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The First Transcontinental Railroad (Part 2)

© Elizabeth Gibson

The Union Pacific had it easy at first. The Central Pacific had only gone 189 miles while the Union Pacific had gone 537 miles. It went largely through flat plains. The route followed the Oregon Trail through the Platte Valley, then crossed the continental divide through the Wyoming Black Hills. One problem the Union Pacific had that didn't bother their rivals, was Indians. In Nebraska, the Sioux and Cheyenne continually harassed the Union Pacific. Forts were established along the line to protect the railroad. A small skirmish between the Sioux and a survey party took place in the Wyoming Basin, in which assistant engineer Percy T. Browne was killed. In August 1867, at Plum Creek, Nebraska, Cheyennes pried up some rails, resulting in derailment of a freight train. The train crashed and the Indians looted the cars.

On May 4, 1868, the tracks reached Lake's Crossing just inside Nevada. The town was renamed Reno by Crocker. Jesse Lee Reno was a general killed in the Civil War. From there on it was fairly easy going. The Railroad Act of 1866, had given the Central Pacific back the right to build to meet the Union Pacific, rather than just being restricted to only 150 miles into Nevada. Survey crews worked ahead to lay out the route. Grading camps were built at the south end of Pyramid Lake. By Christmas, the crews had built tracks all the way to Elko, Nevada.

During the winter of 1868-69, the Union Pacific reached the Wasatch Mountains. The railroad had already decided to go north of the great Salt Lake to avoid the salt flats west of the lake. Brigham Young, president of the Mormon Church, was very angry about this and threatened to withhold the Mormon laborers he had promised. But when he realized the Central Pacific was going north too, he gave his support to both sides. Then he built his own railroad to connect up with the Union Pacific at Ogden. The firm of Benson, Farr, and West worked for the Central Pacific, grading track from Humboldt Wells to Ogden. The Union Pacific hired a firm called Sharp & Young to grade from Echo Summit, north of Ogden, to Promontory Summit. This resulted in an overlap of track that was never used and cost $1 million to build. The Union Pacific could not pay its total bill to the Mormons, which is how Brigham Young came to acquire $600,000 worth of rolling stock for his own railroad.

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