“End of Track” PBS documentary tells story of railroad’s march across Wyoming

"Documentary tells story of railroad’s march across state" by CHILTON TIPPIN, © LARAMIEBOOMERANG.COM, FEBRUARY 28, 2013. (News Article)

"When the Union Pacific Railroad rolled in to present-day Laramie in May 1868, the town was at once founded and engulfed in vice ... torn between upstanding residents on the one hand and outlaws, drunks and prostitutes on the other. ... It piqued my interest that this was one of the few times that major transportation preceded population ... There was no Wyoming before the railroad got here. It didn’t exist. ... Grenville Dodge ... found this geological formation called the gang plank ... this long shelf that goes from the prairie ... that made it relatively easy to get over the Laramie Mountains. ... They sold 400 lots within a couple of days ... the land-owning residents of Laramie assembled a vigilante group ... fighting culminated in a shootout at the Belle of the West Dance Hall, where five outlaws were killed and 15 injured. Three outlaws who surrendered were strung up from telegraph poles, hung in warning to other bandits that Laramie residents would not abide lawlessness ... And that’s how Laramie got started ... " [More]

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