The Railroad West

• Ames Monument ...And the Birthplace of Murphy's Law. In 1882, after much planning and great expense, the Union Pacific Railroad dedicated, at the highest point on the transcontinental route, a huge granite pyramid, specially designed and built to honor the Ames brothers who helped finance the railway venture.
• The Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum Some great old photos and good information about the building of the Transcontinental RR.
• Chinese-American Contribution to the building of the Railroad and more old photos
• The Colorado RR Museum Established to preserve a tangible record of Colorado's flamboyant railroad era, particularly the state's pioneering narrow gauge mountain railroads.
• The CPRR Links to Related Railroad, Photography & History Websites Lots More Links!
• The Golden Spike National Historic Site Where the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads met in 1869. This historic site is at Brigham City, Utah.
• The Golden Years of Transportation This site takes you on a ride and features early transportation of the 1800s & early 1900s, and how it grew: Coaches, Wagons, Horse Drawn Trolleys, Railroads... and even a special page for kids!
• International Railway Links Over 3000 links about railways, and extremely well organized. Find it here!
• The Iron Trail to Fierro Very little is left today at Fierro, New Mexico to indicate this area once was the thriving center of New Mexico's iron-mining industry. Read about the history of this area, and about the people and events that shaped this mining district near Silver City, New Mexico.
• JJ's Railroad Links Wow! Over 1200 links to all kinds of railroad sites.... alphabetized by name of RR.
• The North American Tourist Railroad and Railroad Museum List Check out this site with almost 2000 links.
• The Narrow Gauge Circle All about Narrow Gauge travel in days past in Colorado. Lots of great photos, too.
• RailRoads, the Expansion of the West, and the Creation of National Parks Because of railroad interest in the West to attract investors and build a market for passenger travel, the railroads also became the most active and effective supporters of the idea of creating National Parks in America.
• The Railroad Gauge The US Standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That's an exceedingly odd number. Why was that gauge used?
• The Railroads in Kansas A really informative narrative about the Railroads through Kansas from the 1850's to the early 1900's. Railroad development in Kansas from the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe to the "Katy" Railroad (Kansas & Texas)
• Rail Fair A grand fair celebrating railroads and railroading! Don't miss this site. A very well presented site about the 10 day RailFair Extravaganza in the heart of Old Sacramento, and also lots of good history about the Rails West into California.
• Reports of Explorations and Survey to Ascertain the Most Practicable and Economical Route for a Railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. All ten volumes of the Reports made under the direction of Jefferson Davis, Secretary of War, in 1855 together with the maps and plates accompanying the Reports.
• RR information around Laramie, WY
• Tie Siding Wyoming Along the Overland Trail, Tie Siding played a major role in the railroad tie industry, with ties floating down the Laramie River from "tie camps." The Union Pacific still maintains tracks across the Laramie Plains and adjoining Tie Siding.
• Some notes from my diary about a trip on the Trans-Siberian Rail Road from Beijing China, acoss Mongolia and into the USSR
• The Union Pacific across Wyoming Includes Railfan Trip Reports, the UP Locomotive Roster, and Trains on the UP
• UP From Cheyenne to Laramie Maps and Information about the 3 tracks between these two towns. The author of The Overland Trial pages lives very close to Track #3 at Harriman. More maps, a profile, and information about this section of UP track.
• The UP on Sherman Hill This is a "killer hill" between Cheyenne and Laramie, WY
• Whistling Billy and the Hanging Tree This eight-ton Porter Locomotive�s final stop was beneath the branches of Coulterville California's old hanging tree. Go here to read about this California Gold Rush steam engine.
• Wilderness Tramways From the mid-1800's into the 20th century, perhaps nothing could be further from urban public transit than wilderness tramways, but in many ways these obscure operations resembled horsecar systems found in cities.

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