The ~Christian Country Farm~

THE RAILROAD

02:50 PM, Sep. 2, 2006 .. 0 comments .. Link

WHAT WAS THE "IRON HORSE"?

a} a child's toy

b} a bucking bronco

c} the fastest horse in the West

d} the railroad

     The answer is d. The "Iron Horse" is what the Indians called the trains that began crossing the West in the 1860's. Railroads had been used in the East since the 1820's, but in 1863 construction began on a transcontinental, or coast-to-coast, railroad.

     Building a railroad across North America was no easy task. All the materials had to be brought in from the East. Workers had to line up every 500-pound rail by hand and hammer each spike into place. They had to blast tunnels through the mountains and build bridges over rivers and valleys. It was backbreaking work.

WHY WERE WORKERS RACING TO FINISH THE RAILROAD?

     Because two companies were competing to lay down the track. The Central Pacific started from California and built East, while the Union Pacific started from Nebraks {where the eastern railroad lines left off} and built West. The companies raced because whoever laid more track got more money and more land from the government.

Do you know who laid more track? In the end, the Central Pacific laid 690 miles of track, while the Union Pacific laid 1,086.

WHERE COULD YOU FIND THE MOST FAMOUS RAIL NAIL IN THE WEST?

     At Promontory Summit, Utah. At that spot in 1869, railroad officals hammered in the golden spike that joined the east and west tracks of the transcontinental railraod. {They pulled the spike out and replaced it with an ordinary iron one when the ceremony was over.} The railroad turned the five-month wagon journey into a trip of just eight days. At first, the train was a dirty and uncomfortable way to travel. Most passengers sat in straight-backed wooden seats and put up with the steam and ashes that blew in through the open windows. Still, it was the fastest way west, and those who could afford it used it. The railroad brought thousands of new pioneers to the plains. It also tied America together in a whole new way. People, news, goods, and crops could travel between the East and the West as never before.

     "Buffalo Bill" got his nickname from all the buffalo he killed to feed the railraod workers. The Plains Indians, who depended on the buffalo to support themselves, were forced onto reservations as the animals disappeared. That's just what the American government wanted. Can anyone guess why?...Pioneers wanted the Indians' land.

Kelly KJV
Deuteronomy 6:5-9*Proverbs 31:28*Titus 2:5*
Psalm 19:14*Joshua 24:15*I Corinthians 15:58