This is a very detailed description of the early days of the railroads in the western United States. The subtitle is “America’s Race to Bring the Railroads West”. Borneman discusses the numerous railroad companies, and the men who ran them. There were fortunes to be made, if you could get your line through to the right place, in a timely manner. Many of the names of these “Railroad Barons” will be familiar still today, such as Gould and Vanderbilt. Borneman also writes about the less famous men, who were the surveyors, or the ones who did not win the race to get their tracks built. There was a lot of maneuvering behind the scenes, between the various railroad concerns.
In addition to the well-known railroad barons, there were also the railroad lines. Some we still know about, such as the “Frisco” and the “Santa Fe”, some have faded into history. Many were bought out by the larger concerns. But even the smaller lines were important, not only as part of the larger picture, but very important for the towns they went through. One of the most interesting parts of this book are the maps that show where the lines ran, and some of the passes and bridges that had to be built before the track could even be laid. Finding the best route was complicated by both the terrain and the competition.
Most of the people who worked on the railroad, either laying tracks or running the trains over the tracks, are not famous. Many died in the process of just doing their jobs. And there were also a lot of people working in corollary fields, such as the people who provided the coal, steel, and railroad ties. Also, someone had to manufacture the engines and cars, Pullman being the most well-known in that field. Of course, the railroad is still important today, but we forget how ubiquitous it was in its heyday.
If this was your family, how would you research them? When did your family move west? They may have been on a train at least part of the way. Or maybe they bought some of the land sold by the railroads in order to finance their endeavors. Or maybe they lived in one of the “boom towns” that sprang up at the temporary terminus of the work each season. Some of these towns are gone now, but some survived, and a few thrived. You can check land records to see where your ancestors purchased land, and census records might tell you if they worked for the railroad.