Six Factors Behind the Quick Completion of the Transcontinental Railroad

Infrastructural development is one of the key initiatives that was regarded as an enabler of the economic development of the US. To many political and economic players, trade between the American coasts and the westernEastern markets could be opened up better through infrastructural development. The railroad came at a time when there was need for a connection of the two American coasts which made the economic export of Western resources to the Eastern markets easier and better than way before. Through the railroad, the US witnessed an expansive westward expansion with an estimated freight that was worth $ 50 million every year. Furthermore, the railroad facilitated international trade particularly the flow of goods from one end of the American market to another end. The worth of the transcontinental railroad meant that it had to be completed within the shortest possible time to facilitate trade not just in the US but across the border as well. Consequently, the project was completed within ten years (in six years to be specific, almost entirely without much machinations. The opening of the Transcontinental railroad in 1869 was significant as it opened up the American West to other parts of the world in a rather rapid manner. A critical question to explore is the factors that led to the quick completion of this mega project in the US history within 10 years of the project implementation. This task will provide an analysis of these factors and then provide a comparative analysis with the Apollo program which was majorly about exploring mass.

Trade Merchants

One of the key factors or motivators behind the quick completion of the Transcontinental railroad within the 10 years of the project idea were trade merchants led by Asa Whitney who was a New York merchant that was actively involved in trade with China. According to Asa, there was need to open up America to other trade partners particularly China who were obsessed with the idea of having a railroad to the Pacific region. Out of zeal and passion for trade, the merchant in 1845, petitioned Congress for a sixty-mile strip through the public domain to aid in financing the construction of the project. According to the trade Merchant, it was only through the railroad that the US would expand its trade missions to other continents especially the trade ties with China. It is this zeal and vision that saw Congress quickly adopt the idea and initiative the construction of the project in the record time. Although Congress was initially opposed to the idea, the subsequent times that followed demonstrated an establishment of a clear background upon which the project was initiated and quickly implemented.

Whitney; the trade merchant played a key role in ensuring that the project is implemented through the published book titled, “Project for a Railroad to the Pacific”. The book included a clear map of how the railroad was to move right from Prairie, Wisconsin through the mountainous region. Other proposed routes were also well set up hence making it easy for the construction process to kickstart and be implemented.

Besides the trade merchants, there was already prior knowledge of the potential benefits of implementing the railway line. The opinion of business enthusiasts and architects even before the project could be started helped to establish a good background upon which the project could eventually be implemented towards effective completion. For instance, in 1860, Theodore Judah who was a young engineer identified the Donner Pass in Northern California as an ideal location that could potentially be used for the railroad construction through the Nevada mountains. Furthermore, prior to starting the project, Judah had already enlisted potential investors in Sacramento aimed at forming the Central Pacific Railroad Company. It was out of this goodwill and determination that Judah was able to finally convince Congress and the president in enacting the Pacific Railroad Act that helped in setting the project towards its eventual accomplishment.

Government Political Goodwill

The Transcontinental railroad was accomplished at the time of Abraham Lincoln presidency. Other than the president, the project received immense support from Congress. One way that demonstrates the president’s goodwill in having the project implemented in time is the passage of the Pacific Railway Act which the president signed into law in 1862. The Act ensured that the project gets financial aid from the Federal government. The legislative efforts put forth after the enaction of the law resulted in the successful completion of the railroad which according to the president, could help to reduce the travel time across the continent. The government of the day was particularly keen in seeing the project being fully implemented. After realizing that the project was too costly and risky, the government came in handy by granting the railroad builders land on which they could build the railroads.

The provision of land was one step forward in ensuring that the railroad has enough land upon which the rail was to be constructed. Just like in other railroad projects, the land grant which was stipulated in the Pacific Railroad Act helped to provide public land to railroad companies in exchange for the construction of rail road tracks in specific locations. Such grants demonstrated the government’s efforts and commitment in ensuring that those constructing the Transcontinental railroads have enough space and time upon which the railroad is to be constructed. This support and political goodwill demonstrated by both the president and Congress emerged as a key move towards attaining the set targets in the railroad construction. It is by signing the Pacific Railway Act that president Lincoln demonstrated the government’s willingness and commitment to have the project completed as fast as possible for the economic benefit of the country and the region at large. The political support and goodwill emerges as a key enabler in helping to attain the set deadlines during the project implementation.

Availability of Workforce

One of the reasons as to why the transcontinental railroad was completed within the said time was the fact that there was already available labor. The construction of the railroad started in January of 1863 with the help of workers for the Central Pacific Railroad who broke the ground in Sacramento. After eleven months, there was another group in the Midwest region under the Union Pacific Railroad who started work in Omaha. The two groups worked tirelessly to meet in the middle which helped to have the project completed in 1869. The project was completed with the help of the exploited labor which, although a dark side of the project, helped to have the railroad being delivered in a record six years.

The first kind of labor force were the Chinese who dominated the project’s labor force. According to Renehan, (2007), getting the white workforce that could help on the project proved to be a key challenge during the implementation of the project. The America’s white laboring class could hardly be found to undertake the project. However, the project was kept on track by using the Chinese workforce and the Irish immigrants formed the biggest portion of the labor force that helped to undertake the project under the supervision of the US government. It is estimated that at least 20,000 Chinese workers participated in the project construction which defines the majority of the workforce. Other groups that participated in the quick turn around of the project include African Americans, some of who were immigrants, the Irishmen, a small percentage of the native Americans as well as the Mormons who are currently defined as the members of the church of the Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is this extensive availability of labor that played a critical role in ensuring that the Transcontinental railroad is accomplished in the shortest possible time.

With most of the US’s able-bodied men in the battle field and a number of native whites opting to try their fortunes in Gold, it is the availability of many Chinese immigrants who had come for the gold rush that helped to escalate the manner in which the project was to be implemented. Most of the Chinese workers, known for their hard work, did well in preparing rail beds, laying tracking, digging tunnels, and constructing bridges. According to reports, the workers provided cheap and affordable labor as they were paid just $1 per day and worked 12-hour shifts, six days per week. It is this industrious nature of the workforce that helped to have the project completed within the stipulated time. On the other hand, the Union Pacific relied mainly on Irish workers, many of whom were famine immigrants and fresh off the battlefields of the war. Therefore, the availability of cheap and available labor played a key part in seeing to it that the project is implemented within ten years after it was launched.

Public Support

Just like is the case of political goodwill, public support plays an important role in ensuring that any given project succeeds with minimal interruption. Although the Transcontinental railroad was implemented with private interests at hand, the role of the public in allowing the project implementation cannot be ignored. Besides, there is no evidence which points to the fact that the project received any position from the public as is often expected of some of the projects implemented by the government. A majority of the US citizens at the time were more interested with the implementation of projects such as infrastructural framework that provides direct benefits to the majority of the populace. The full backing of the public demonstrates the level of commitment that the US citizens had in seeing the full implementation of the Transcontinental railway network which was a key move towards opening the US for internal business practices.

Although the project came at a time when most of the US citizens were in for the gold rush, the public support is evident from the fact that a notable number of citizens bought into the idea hence providing the much-needed labor. The labor support added onto the already existing Chinese and other immigrant labor force was a force to reckon in as far as implementing the project was concerned.

Existing Technology

One of the key technologies that were used by both the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific railroads was the William Howe’s patented truss design. An example of the Howe’s truss in use is the River Bridge by the Central Pacific as well as the Union Pacific’s bridge over River Missouri. Willumson, notes that to expedite the construction of the railroad particularly in the worse terrains such as the Truckee River Canyon, there was need to use small locomotives, railcars, rail as well as other materials on wagons and also sleighs to what is now regarded as the Truckee. In Truckee canyon, it is estimated that five Howe truss bridges were constructed hence providing a head start on how to get easy through the complex terrains through Nevada. This technological innovation helps the construction process to be implemented in a rather faster manner. The Howe truss technology was also highly economical as a result of the ease of construction and which was key in ensuring that the Transcontinental railroad could be accomplished faster than it was anticipated. By leveraging on the available technology, it was possible to ease the project implementation process.

Unpredictable Problems

Despite the level of success that was witnessed during the construction of the Transcontinental railroad, this was against many unpredictable challenges. One of the unprecedented challenges was the adverse climatic conditions which included dry conditions, heavy and delayed rains all of which at times hampered the railroad construction process. Those constructing the railroad also witnessed attacks by tropical diseases that occasionally weakened them hence slowing down the pace with which the project was to be accomplished. The projects were also hampered by scarcity of essential supplies which in notable occasions reduced the productivity of workers. The terrain or escarpment caused engineering challenges which ideally meant that the project was hampered and the set timelines could not be held to the latter. Nevertheless, the project implementation process was effectively accomplished despite the extensive challenges faced during the construction process. This factor is related to the identified goal in that it underscores some of the challenges that had to be encountered to ensure the project is implemented within 10 years.

Process to Achieve the Goal

There were key aspects that were leveraged on to help attain the goal of building the Transcontinental railroad system. The first one was to utilize the available labor force as much as possible. A key turning point towards fully implementing the railroad project was to use the gold rush as an opportunity to tap into the cheap available workforce. Besides, it was fortunate that the flood of the new gold-rush wealth resulted in economic incentives for fast transportation and enterprising people thought of creating an up-to date transportation system that could aid their business undertakings. The California gold rush created a wealth of economic activities that opened up the people’s mind and established the desire to do business more.

The gold rush which saw an influx of immigrants particularly from China and Ireland presented another opportunity for the construction of the railway line. With the need to realize the dream for an expanded business network, the project leveraged on the available labor force from the Chinese people who had come to the US in search of the gold business. The gold rush led to the emergence of the cheap labor which is a key factor in determining the level of success of the project.

Other than the gold rush that resulted in the availability of labor, the focus of Congress and the president at the time set an important precedence towards adopting the targets for the company. The president, having understood the benefits that will come with the construction of the railway system, signed the Act that would make it possible for the lands to be leased and to allow the construction of the railway line. With the government having widespread knowledge of the risks of not investing in the business and the growth of China as a competitor in the Transcontinental trade, the Transcontinental railway was an opportunity to open up the US to other markets and as such, expand its competitiveness in the global market. The need for the construction of the railway was particularly precedented by efforts made by business players who understood the value of investing in infrastructural initiatives such as expanding the road network and improving on the railway line. The proclamation to have the railway line was also publicly articulated by patriots who provided the public goodwill upon which the project could be implemented. Generally, the government tried to promote the project as much as possible by providing Federal aid and investing in the available labor so that the project can be fully implemented.

Comparison to Apollo Program

The Apollo program is a program about exploring the moon which is a scientifically ambitious program. The Apollo program requires notable investments in science but without necessarily having any public buy-in. This makes the program quite different from my objective which is implementing the Transcontinental railway within 10 years. While it is necessary to have a critical analysis of the role of the public in guaranteeing the success of the Transcontinental railway line, the Apollo program can be regarded as a government science-driven discovery, meant to establish or built the national pride without necessarily looking at the social implications to the very common American citizen. This is as opposed to the railway line which is a project driven by the people with clearly defined land agreements with the government. Another notable difference is that while the Apollo program was implemented pre-existing NACA, which contained many skilled aeronautical engineers studying flight and hypersonic flight, which would help in developing spacecraft, the Transcontinental railway was majorly relied on by the unskilled immigrant population with few scientific or engineering knowledge behind it.

There are notable similarities between the Apollo program and the Transcontinental railway line that is to be accomplished within 10 years. In both governments, the government made the decision to have the projects implemented quite quickly. The two goals are both informed by the need to counter the influence by other countries. The government made the decision to go to the moon defined by a clear deadline with the help of skilled engineers and scientists from NASA. Besides, both the Apollo program and the Transcontinental railway were built as a result of prior knowledge of the benefits that come with the implementation of both programs. For both goals, having members who already knew information useful to completing the goal accelerated progress and as such, leveraging on the already existing knowledge about the goals helped to escalate the rate at which the two projects were implemented.

Conclusion

Generally, the implementation of the Transcontinental railway was as a result on a number of factors that played a key role in seeing the project’s implementation. While prior knowledge of the benefits of the railway helped to set the stage for the project, it is the government’s efforts through the provision of land grants that played a major part in realizing the full implementation of the project. The success of the project can be attributed largely to Congress understanding the worth of Transcontinental trade and the need to open the US to other nations as a way of boosting economic development. Unlike the Apollo program which was a scientifically motivated program, the Transcontinental railway initiative was both a technical and socially-motivated initiative. This task has demonstrated the critical role that science and the general society has done in seeing the full implementation of the Transcontinental railway. This task has demonstrated that although there are a number of differences between the Apollo program and the Transcontinental railway, the highlighted similarities cannot be under estimated.