What obstacles did the builders of the railroad face?
They had to face dangerous work conditions – accidental explosions, snow and rock avalanches, which killed hundreds of workers, not to mention frigid weather. “All workers on the railroad were ‘other’,” said Liebhold. “On the west, there were Chinese workers, out east were Irish and Mormon workers were in the center.
What was the engineering challenge of the transcontinental railroad?
The Central Pacific met its greatest challenge at the outset—the towering Sierra Nevada, which presented enormous engineering obstacles and strangling winter snows. Deep fills, rock cuts, high trestles, snaking grades, and 15 tunnels through 6,213 feet of solid granite blooded the CP crews.
What were some challenges workers faced when building the transcontinental railroad?
“Chinese received 30-50 percent lower wages than whites for the same job and they had to pay for their own food stuffs,” Chang says. “They also had the most difficult and dangerous work, including tunneling and the use of explosives. There is also evidence they faced physical abuse at times from some supervisors.
What was the most difficult geographical dilemma for the builders of the railroads to overcome?
In the summer of 1865 the railroad builders faced one of their biggest challenges, a roadbed curving around a mountain high in the Sierra Nevada, named Cape Horn (Mile 57/Kilometer 91.7) after the treacherous route for ships sailing around the tip of South America.
Why was there so many problems with the railroad?
Many of the financial problems for the railroad included people thinking the railroad would not be a success and they would loose their money. Another problem is when the workers needed to clear paths for the trains. There were numerous problems with the explosives they used to clear the path.
How did people die on the transcontinental railroad?
At first railroad companies were reluctant to hire Chinese workers, but the immigrants soon proved to be vital. They toiled through back-breaking labor during both frigid winters and blazing summers. Hundreds died from explosions, landslides, accidents and disease.
Who was involved in the construction of the transcontinental railroad?
From the beginning, then, the building of the transcontinental railroad was set up in terms of a competition between the two companies. In the West, the Central Pacific would be dominated by the “Big Four”–Charles Crocker, Leland Stanford, Collis Huntington and Mark Hopkins.
Why did John A Macdonald want to build a railroad?
It was John A. Macdonald intention to create a railroad connecting and Helping Canada. Sir John A. Macdonald found a private company called “Canadian Pacific Railway” (CPR). They predicted that the total cost of the railway would be 100’000’000 dollars. The CPR would pay for the railroad construction and then own the railroad.