Iron Rails, Iron Men, and the Race to Link the Nation: The Story of the Transcontinental Railroad

This account chronicles the drive to build a transcontinental railroad across the United States. In the 1850s, people seeking gold in the West often traveled for months on foot, by ship, or on horseback. Workers and machines set out from Sacramento and Omaha toward Utah, crossing mountains and deserts to connect the country from coast to coast. Archival photographs and maps document the project.