Rival rails : the race to build America's greatest transcontinental railroad

From Publishers WeeklyRailroads might seem outmoded today, but they were originally dynamic, cutthroat enterprises, according to this byzantine business history of track laying in the American West. Independent historian Borneman (Polk) chronicles the post–Civil War scramble to build a web of transcontinental railroads, lavish land grants, and government subsidies. Dozens of railroads and their executives are featured, but the melee eventually gels into a showdown between the Southern Pacific, intent on monopolizing the routes into California, and the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe, determined to reach the Pacific by a prized snow-free southerly route. The regionÖs rugged topography forces railroads to compete for a handful of one-track-wide mountain passes and river crossings; rivals throw down miles of track per day to reach strategic junctions and occasionally send armed gangs to seize choke points. BornemanÖs evocations of railroad culture--the construction feats, boom-and-bust railhead towns, train robbers, and luxury cars--add color but are skimpy. He centers the story instead on boardroom maneuverings, and while railroad tycoons are a colorful lot, their deal-making begins to blur. As empire-building bequeaths corporate consolidation, BornemanÖs narrative runs out of steam before reaching the terminal. 16 pages of photos, 30 maps. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. FromBefore the Civil War, the most logical route for the planned transcontinental railroad was across the southern plains and the deserts of the southwest. Instead, for reasons more political than economic, the more northerly route was selected, and the two strands were joined at Promontory Point, Utah, in 1868. Almost immediately, the competition began for the rights to build a web of lines across the southern route. Borneman, a historian and attorney, has written an interesting, if uneven, chronicle of the political as well as physical struggles to complete these tasks. He profiles numerous competing companies and their sponsors, and he describes their often cutthroat tactics and greed. Eventually, two large companies, the Southern Pacific and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, squeezed out or absorbed other competitors. When he sticks to the actual process of construction, Borneman’s narrative is brisk, colorful, and exciting. It drags and confuses when it deals with the machinations in corporate board rooms. Still, this is a worthy look at a less-publicized aspect of railroad construction. --Jay Freeman From acclaimed historian Walter R. Borneman comes a dazzling account of the battle to build America’s transcontinental rail lines. Rival Rails is an action-packed epic of how an empire was born—and the remarkable men who made it happen.
 
After the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869, the rest of the country was up for grabs, and the race was on. The prize: a better, shorter, less snowy route through the corridors of the American Southwest, linking Los Angeles to Chicago. In Rival Rails, Borneman lays out in compelling detail the sectional rivalries, contested routes, political posturing, and ambitious business dealings that unfolded as an increasing number of lines pushed their way across the country.

Borneman brings to life the legendary business geniuses and so-called robber barons who made millions and fought the elements—and one another—to move America, including William Jackson Palmer, whose leadership of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad relied on innovative narrow gauge trains that could climb steeper grades and take tighter curves; Collis P. Huntington of the Central Pacific and Southern Pacific lines, a magnate insatiably obsessed with trains—and who was not above bribing congressmen to satisfy his passion; Edward Payson Ripley, visionary president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, whose fiscal conservatism and smarts brought the industry back from the brink; and Jay Gould, ultrasecretive, strong-armer and one-man powerhouse.

In addition, Borneman captures the herculean efforts required to construct these roads—the laborers who did the back-breaking work, boring tunnels through mountains and throwing bridges across unruly rivers, the brakemen who ran atop moving cars, the tracklayers crushed and killed by runaway trains. From backroom deals in Washington, D.C., to armed robberies of trains in the wild deserts, from glorified cattle cars to streamliners and Super Chiefs, all the great incidents and innovations of a mighty American era are re-created with unprecedented power in Rival Rails.

From acclaimed historian Walter R. Borneman comes a dazzling account of the battle to build America's transcontinental rail lines. Rival Rails is an action-packed epic of how an empire was born--and the remarkable men who made it happen. After the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869, the rest of the country was up for grabs, and the race was on. The prize: a better, shorter, less snowy route through the corridors of the American Southwest, linking Los Angeles to Chicago. In Rival Rails, Borneman lays out in compelling detail the sectional rivalries, contested routes, political posturing, and ambitious business dealings that unfolded as an increasing number of lines pushed their way across the country. Borneman brings to life the legendary business geniuses and so-called robber barons who made millions and fought the elements--and one another--to move America, including William Jackson Palmer, whose leadership of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad relied on innovative narrow gauge trains that could climb steeper grades and take tighter curves; Collis P. Huntington of the Central Pacific and Southern Pacific lines, a magnate insatiably obsessed with trains--and who was not above bribing congressmen to satisfy his passion; Edward Payson Ripley, visionary president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, whose fiscal conservatism and smarts brought the industry back from the brink; and Jay Gould, ultrasecretive, strong-armer and one-man powerhouse. In addition, Borneman captures the herculean efforts required to construct these roads--the laborers who did the back-breaking work, boring tunnels through mountains and throwing bridges across unruly rivers, the brakemen who ran atop moving cars, the tracklayers crushed and killed by runaway trains. From backroom deals in Washington, D.C., to armed robberies of trains in the wild deserts, from glorified cattle cars to streamliners and Super Chiefs, all the great incidents and innovations of a mighty American era are re-created with unprecedented power in Rival Rails. From the Hardcover edition "After the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869, the rest of the country was up for grabs, and the race was on. The prize: a better, shorter, less snowy route through the corridors of the American Southwest, linking Los Angeles to Chicago. In Rival Rails, Borneman lays out in compelling detail the sectional rivalries, contested routes, political posturing, and ambitious business dealings that unfolded as an increasing number of lines pushed their way across the country"--Page 2 of cover.;Opening gambits (1853-1874) -- Lines upon the map -- Learning the rails -- An interruption of war -- Transcontinental by any name -- The Santa Fe joins the fray -- Straight west from Denver -- "Why is it we have so many bitter enemies?" -- Contested empire (1874-1889) -- Showdown at Yuma -- Impasse at Raton -- Battle royal for the gorge -- Handshake at Deming -- West across Texas -- Transcontinental at last -- Battling for California -- Gould again -- To the halls of Montezuma -- California for a dollar -- Santa Fe all the way (1889-1909) -- Making the markets -- Canyon dreams and schemes -- The boom goes bust -- Still west from Denver -- Top of the heap -- Dueling streamliners. "After the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869, the rest of the country was up for grabs, and the race was on. The prize: a better, shorter, less snowy route through the corridors of the American Southwest, linking Los Angeles to Chicago. In Rival Rails, Borneman lays out in compelling detail the sectional rivalries, contested routes, political posturing, and ambitious business dealings that unfolded as an increasing number of lines pushed their way across the country" --Cover, p. 2.