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Charles Crocker (September 16, 1822 – August 14, 1888) was an American railroad executive who was one of the founders of the Central Pacific Railroad, which constructed the westernmost portion of the first transcontinental railroad, and took control with partners of the Southern Pacific Railroad. [1] [2]
The first transcontinental railroad in Europe, that connected the North Sea or the English Channel with the Mediterranean Sea, was a series of lines that included the Paris–Marseille railway, in service 1856. Multiple railways north of Paris were in operation at that time, such as Paris–Lille railway and Paris–Le Havre railway.
America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the "Overland Route") was a 1,911-mile (3,075 km) continuous railroad line built between 1863 and 1869 that connected the existing eastern U.S. rail network at Council Bluffs, Iowa, with the Pacific coast at the Oakland Long Wharf on San Francisco Bay. [1]
In June 1867, two thousand Chinese Transcontinental Railroad workers participated in a general strike (a collective action) for a week along the Sierra Nevada range, demanding better working conditions. [1] By 1867, the Central Pacific Railroad workforce was composed of 80-90% Chinese laborers and the rest were European-Americans. [2]
Chin stood out amongst other Chinese immigrants at the time as he dressed like a westerner and spoke perfect English. He was a supervisor of hundreds of Chinese workers who built the transcontinental railroad and feeder lines across California, Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, and Colorado. He was among the first Chinese immigrants in Colorado. [2]
Congress added railroad worker safety laws throughout the 20th century. [118]: 16–25 Significant among this legislation is the Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1970, which gave the FRA broad responsibilities over all aspects of rail safety, and expanded the agency's authority to cover all railroads, both interstate and intrastate. [123]
Some of the UP crews who were denied a chance to break the CP record later worked on the Kansas Pacific, who set a new record with 10 miles 1,320 feet (16.496 km) laid in a single day at Comanche Crossing near Strasburg, Colorado on August 15, 1870, [e] completing the first continuous transcontinental railroad.
Asa Whitney (1797–1872) was a highly successful dry-goods merchant and transcontinental railroad promoter. [1] He was one of the first backers of an American transcontinental railway. A trip to China in 1842–44 impressed upon Whitney the need for a transcontinental railroad from the Atlantic to the Pacific. [2] [3]