Last Train to Paradise: Henry Flagler and the Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Railroad that Crossed an Ocean
updated 9mo ago
Last Train to Paradise: Henry Flagler and the Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Railroad that Crossed an Ocean
He had, after all, an advantage that earlier transcontinental rail builders had lacked. Since they had built rapidly to secure their land grants, they had located their West Coast termini early in the process. In contrast, Hill had built his road slowly, developing its hinterlands as it went. Now, surveying his final link, he had the nice advantage
... See morefrom James J. Hill: Empire Builder of the Northwest (The Oklahoma Western Biographies Book 12) by Michael P. Malone
The idea for a railroad to supplant all of that originated in New York in the late 1840s, shortly before the news of California gold reached the East. The founders were three unlikely, dissimilar individuals, none of whom knew anything about building a railroad, even under favorable conditions. Henry Chauncey was a Wall Street financier. William He
... See morefrom Brave Companions by David McCullough