to It as Secession''	122	(9)
``I Have Had a Big Row and Fight''	131	(20)
Part IV 1864: Struggle for Momentum
``First Dictator of the Railroad World''	151	(14)
``Dancing with a Whirlwind''	165	(16)
``Trustees of the Bounty of Congress''	181	(24)
Part V 1865: The Losses Mount
``The Great Cloud Darkening the Land''	205	(14)
``If We Can Save Our Scalps''	219	(15)
``I Hardly Expect to Live to See It Completed''	234	(18)
Part VI 1866: Eyeing the Main Chance
``Vexation, Trouble, and Continual Hindrance''	252	(9)
``The Napoleon of Railways''	261	(20)
``We Swarmed the Mountains with Men''	281	(20)
``Until They Are Severely Punished''	301	(14)
Part VII 1867: Hell on Wheels
``Nitroglycerine Tells''	315	(15)
``Our Future Power and Influence''	330	(30)
``They All Died in Their Boots''	360	(31)
``There Are Only Five of Us''	391	(44)
Part VIII 1868: Going for Broke
``More Hungry Men in Congress''	435	(34)
``Bring On Your Eight Thousand Men''	469	(37)
``We Are in a Terrible Sweat''	506	(44)
``A Man for Breakfast Every Morning''	550	(44)
Part IX 1869: Battleground and Meeting Ground
``A Resistless Power''	594	(51)
``We Have Got Done Praying''	645	(30)
Part X 1872-73: Scandals, Scapegoats, and Dodgers
Epilogue: ``Trial of the Innocents''	675	(38)
Notes	713	(46)
Bibliography	759	(20)
Index	779