_The Builders._
Their Material and Methods--Oakes Ames (Financier)--George Francis
Train (Promoter)--John A. Dix (First President)--Thomas C. Durant
(Vice President and President)--Granville M. Dodge (Chief
Engineer)--Subordinate Officials--Casement Brothers, Track-layers,
Mormons--Materials Used--Their Source--Methods.
At Sherman Station, the highest point on the Union Pacific Railroad,
stands a monument some sixty feet square and about the same height,
bearing the simple legend, "In Memory of Oakes Ames and Oliver Ames."
This was erected in compliance with a resolution passed at the meeting
of the Company's stockholders held in Boston, March 10th, 1875, which
read as follows, "Resolved that in memory of Oakes Ames and in
recognition of his services in the construction of the Union Pacific
Railroad to which he devoted his means and his best energies with a
courage, fidelity, and integrity unsurpassed in the history of
railroad construction, the directors (of this Company) are requested
to take measure in co-operation with such friends as may desire to
contribute, for the erection at some point in the line of the road,
of a suitable and permanent monument." (By the recent shortening of
the line this monument has been left some three miles away from the
present track. Its removal to Cheyenne Depot Grounds or some other
equally prominent position is under consideration.)
Oliver Ames was born at North Easton, Mass., January 10th, 1804; he
passed his youth and early manhood assisting his father in the work of
a farmer and later of manufacturing shovels, attending during the
winter a country school. Serving first as apprentice, then foreman, he
was in due time taken into partnership with his father to whose
business he succeeded.
From twenty thousand dozen shovels turned out in 1845, their output
increased to one hundred and twenty-five thousand dozens in 1870. A
tireless worker dispensing with clerk or bookkeeper, his accounts were
kept in his head. Over six feet in height, weighing over two hundred
pounds, broad shouldered and massive in built. Elected to Congress in
1860 where he was kept until 1872. Becoming associated with the Union
Pacific in 1865, at the time when the enterprise was languishing for
lack of funds and it seemed almost hopeless. His attention was first
directed in that channel by his duties as a member of the House
Committee of Railroads in 1865. He was then a man of considerable
means, recognized as an authority on business matters, and he enjoyed
the confidence of President Lincoln and other prominent men of that
day to a marked degree. In fact, it was at the urgent solicitation of
the President that he undertook the almost hopeless task of
financiering the construction of the road.
Entering into the undertaking with all of his energy and means, using
his influence and persuasive powers with his fellow capitalists, he
was able to raise by various means, the necessary funds for the
construction of the line. Among others who took stock in the Company
and Credit Mobilier were a number of public men, including
Vice-President Colfax, Speaker James G. Blaine, James A. Garfield,
afterwards President, and others of that ilk. The cry of corruption
and bribery was raised in the campaign of 1872, resulting in
investigation by Congressional Committees and a trial by the House,
which rendered a very remarkable verdict, censuring Mr. Ames for
having induced members of Congress to invest in the stock of a
corporation in which he was interested and whose interests depended on
legislation of Congress--but with the further finding on the part of
the House Committee that no one had been wronged--that the Congressmen
in question had paid him what the stock cost him and no more--that he
had neither offered nor suggested a bribe--that their object in taking
the stock originally was a profitable investment, and at the time no
further action at the hands of Congress was desired.
Leaving Congress at the end of ten years' service, in 1872; he died
from the effects of pneumonia during May, 1873, universally respected
and esteemed, and the one man above all others who by financiering the
proposition, was entitled to a monument at the hands of the
stockholders of the Union Pacific Railroad. The following remarks made
by him in regard to the road, at a time of apparently hopeless
financial stringency, indicate quite clearly the character of the man
and his views of the work:
"Go ahead; the work shall not stop if it takes the shovel shop. What
makes me hold on is the faith of you soldiers," referring to the
opinions held by the ex-soldiers employed on the construction. Or
again, when it became evident that either the Ames' or the Railroad
Company would have to go to the wall, "Save the credit of the road--I
will fail."
George Francis Train may well be considered as the promoter of the
Union Pacific Railroad. In season and out. Before Congressional
Committees, public meetings, or to the unfortunate individual whom he
succeeded in buttonholing "the Union Pacific Railroad," was the
subject of endless oratory. In no small degree was he responsible for
the opinion, "The road should and must be built," that became
prevalent in 1860-1864, and which resulted in the action of Congress
looking to the construction of the line. He was prominent in its
affairs and largely instrumental in the formation of the Credit
Mobilier.
As to the man himself, he was a genius, if, as a celebrated writer
has said, "Genius is a form of insanity." A contemporaneous writer
(George D. Prentice) thus describes him:
"A locomotive that has run off the track, turned upside down and its
wheels making a thousand revolutions a minute. A kite in the air
without a tail. A ship without a rudder. A clock without hands. A
sermon that is all text; the incarnation of gab. Handsome, vivacious,
versatile, muscular, neat, clean to the marrow. A judge of the effect
of clothes, frugal in food and regular only in habits. With brains
enough in his head for twenty men all pulling different ways. A man
not bad--a practical joke in earnest."
Among his many undertakings were the Freeing of Ireland, Candidacy for
the Presidency, Woman's Suffrage, Circumnavigation of the world. As
illustrative of his character the following incident is apropos: While
publishing a newspaper in England he was assessed a small fine,
failing to pay which he was put in jail, where he preached to the
prisoners on the rights of man and attacked the monarchy. The day
following the authorities freed him on the ground that he was
demoralizing the prisoners. Time has dealt lightly with him, and no
one can read of his latter days--his brilliancy all eclipsed--a
recluse except for his love and companionship for children--unmoved.
In his day he was a power and in no small degree did he contribute to
the living monument of great men--The Union Pacific Railroad.
The first President of the Company, Major General John A. Dix, was
selected for the universal respect in which he was held. Secretary of
the Treasury in 1861, resigning to go as general in the Union Army, he
was the one man who it was felt would command confidence in the early
days of the proposition, when the promoters had not as yet an
opportunity to gain the respect of the financial world or of Congress.
It was understood that he would not be able to devote his entire time
or attention to the proposition, being in the Army at the time of his
election. Still in no small degree did he contribute to its success.
Appointed Minister to France in 1866, his absence from the United
States made necessary his retirement. On his return in 1869, he was
elected Governor of New York; and died greatly honored on April 21st,
1879.
The man who built the road was Thomas C. Durant. During the whole of
its construction he was the man in control. He was Vice President and
General Manager, with headquarters at Omaha; from the day ground was
broken until the line was finished. He had been connected with several
of the Iowa Lines previous to the commencement of work on the Union
Pacific Railroad, mostly as contractor. As an organizer and director
he was unsurpassed. In all the accounts of matters affecting the Union
Pacific Railroad--hearings before Congress, Opening Ceremonies,
Excursions given, appointment of officials and completion ceremonies,
his name appears. He made enemies as do all strong men, and he also
disagreed with his associates as to the best methods to pursue--still,
he built the road, and after the man who persuaded the public it was
necessary and the one who found the funds, he it is who is entitled to
credit. Mr Durant severed his official connections with the road May
24, 1869, shortly after its completion, remaining, however, its
largest stockholder.
The surveying and actual work of construction of the Union Pacific was
done under the direction of General Granville M. Dodge. From 1854 to
1860 General Dodge was engaged in preliminary surveys for the Pacific
Railroad, under governmental auspices. Entering the Union Army he
reached the grade of Major General and at the close of the war entered
the service of the Union Pacific Railroad Company as General
Superintendent and Chief Engineer. To his ability and knowledge was
due the location of the line and the rapidity with which the work was
done. The General is still living--is in active service--having,
during the last thirty years been connected with construction of many
of the important railroads of the West, among them the Texas and
Pacific Railway, Missouri, Kansas and Texas, International and Great
Northern and Fort Worth and Denver City. He had been President of the
Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway; St. Louis, Des Moines and Northern
Railway, Fort Worth and Denver City Railway, etc.
Peter A. Dey was the first engineer of the line, but left in 1864. He
was not able to accept the methods of enormous expenditures the
Company and the Credit Mobilier were adopting and retired on the
ground that the Hoxie contract was made against his recommendation.
Colonel Silas Seymour was Consulting Engineer of the line during
1865-1866 and 1867, leaving it to enter the service of the Kansas
Pacific Railway.
H. M. Hoxie was first in charge of Council-Bluffs-Omaha Ferry, then of
the steamboats carrying construction material on the Missouri River,
later Assistant General Superintendent, earning for himself the title
of "The Ubiquitous." He died in 1866, while holding the position of
Vice President and General Manager of the Missouri Pacific Railway.
S. B. Reed, Superintendent of Construction, was the man who had the
handling of the forces at the front. He it was who ran the
construction trains--fought the Indians and the toughs and bore the
heat and burden of the day. He also made the surveys and located the
line between Salt Lake Valley and Green River.
P. T. Brown, Assistant Engineer, was in charge of the advance survey
under the direction of General Dodge and also located the line from
the "foot of the Black Hills" to Julesburg.
James A. Evans was Division Engineer and in that capacity made many of
the profiles, plats and estimates and final surveys. Also made the
final surveys and location between Green River and the foot of the
Black Hills.
D. B. Warren was Superintendent Utah Division; Colonel Hopper,
Superintendent Laramie Division; L. H. Eicholtz, Engineer of Bridges
and Buildings, and General Ledlie, Bridge Builder.
Among others to whom credit is due is Brigham Young, the then head
(President) of the Mormon Church, and other prominent Mormons. The
contract for grading from the head of Echo Canon to Ogden, known as
"the hundred mile job," costing two and a half million dollars, was
taken by President Young personally, and by him sublet in part to
Bishop John Sharp and Joseph A. Young, the President's eldest son.
They employed between five and six hundred men and the amount of their
contract was about one million dollars. Other subcontractors were
Apostle John Taylor, George Thatcher, Brigham Young, Jr., etc.
President Young is said to have cleared about eight hundred thousand
dollars out of this contract. East of his section the grading was done
by Joseph F. Nounnan & Company, Gentile bankers of Salt Lake City, who
sublet it to the Mormons. West of President Young's section the
grading was done by Sharp & Young, the same parties mentioned above as
subcontractors under President Young. It was conceded that the Mormons
carried out their contracts not only to the letter, but in the spirit.
Doing some of the best work on the line.
The track laying proper was done by General J. S. (Jack) Casement and
his brother, D. T. (Dan), with Captain Clayton as their
Superintendent. They had in their employ as high as two thousand men
at one time and worked under a contract that gave them a substantial
bonus for all track laid in excess of two miles a day, as well as made
them allowance for idle time occasioned by their being unable to work
on account of the grade not being ready for them. Thus they were to
receive eight hundred dollars per mile of track laid if two miles or
less was laid in a day. If they laid over two miles in one day they
were to receive twelve hundred dollars per mile, and for time they
were idle waiting for the grade they were to receive three thousand
dollars per day.
Many other names should be mentioned here and would did space permit,
but will have to be omitted.
The men who built the Union Pacific Railroad are entitled to great
credit and praise. They made money, much money out of the project, but
they were entitled to it. Their success brought in its train the usual
consequences, they have been accused of almost every crime in the
calendar, assailed by the press, investigated by Congress, and sued by
their less fortunate associates. Their achievement speaks for them
louder than words and they can leave their reputations to history for
vindication.
The line was originally laid with fifty pound iron from the mills of
Pennsylvania for four hundred and forty miles and with fifty-six
pound iron west of there. As has been mentioned before, the first
section was laid with cottonwood ties of local growth, treated by the
burnettizing process, which was erroneously supposed would prevent
decay. West of there hard wood ties from the East were used, some of
them coming from far away Pennsylvania, and costing the Company two
dollars and fifty cents laid down in Omaha. For the mountain section,
ties of local growth were largely and satisfactorily used. The basis
was twenty-four hundred ties to the mile on the plains, twenty-six
hundred and forty through the mountains, and twenty-five hundred west
of Laramie.
The lumber for bridges and building came from Minnesota and Wisconsin,
excepting in the far West, where native lumber was used.
The grading was done to a very large extent by manual labor. It was
before the day of the steam shovel or air drill. Pick and shovel and
wheelbarrow reinforced by teams and scrapers were the means used,
excepting where rock was encountered and then hand drills and black
powder and occasionally nitro-glycerine were relied upon to quarry the
rock which was very much in demand for masonry work.
The graders worked as much as two hundred miles ahead of the track.
They were housed in tents, and all supplies for their sustenance and
material used by them were necessarily hauled from the several
terminal points. This resulted in the employment of a good sized army
of teamsters and freighters. In the buffalo they had a food that,
while cheap, was of the first order, and the number thus utilized was
away up in the thousands.
No pretense was made to ballast the track, as the construction work
was done. The ties were laid on the grade with just enough dirt on
them to keep them in place. Speedy construction was considered of the
first importance and then the ballasting could be done much cheaper
after the track was down.
To a very great extent temporary trestles of timber were used, to be
replaced later by more permanent culverts of stone. In some places
where the piles were thus replaced by masonry, it was necessary to
tear out the stone and put in piles again. The heavy freshets proved
more than the culverts could carry off, and besides the stone work
would wash out much quicker than did piles.
The bridges were mostly Howe wooden truss uncovered, with stone or
wooden abuttments. Where the span was short, wooden trestles on piles
were used.
One reason for deferring the masonry work as well as the ballasting
was the inability to handle the necessary supplies. Every engine and
all the equipment were kept in constant use hauling construction
material to the front.
Notwithstanding what, to the contractor of today, would seem
antiquated and expensive methods, the work progressed and made headway
to an extent that has never since been equalled. It was the immense
army, as high as twelve thousand men at times, that enabled this to be
the case. One-fifth the number of men with modern methods and
labor-saving devices would have been equally efficious.
The expense of hauling water and supplies for the army of men was
enormous. The statement has been made that this cost more than it did
to do the actual grading.
The great bugaboo of the day was the question of operating the line
during the winter season, it being the general impression that the
snow fall was so great through the Rocky Mountain region as to render
it impossible to keep the line open. To ascertain the facts in regard
to this as well as to obtain data as to the best method of overcoming
the same, engineers were stationed at points where it was anticipated
there would be trouble. For three winters they were kept in tents and
dug outs to obtain information on this point, and on the spring and
winter freshets which it was anticipated would be a source of great
annoyance.