History Comes Alive

At four thousand feet above sea level, Promontory Summit is, for the most part, a wind swept plain with gently rolling hills dotted with sage brush and prairie grasses that struggle to survive on the little rainfall they receive each year. But it was here that congress decided that the Union Pacific... Sign in to see full entry.

Thomas Durant knew an opportunity when he saw one. As director of a grain exporting business, he understood the need for a railroad system that not only serviced the east coast of America but the entire country as well. He realized that the men who controlled the building of the transcontinental... Sign in to see full entry.

Meanwhile, in the Serra Nevada mountain range, progress had been reduced to a crawl as the granite wall refused to yield without back braking work, day in and day out, by the Chinese workers. To start a tunnel, one worker would hold tightly onto a rock drill while two others swung eighteen pound... Sign in to see full entry.

Massacre at Plum Creek On August 27 th, 1867, the Cheyenne Indians derailed a locomotive near Plum Creek, Nebraska, causing the death of twelve railroad workers and a prairie fire. Seven men were missing and the rest were rescued by a supply train. The only survivor staggered into a water depot days... Sign in to see full entry.

Part 3: The Transcontinental Railroad: A Small Light on the Horizon “We said among ourselves, now the white people have taken all we have, we should do something. If we can throw these wagons off the iron they run upon, and break them open, we can find what is in them and take what might be useful... Sign in to see full entry.

As construction supervisor, James Harvey Strobridge tolerated no laziness or discontent from the men under him and he used a pick axe handle to maintain discipline in his construction army. Known for his legendary profanity and eye patch; he lost an eye in a powder blast; the men soon discovered... Sign in to see full entry.

The Big Four On January 8, 1863, citizens of Sacramento, California (pop.13, 000) flooded the streets to witness the launch of President Lincoln’s dream of a transcontinental railroad by four of their own. Collis Huntington, a hardware merchant, Mark Hopkins, his business partner, Leland Stanford, a... Sign in to see full entry.

Prologue: The Transcontinental Railroad – The Linking of a Nation As the curtain rose on the year 1862, Americans wondered if their great republic would survive the shock waves that thundered across the nation from the constant firing of the war cannon. The country had been ripped in two along... Sign in to see full entry.

Epilogue: Bismarck vs. HMS Hood: The Aftermath After the sinking of the Bismarck, never again would Adolf Hitler send surface ships into the Atlantic for commerce raiding. He left that duty to the U-boat division which continued attacks until the end of the war. Early U-boat success did not last... Sign in to see full entry.

Part 4: Bismarck vs. HMS Hood: The Final Chapter Admiral Tovey had decided on a daylight attack and at 8 am on the morning of May 27 th, 1941, they caught their first sight of the Bismarck. Ludovic Kennedy from the HMS Tartar, “I think it was the most marvelous ship I have ever seen. Massive but... Sign in to see full entry.