This was a joint venture between the big four and the chicago, rock island, and pacific railroads. It is the story of the men who built the transcontinental railroadthe investors who. Free ebooks, united states history, history, nook books. The railroad commissary bookshelf we specialize in outofprint and hardtofind used rr books. Modesto was founded as one of the san joaquin valleys railroad towns. From a statement of the master mechanic regarding their capacity and operations, the following items are taken. Thriftbooks sells millions of used books at the lowest everyday prices. The nyc owned, leased or controlled 10,356 miles, so the big4 was 21 percent of nyc. The term was widely used when referring to laborers. Elementary education simulation game teaching the history of the first transcontinental railroad, 18631869. There are many more mistakes in this book that was done from railroad album pictures donated to the kankakee historical society. They preferred to be known as the associates, rather than the big four, to no avail. Here the latest of derek hayess historical atlases delves into the history of the.
The west span of the big four railroad bridge over the wabash river at terre haute collapsed on feb. Find best sellers about civil war, american legends, breweries and wineries, and more. The big four was the name popularly given to the famous and influential businessmen, philanthropists and railroad tycoons who built the central pacific railroad, c. They had effectively laid the groundwork to establish one of the most comprehensive and oppressive monopolies in american history. The story of huntington, stanford, hopkins, and crocker, and. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. When construction first began the chinese were considered too delicate to build a railroad so they were given light duty jobs, like filling dump carts. In 1861, hopkins and the rest of the big four men founded the central pacific railroad. If you have similar interest, this is a must read as it goes into depth the characters of each other big four and their specific role to the building of the central pacific. Remnants of the big fours railroad shops remain in wabash from the early 1870s to the mid1920s, wabash was an important railroad town, community blogger tim ashley says. History of the big four men railroad system sample essays. We have plucked from obscurity 30 fascinating books most of them outofprint about railways from cairo to new south wales to yosemite encompassing engineering, history, industry, photography, policing.
Rare photos not appropriate for history books youtube. We personally assess every books quality and offer rare, outofprint treasures. Browse the amazon editors picks for the best books of 2019, featuring our. The line continued as one of the busiest tracks in the state. Check page 47 the palace hotel on cypress street was located across the street from the big four, new york central tracks not illinois central tracks. The big4 owned or leased 2,222 miles of line, about 875 39 percent of which were in indiana 673 owned and 201 leased. The name big 4 is used chiefly to describe the railroad on this site. It contains original scholarship and fresh interpretations that set the standard in railway research. Ray swank suggested i read this history, written by oscar lewis of san. Central pacific railroad photographic history museum.
The men who built the transcontinental railroad 1863. History of the big four men railroad system essay example for free newyorkessays database with more than 65000 college essays for studying. It operated in affiliation with the new york central system. In 1862, the central pacific and the union pacific railroad companies began building a transcontinental railroad that would link the united states from east to west. Big four railroad station, acton, indiana postcards of. To link to this object, paste this link in email, im or document to embed this object, paste this html in website. Huntington, lelan stanford, mark hopkins, and charles crockerwho got control of the newly organized central pacific railroad property. Colorful illustrations are what make these big books for kids fantastic at keeping students engaged and eager to sit on the reading rug. The story of huntington, stanford, hopkins, and crocker, and of the building of the central pacific the railroads. Chinese laborers had some of the most dangerous and challenging tasks, but not at the beginning. The definitive archive film led history of the interwar grouping of britains extensive rail.
This collection of donovans essays, originally published during the 1950s and 1960s in the state historical society of iowas palimpsest, describes the history of hawkeye rails during the. I attended a meeting of the northern indiana railroad historical society at the new york central museum in december 2005. The big four were the men known in building the central pacific railroad, the western portion of the first transcontinental railroad in the united states. Eventually, the big four railroad, which consolidated with the bee line in 1889, took over the operation of the depot. Railroad whales were richer than you could ever hope to be.
Theroux is also a novelist, so the dialogue between him and the shifting cast of oddballs sitting. Joint biography of the builders of the central pacific railroad and its. Dont forget to bookmark this page so you can return easily and often. If you have similar interest, this is a must read as it goes into depth the characters of each other big four and their specific role to the building of the central pacific railroad. Railroads were instrumental to the development of mattoon and charleston, twin cities located in coles county in eastcentral illinois. Fun read and a good history of the domination of callifornia by the railroad during the forty years following its. Louis and chicago railway, and 3 indianapolis and st. Its primary routes were in illinois, indiana, michigan, and ohio. Popular history of the central pacific railroad as told through its leaders.
The case of the california big four, openedition journals. Stanford, hopkins, huntington, crocker rode railroads to. Collectible railroad books the car might be king today but thousands of devoted writers have ensured the railroads will never be forgotten. Read on for a bit about the areas place in railroad history. This book recounts a fourmonth journey by rail through asia. The railroads enabled both cities to become regional centers for agriculture, industry, and commerce. The fierce, bloody battles of bataan and corregidor. History of the big four men railroad system 831 words. In 1862, the central pacific and the union pacific railroad companies began building a transcontinental railroad that would link the united states from east to. This brilliant book will forever change our understanding of the great railroad. Here are carefully selected articles, photographs, and art. Despite chinese workers contributions to building americas historic infrastructure project, chang says their history is often forgotten. Norris city, illinois and the new york central railroad contributed to world war ii with the war emergency pipeline.
The four men were leland stanford who was the president, collis p. Railroads, the pioneers building americas transportation backbone, and more. Americas long romance with the train has been the subject of many books, but none has used contemporary maps to comprehensively illustrate the story. In 1930, over 350,000 railroad cars had stopped in anderson on the big four lines.
Organization of railway labor began with the unionization 1864 of locomotive engineers. The many unions were headed by the big fourthe brotherhoods of the engineers, the firemen and enginemen, the conductors, and the trainmen. Louis railway, formed the cleveland, cincinnati, chicago and st. Big four railroad tracks in terre haute martin photo shop.
Huntington who was the vice president, mark hopkins who was the treasurer, and. He later moved to new york to work for his brother who. The illinois central railroad and new york central system maintained shops, yards, and offices in mattoon, while the nickel plate road had shops, offices, and. If you thought the silicon valley folks were rolling in dough, those guys have nothing on the original bay area whales. Louis railroad big four route 1889 merger of 1 cleveland, columbus, cincinnati and indianapolis railway, 2 cincinnati indianapolis, st. He was the main power behind the railroad, but preferred to stay behind the scenes. However, the advent of the automobile caused a subsequent decline of rail travel and. The big four was the name popularly given to the famous and influential businessmen. A ppopular history of the central pacific railroad as told through its leaders. List of books and articles about railroad history online. Huntington began working at a young age on the family farm to contribute to the family income. Huntington was a master salesman born on october 22, 1821 in harwinton, connecticut. Founded as an investment by these four men in 1861. Visit these websites or explore a book on the transcontinental railroad.
An interesting book about the big four in california and the impact they had on. Donovan, a master of railroad history, was the first writer to provide a complete exploration of the major steam railroads that served iowa. The story of huntington, stanford, hopkins, and crocker, and of the building of the central pacific the railroads oscar lewis on. The story of huntington, stanford, hopkins, and crocker, and of the building of the central pacific the railroads lewis, oscar on. Big four maintainance shopsmattoon, illinois railroad. Institute of museum and library services, administered by the indiana state library. The big fourcollis huntington, mark hopkins, leland stanford and charles crockerruled. Home postcards of indiana the jay small collection big four railroad station, acton, indiana reference url share. Here are local news reports from 100, 50 and 15 years ago. From this line did a western line run known as a kankakee and seneca railroad. The four merchants eventually dubbed themselves the big four and their manytentacled empire of railroads and freight lines was renamed southern pacific railroad in 1884, although its. Big four railroad bridge accident, terre haute photographs, 1900. The northern pacific railroad, the sioux, and the panic of 1873 by m.
Big four railroad railroad crossing in rural area this project is made possible by a grant from the u. With their funds and business acumen, they helped to build the first transcontinental railroad. So although its nominally about the big four who made their fortunes from the building of the central pacific railroad huntington, leland stanford, charles crocker and mark hopkins. In 1920, 15 cars and the caboose of a big four railroad. From railroads to mining to merchants, the historic money makers of yore. Early history of the cleveland cincinnati chicago and st. In the late 1860s, collis huntington, leland stanford, mark hopkins, and charles crocker the big four announced plans to construct a railroad down the san joaquin valley to connect the northern and southern portions of the state. I am a big fan of the transcontinental railroad history, and have read numerous books on the subject. Freight depots, a passenger depot for the big four and more were established in kankakee. After the meeting, during discussion of the big four tracks between elkhart and niles mention was made of a location named, bellview or bellvue. The story of the california big four suggests that the local and regional.
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