Existing comment:
Remnant of a Tracklaying Record
"I had five trains with 5,000 men at my command. Our organization was as well-drilled as any military company."
-- James Strobridge (in suit on flatcar)
In the rush to make distance, Union Pacific in 1868 laid seven miles of track in one day. U.P. Vice-President T.C. Durant boastfully bet $10,000 that their record could not be beaten. Central Pacific gamely accepted the challenge.
Said C.P. Superintendent James Strobridge:
"The two lines were only 25 miles apart in April, 1869, so I knew if I beat them, U.P. would have no room to come back."
"On the 29th, the men went to work with a will, laying six miles in six hours. We had kept them on the run, and at 6:00pm, we quit with a record of ten miles and 200 feet."
"Nobody was crowded, nobody was hurt, nobody lost a minute..."
Proud of their accomplishment, Central Pacific erected this sign for Transcontinental passengers to see. In the race between two railroads, C.P. had the last laugh.
Original sign posted on the Southern Pacific right-of-way facing east. Photo taken sometime in the 1930s. |