Comments on CPRR Discussion Group: African American transcontinental railroad workers...

See, Railroad Museum Celebrates Black History Month By Exploring the Role of Railroads in African American History on February 18, 2012 by Traci Rockefeller Cusack, Sacramento Press, January 30, 2012.

Railroads in the African American Experience: A Photographic Journey by Professor Theodore Kornweibel, Jr.

"The transcontinental railroad was joined at ...

2012-01-03T14:02:26.607-08:00

"The transcontinental railroad was joined at Promontory, Utah in 1869. The railroad played a major role in employing African-Americans. Approximately 300 African-Americans were employed on the Union Pacific's work crews in 1865, but numbers would later grow as they were employed as porters and waiters. While there were few African-American rail workers present at the 'Last Spike' ceremony at Promontory, there were African-American soldiers on hand. Here, three companies of the U.S. Army's Twenty-first Infantry enroute to San Francisco are shown." —KQED, San Francisco

Unfortunately, very little recorded information ha...

2012-01-03T13:56:18.781-08:00

Unfortunately, very little recorded information has been discovered about former negro slaves who later worked out west to build the first transcontinental railroad.