Rival Rails: The Race to Build America's Greatest Transcontinental Railroad

by Walter R. Borneman

From acclaimed historian Walter R. Borneman comes a dazzling account of the battle to build America’s transcontinental rail lines. Rival Rails is an action-packed epic of how an empire was born—and the remarkable men who made it happen.
 
After the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869, the rest of the country was up for grabs, and the race was on. The a better, shorter, less snowy route through the corridors of the American Southwest, linking Los Angeles to Chicago. In Rival Rails, Borneman lays out in compelling detail the sectional rivalries, contested routes, political posturing, and ambitious business dealings that unfolded as an increasing number of lines pushed their way across the country.

Borneman brings to life the legendary business geniuses and so-called robber barons who made millions and fought the elements—and one another—to move America, including William Jackson Palmer, whose leadership of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad relied on innovative narrow gauge trains that could climb steeper grades and take tighter curves; Collis P. Huntington of the Central Pacific and Southern Pacific lines, a magnate insatiably obsessed with trains—and who was not above bribing congressmen to satisfy his passion; Edward Payson Ripley, visionary president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, whose fiscal conservatism and smarts brought the industry back from the brink; and Jay Gould, ultrasecretive, strong-armer and one-man powerhouse.

In addition, Borneman captures the herculean efforts required to construct these roads—the laborers who did the back-breaking work, boring tunnels through mountains and throwing bridges across unruly rivers, the brakemen who ran atop moving cars, the tracklayers crushed and killed by runaway trains. From backroom deals in Washington, D.C., to armed robberies of trains in the wild deserts, from glorified cattle cars to streamliners and Super Chiefs, all the great incidents and innovations of a mighty American era are re-created with unprecedented power in Rival Rails.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Railways, American History, Trains, Railway History, Transport

432 pages, Hardcover

First published September 22, 2010

About the author

Walter R. Borneman, b.1952, an American historian and lawyer, is the author of well-known popular books on 18th and 19th century United States history. He received his B.A. in 1974 from Western State College of Colorado, and received an M.A. in history there in 1975 for a thesis on "Irwin : silver camp of the Ruby Mountains"; in 1981 he received a law degree from the University of Denver, and practiced law. His latest book, published in May 2012, is The Admirals Nimitz, Halsey, Leahy, and King--the 5-star Admirals Who Won the War at Sea.
wikipedia

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 1 out of 5]

As the cliche says: "I want the time back I spent on this...." Hackneyed, disjointed and pedantic to the degree you'd like to put your head down on the rail and wait for the Special, this turns a fascinating story into a pile of details and disconnections. Do you get the feeling I was disappointed?

[Nicole Marble · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are people who say government should not interfere, should stay out of the way. Well, this book tells the story of how the U.S. government, taxpayers, surveyed various routes for railroads. And then gave land to railroad companies to compensate them for building those rail roads. Which is as clear an example of government creating wealth as ever was.

[Jim Gallen · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Rival Rails” tells the story of the intense corporate competition to knit the west together into a web of rails. Author Walter Borneman takes us on the ride from the political and engineering maneuvers to pick the most advantageous routes through the building challenges, the financial scandals, wartime disruptions and Twenty-first Century revivals. Readers race through the fabled names of the past: Colis P. Huntington, Charles Crocker, Jay Gould and Fred Harvey, Central Pacific, Union Pacific, Santa Fe and Credit Mobilier, to say nothing of the crossroads and terminals, passes and towns, hotels and resorts that made the lure of the rails.

I enjoyed hearing the stories of the old railroad West, but the names sped by like Santa Fe Chief on a record breaking run to Chicago. I listened to the audio book and that may have contributed to my confusion. Perhaps someone more familiar with the geography, which lines ran where and who lead which would gotten more out of this book. I am glad that I read it, but I had hope for something a little better.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

I suspect that to do full justice to the forging of rail connections throughout the Southwest would require several volumes, but this does seem a good overview treatment of the subject. For example, there is a tiny vignette about a joke that went around that the engineer could pass his tobacco plug to the brakeman on some of the really tight switchbacks. A fine description, but the author never really gives a good description of the actual grade/rail construction that would give meaning to such a description. Some very interesting personalities are given major roles in the book, but very little is said about their character, background, education, etc.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

The maps are small and all too often the key part is hidng in the centre crease, and the photos have almost all been published elsewhere better. Still, I give this book full marks for readability and making a difficult subject entertaining and understandable. I am a hard core railway enthusiast but you don't need to be to enjoy this book.

[Kenneth · Rating 2 out of 5]

The audio book opens with a reading of numerous charts which read rather dryly. The book is loaded with facts about the history of the development of the U.S. rail network, not just the Tran-Pacific railroad. If you are a real railroad buff, then go ahead and read this book, otherwise, I would avoid it, and do yourself a favor, avoid the audio book!

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rival Rails sheds light on the process of the building of America's railroads from the early 1800s through the mid-1900s with the focus on the late 1800s through the early 1900s. The typical American history survey course tends to mention the building of the first transcontinental railroad by the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific, tells of its completion with the golden spike, and leaves railroad history pretty much at that, as if once these roads met at Promontory Point, Utah, then there were just railroads everywhere. Borneman shows how there is so much more to the history of rail in America, especially the West. I never imagined there were so many roads both in competition with each other and in joint business with each other. There were so many people and railroads involved, I had a hard time keeping them all straight, but part of the problem there was because I progressed through the book so slowly at first due to my negligence to set aside more time to read. I think I would have gotten more out of the book if I had read it at a more consistent speed, but I still found it very interesting and informative. I was hoping for more about the actual work of building railroads, but Borneman focused mainly on the business side of railroad building, on the ones who did not get their hands dirty, and as I progressed through the book, I realized Borneman also focused a lot on the Santa Fe. I guess this is warranted, as I learned the Santa Fe was a major player in the railroad field for many many years, but I wonder if it also shows a bit of bias or favoritism compared to the other railroads he covered. Nonetheless, this book can serve to enlighten readers who want to know more about how railroads came to be in the American West following the first transcontinental completion because the other railroads did not just suddenly appear on the map as the brushing-over of survey history implies.

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name · Rating 3 out of 5]

I debated-3 or 4? Couldn't really decide
The author started really well timeline, noted personalities all explained
Events begin antebellum period so the true beginning of the railways
But eventually they all start running together and the author is in no way to blame. It's those damn avaricious rail Barons eating away at territory and the small establishments.
But this book is truly an excellent historical reference. As the rails are built, wars are fought, laws are passed, presidents are elected. And our country grows
Really an interesting story

[Lydia Gates · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gets a little confusing with all the railway CEOs. The maps are helpful but confusing as the rail lines just converge and which is which? The information is good; but are there no trains on the east coast? Transcontinental is going across the US, right? The book only covers mostly the history part in the early days, not what I thought it would cover. Isn't there rivalry between rail companies now? The author did a lot of research. The photos are the best part of the book to me.
Note: I did not read all of the book--it's just TOO MUCH! Scanned and read certain sections.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. Super dense and I definitely didn't absorb all the details but still learned a lot about railroad developments in the US after the completion of the first transcontinental railroad. Good account of how the railroads, and the personalities who led them shaped the development of the West and US history. You of probably have to be a true railroad buff to get the most out if this book but I still found it a worthwhile read. Did it as an audiobook and I would definitely have benefitted from maps and photos.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good description of the complex planning, financing, expansion, of the initial railroad system for this country. There was certainly no central planning and a there was a free-for-all mentality which seems so typically American.
Books like this are helpful for research.
More about the main organizers, financiers, than about people who worked on the construction.
This book would be complemented by some of the documentaries on the transcontinental effort which can be found on YouTube.

[Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

For some books it'd be nice if there were two ratings: one for how much the reader enjoyed the book and one for the quality of the book.
This book was full of information, but most of it I didn't enjoy reading. It was too much about railroad 1 competing against railroad 2 from point a to b and how many miles of track were built and how long tunnels were, then repeat. It didn't tell a story the way I like to read about history.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book and learned a lot of railroading history. But it was quite disjointed perhaps not terrible surprising given the multitude of activities going on, at about the same time, throughout the entire western half of the country.

What I found somewhat surprising is the not subtle shift, for about the last 50 pages, from railroading history to a commercial endorsement for the Sante Fe railroad. Too bad!!

[Bronco Mania · Rating 3 out of 5]

I randomly found this book and was interested as I used to play Railroad Tycoon and recently started playing Railway Empire. It was cool actually learning who the people in the game were. Other than that, the book is a standard history book, so if you are into the timeframes of 1850-1890, then you'd probably like it, but if you could care less about that timeframe, you'll feel the same about this book.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

A history of efforts to build out the railways of the western half of the US in the last third of the 19th Century. Lots of interesting characters, engineering details, financial dealing, etc., etc., which ultimately led to the success of the AT & SF as the dominant Southwest transcontinental route.

[Cecelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved learning the history of the railroad.

[Rboylan]

Though not mentioned the title, the book is about the Atcheson, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway.

[Kyle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Repetitive. Facts and anecdotes are recycled from chapter to chapter. Could be a good reference for starting a research project but not so much as an end-to-end read.

[Jim Ramnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative about southwestern railroad history.

[Ian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly, Rival Rails was a disappointment. It's immaculately researched and well presented, but the pacing is anything but consistent, and the sheer amount of information is both enough to overwhelm you at first, and leave you wishing for more at the end. At first, you're overloaded with information, on different comany names, dates, their movers and shakers, and so on, and by the end entire decades seem to be skipped over in short order as though rushing to tell everything in. And how does he completely ignore the (at least) two northern transcontinental lines of the Northern Pacific and Great Northern? It's a real pity, because this book could have been so much better, but it's almost as though the author himself is the one who ran out of steam...

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of as an aside, does anyone know of any railroad histories that include women and minorities? I ask this because, as entertaining as this book was at times, it focused almost entirely on the men who ran things. And I'm even more interested in the boots-on-the-ground aspect of history.

As Borneman points out, though, most accounts of the history of railroad-building in the U.S. focus on the first big push to run a transcontinental railroad, and stop after that. The wheeling-and-dealing afterward (not to mention the occasional gunfight, or at least standoff) make for a pretty good story, too.

[Loren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very comprehensive history of railroads and their role in the settlement of the southwestern US. I found it interesting as a resident of the region, in understanding how many of the cities and settlements in the region came to be. While railroad enthusiasts and people interested in the history of the southwest will probably be most interested in the book, it's also fascinating to see the disproportionate power wielded by the railroads in the 19th century, and how it shaped local and federal politics - a theme that contemporary readers may find familiar.

[Adam Carman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little dense with all the comings and doings of different railroads but some interesting facts about railroads' power--for instance, in the 1870s a whole town was moved because the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe had it on their map four miles from its actual location!! Train afficionados will find its detail about the first truly transcontinental railroad fascinating.

[J.B. Elhem · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of a dry read, I found it hard to keep track of all of the personalities involved, and lines and construction routes could have used a map, but then, I was listening to the audiobook (hard to supply maps, obviously). On the other hand, it rekindled my interest in railroads, which had been dormant for years.

[Chris Aylott · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some interesting tidbits in this history of how the railroads of the West were won, but there are too many names and dates and not enough economics, scenery, or personality. Not bad, but just okay.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

This felt very inaccessible to someone who doesn't have the train obsession. Yes, trains are cool, but this seemed like something for someone who's truly obsessed with the subject. But I don't regret reading this because now, I'm completely fascinated by the story of Nellie Bly.

[John Behle · Rating 1 out of 5]

I disembarked from this torturous train ride. Walter Borneman's tome would be better suited for a presentation at (many consecutive) rail buff seminars. The endless geographical detail, poorly matched up maps and textbook style prose made me jump this rail car.

I gave it a chance.

[David Nusinow · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not really a railroad person, and I think someone who's more into their history would have enjoyed this book more.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific well-documented stories with very helpful maps. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

[Dogfood411 · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was so much detail, I would often get lost in what railroad owned what or was going where. I needed to have paid more attention.