. Building the Pacific railway; the construction-story of America's first iron thoroughfare between the Missouri River and California, from the inception of the great idea to the day, May 10, 1869, when the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific joined tracks at Promontory Point, Utah, to form the nation's transcontinental . the summit was fourteen miles, with arise of 1131 feet to the highest stake, 7042 feet eleva-tion. At Cisco the snow remained into May; beyond,it gathered twelve to sixty feet deep and the driftspersisted year to year. The work from Colfax up had been considered asthe clima
. Building the Pacific railway; the construction-story of America's first iron thoroughfare between the Missouri River and California, from the inception of the great idea to the day, May 10, 1869, when the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific joined tracks at Promontory Point, Utah, to form the nation's transcontinental . the summit was fourteen miles, with arise of 1131 feet to the highest stake, 7042 feet eleva-tion. At Cisco the snow remained into May; beyond,it gathered twelve to sixty feet deep and the driftspersisted year to year. The work from Colfax up had been considered asthe climax of railroad building; was pronounced as themost difficult known to the world. But from Cisco tothe eastward of Donner Lake Nature still sat en-trenched twenty-five miles deep, all arrayed to stop theprogress of the puny tracks. By reason of impossiblecanyons, gorges and abrupt pitches ten tunnels wererequired—one at the Summit, of 1659 feet, almost athird of a mile—in order to bridge grades that other-wise would be beyond the power of any locomotive Theemigrant wagon-road might accomplish 400 feet climbto the mile, but a railroad, never. In all, there werefifteen tunnels upon the engineers maps. NumbersThree and Four, just outside of Cisco, proved amongthe toughest; granite so hard was encountered that the 118. FIGHTING THE SIERRA SNOWCentral Pacific R. R., 1866
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectcentral, bookyear1919
