Engineering Wonders of the World. Vol. III

c. 1908

Webber Collection

London: Thomas Nelson and Sons

Before completion of the first American Transcontinental Railroad in May 1869, options for travelling from the East Coast to the West Coast of America were limited and dangerous. In 1863, work began simultaneously on the railroad in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and in Sacramento, California. Tracks were laid through the plains of Nebraska, over the Rocky Mountains, into Utah, across the Nevada desert, over the Sierra Mountains, and into Sacramento. Three private companies were paid a minimum of $16,000 US per mile, dependent on the terrain. The total cost at the time was $115 million. The images here show some parts of the life of a Transcontinental railroad worker.