Try free for 30 days
-
Iron Rails, Iron Men, and the Race to Link the Nation
- The Story of the Transcontinental Railroad
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 4 hrs and 12 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from Wish List failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Iron Rails, Iron Men, and the Race to Link the Nation
Buy Now for $22.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's Summary
Experience the race of rails to link the country - and meet the men behind this incredible feat - in a riveting story about the building of the Transcontinental Railroad.
In the 1850s gold fever swept the West, but people had to walk, sail, or ride horses for months on end to seek their fortunes. The question of faster, safer transportation was posed by national leaders. But with 1,800 miles of seemingly impenetrable mountains, searing deserts, and endless plains between the Missouri River and San Francisco, could a transcontinental railroad be built? It seemed impossible.
Eventually two railroad companies, the Central Pacific, which laid the tracks eastward, and the Union Pacific, which moved west, began the job. In one great race between iron men with iron wills, tens of thousands of workers blasted the longest tunnels that had ever been constructed, built the highest bridges that had ever been created, and finally linked the nation by two bands of steel, changing America forever.