The Central Pacific Railroad is the first transcontinental railroad in North America, honored by BBC as one of the seven miracles after Industrial Revlution. It had made a great contributon to the US´s economy, but it couldn´t be completed without Chinese labors´ hardwork. In order to build the railroad, a lot of workers were imported from China. They had to bear the brunt of the work, deal with the dreadful environment and endure with little pay. What challenges did they meet? And how did they cope with them? Join us in The Railroad Builders to find the answers!
The First Transcontinental Railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the "Overland Route") was a railroad line built in the United States of America between 1863 and 1869. By linking with the existing railway network of the Eastern United States, the road thus connected the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States by rail for the first time. It was one of the crowning achievements in the crossing of plains and high mountains westward by the Union Pacific and eastward by the Central Pacific.
The first transcontinental railroad at the time is the most ambitious engineering project ever attempted in the United States. When work started on the most challenging Western section, Chinese labors were brought in, and before long they became brunt of the work. But what did so many Chinese nationals do with the US in mid-19 Century?
President Lincoln had a dream that one day a railroad would cross the United States from coast to coast. As the construction of the first transcontinental railroad got underway in the mid-19 Century, large numbers of Chinese labors headed to the US. But would it be the land of fortune they dreamed of? What really awaited them at the end of the long and often difficult voyage from China?
The first group of Chinese labor began to work on the first transcontinental railroad of the United States. To the delight of the new employers, they proved to be excellent workers. But the Sierra Nevada would be a test of their hardness and resolve. How did the Chinese labors cope with the dreadful rain and unfamiliar freezing weather?
It was the coldest winter ever known in the American West and thousands of labors from China found themseves having to endure the unfamiliar snow and freezing cold. And yet they managed to build something that 150 years later is still regarded as an engineering marvel. What help did they get from the powerful and highly dangerous explosive?
The Summit Tunnel through Sierra Nevada, every inch of it was built at the cost of the blood of even the lives of Chinese labors. And yet in return, the Chinese labors faced discrimination. The rewards they received were pitiful.How did they respond and what did the Central Pacific Railroad Company do to address their grievances?
Paid less, and yet bearing the brunt of the work, the Chinese labors building the Central Pacific Railroad demanded more money. How did the company respond? In Sierra Nevada, they broken through rock and endured harshest winter in their memory. Now in Utah, what fresh challenges awaited them? How did they finally earned the gratitude.
