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

Rival Rails: The Race to Build America's Greatest Transcontinental Railroad by Walter R. Borneman

Book review

"Union Pacific Railroad plans to demolish last bit of transcontinental history"

"Union Pacific Railroad plans to demolish last bit of transcontinental history" by Guy Span, © Examiner.com, September 27th, 2010. (News Article)

"... 1874 ... paint shop to refurbish rolling stock ... close to I-880... the structure, with its segmented-arched windows, and graceful style, was approved as an Oakland Landmark ... UP plans to demolish the structure by the end of the month ... " [More]

[Courtesy Google Alerts.]

Capt. David Elson, 1st Officer of the Solano and Captain of the Contra Costa

From: "Ron Larsen" haddossn604@sbcglobal.net

I've been researching my wife's Swedish ancestors and have come across some interesting information. One of her not too distant relatives is Capt David Elson. He's listed as 1st Officer of the Solano and Captain of the Contra Costa. I don't know if your group is interested in the crew of the train ferry but, if you are, I have a lot of info on Capt Elson's origins and emigration to the US. ...

—Ron Larsen

Travel on the transcontinental railroad

Where can I find diaries or journals from the train passengers?

Quarry on the grade

From: "Chris Graves" caliron@cwnet.com

A quarry has been found on the current UPRR grade between Cisco and Soda Springs. Insofar as the current UPRR grade is also the old CPRR grade, the question comes to mind as to when this work was done.

Photos of the quarry are attached, if anyone has an idea as to the use for the quarried stone, and the year(s) the work was done, I'd appreciate your thoughts.

—G J Chris Graves, NewCastle, California

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"California and China: A railroad love story"

"California and China: A railroad love story" by ANDREW LEONARD, © Salon.com, Sept. 16, 2010. (Article)

"High-speed or transcontinental, Gold Rush or 21st century: When the Golden State needs trains, it looks to the West ... " [More]

[Courtesy Google Alerts.]

New book: "FDR's Funeral Train"

FDR's Funeral Train: A Betrayed Widow, a Soviet Spy, and a Presidency in the Balance by Robert Klara

"The April 1945 journey of FDR’s funeral train became a thousand-mile odyssey, fraught with heartbreak and scandal. As it passed through the night, few of the grieving onlookers gave thought to what might be happening behind the Pullman shades, where women whispered and men tossed back highballs. Inside was a Soviet spy, a newly widowed Eleanor Roosevelt, who had just discovered that her husband’s mistress was in the room with him when he died, all the Supreme Court justices, and incoming president Harry S. Truman who was scrambling to learn secrets FDR had never shared with him. ... "

Total fabrication?

Is there any factual basis for the following claim, or is this a total fabrication?

"While working for the railroad, [the Chinese] were ... treated poorly ... forced to buy their supplies from the railroad company store at double the prices of privately owned general merchandise stores."

From the article, "Travelin' in Time: Early Chinese pioneers faced hardships in the gold fields." Record-Searchlight, redding.com 9-2-2010

[Courtesy Google Alerts.]

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