The Transcontinental Railroad: The Track that Built America

[@syxxphive126]

I’m a machinist in Salt Lake City, Utah. I’ve had the honor of helping to restore the locomotives at Promontory Point. Built wheels, axels, bearings, and other parts for them.

[@MirzaAhmed89]

Axles

[@cashgarman]

Great video, and on a related note, would love to see one on the US Interstate highway system.

[@Rabcup]

Or the Mexico-Canada interstate system. I know it’s not quite finished but they only have like 30 miles left. I live on the Bloomington to Indianapolis stretch.

[@jerribee1]

Or Route 66.

[@corychristie9186]

He did a route 66 video on his other channel Geographics

[@arthurhalcyon7410]

I came here to make sure this comment had been made lol

[@bombydalovebomb5167]

I had been thinking the same thing recently

[@evanulven8249]

Hows the saying go? "Europeans think 100 miles is a long distance, Americans think 100 years is a long time."

[@angiemn3]

I drive a hundred miles everyday for work

[@terryarmbruster7986]

@@angiemn3 I live in Saskatchewan. I can look down the plains a hundred miles see my neighbours wave at them. Lol very flat here. So flat Flat Earth Society uses it as proof. Bwahaha

[@noonedude101]

@@angiemn3 I have a 300 mile round trip drive to work LOL

[@forestarcher47]

If I got to town its 115mile round trip lol

[@sisilotau2185]

@@angiemn3 Google tells me I average 3 hours of driving everyday

[@NickTrouble]

Interesting fast about this railway, A significant number of people looking for work in nations across the world went to the US to work on this railway. Even my great great grandfather moved from Greece until its completion, then after its completion moved back to Greece.

[@aardeng]

That's really cool, I knew they hired alot of foreign workers but I never thought about people migrating here just to work then heading back, interesting life your g-g-grandfather lived. Live long and prosper

[@travismayes4547]

And took a lot American money back. And at the time was worth gold..

[@TalesOfWar]

@@travismayes4547 They earned it, it's their money. Don't be one of those people.

[@jdilksjr]

@@TalesOfWar keep the SJW comments to a minimum

[@TalesOfWar]

@@jdilksjr Completely stop the racist comments.

[@yellowroseproductions363]

I went to the Golden Spike National Park on May 10, 2019, exactly on the 150th anniversary of driving the spike. The National Park is on the original site of the driving of the spike, and they even have two full sized working replicas of the original engines that were originally present back in 1869.

[@sailinbob11]

Cool ? Seems like a long trip to look at a spike, but you do you man. Awesome....

[@yellowroseproductions363]

@@sailinbob11 here's the thing. I'm a railroad historian. Like I said in the original comment, I went on the 150th anniversary of the spike driving. They had their fully functional replica steam locomotives running, plus a huge celebration of the event. The Transcontinental Railroad was not only a game changer for the US, but for the rest of the world too.

[@sailinbob11]

@@yellowroseproductions363 and I fully respect your right to travel to see trains, and a spike. I did say," you do you". I'm the Capt. Of a 50 year old Bluewater racing yacht, and paint mega yachts. I also have a history degree,from a southern military college, but I have no desire ,to go to S. Carolina, to see the rusty remains of the Hunley,but that's just me. Have you checked out the worlds biggest ball of string ? Out there somewhere. Stick a pin in it. Smash that dislike button! Just joking around partner. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. Truly... Capt.Bob, SV 27th Chance, Tampa Florida.

[@ethantea360]

I live like two or three hours away from it and it's pretty neat, you can get a ride in one of trains and stuff.

[@sailinbob11]

@@ethantea360 sorry I upset you. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. You obviously have a love of trains,and I apologize for my comment. Best to you,and yours. Capt.Bob, SV 27th Chance, Tampa Florida

[@eocoleman1]

I love this video. But I would say the trans-continental is far from dead (maybe passenger trains yes), but millions of dollars worth of cargo travels the trans-con every day, and Union Pacific is still a billion dollar company.

[@duanesamuelson2256]

Passenger lines are next to dead...primarily that other than what are effectively commuter trains (dc to ny or Boston say) there are to many more effective ways to travel. I can fly or drive say to Orlando faster and cheaper than taking a train (i actually looked into it a few times because it would be fun to take a train)

[@mangot589]

IKR? I’d love to take a train ride, with sleeper cars, the whole 9 yards. But my husband always just wants to “get there”🙄. To me, a train is PART of “there”. We went to Canada for a ski trip many years ago, and there were no flights to “there”. We took an awesome train ride through the Rockies. I loved it. If you factor in the train trip being part of the vacation🤷‍♀️

[@duanesamuelson2256]

@llOOII llOOII hmmmm...only been groped while driving by people i already know well...read the entire answer next time. Oh and while I also fly fairly often I've only been directed through the xray machine twice and never been groped. Not defending the TSA...they are nothing but feel good security and as far as I'm concerned useless as the proverbial tits.

[@duanesamuelson2256]

@llOOII llOOII lol never been taken aside for a physical search...x-rays...you do realize that most go through a metal detector? X-rays have nothing to do with metal detection. All I can say is you really are one of the more ignorant ones I've heard from in a while. Broaden your horizons and travel a bit further than 10 miles away from home. And once more I also said drive.

[@ukeyaoitrash2618]

@@duanesamuelson2256 here in the Netherlands the train is the default way to get from anywhere to anywhere lol

[@duanetakats4651]

Great episode. The Union Pacific still uses many of the lines to this day. It did not go away. New tracks have been constructed and is mostly freight service, but the railroad did not cease to exist because of the interstate highway system. Passenger train service has diminished since then but Union Pacific still operates on the while line. Most of I80 follow the tracks all the way across the country.

[@reneejackson3298]

Have you tried covering the Al-Can Highway? A road built during WW2 through some of the worst terrain Alaska and Canada has for a trail, much less a road!

[@BBCharger5spd]

Simon touches on it briefly in his Trans-american highway video - - but would be nice to get it covered at some point --- Could lump it in with the Autobahn as they were built for the same purpose

[@ImTheJoker4u]

The Al-Can highway AKA The "oil can", because of all the litter the construction crews left behind

[@reneejackson3298]

@@ImTheJoker4u true that! And oil from all the vehicles bottoming out!

[@reneejackson3298]

@snipe69 too right there!!

[@seantramper]

@snipe69 hover dam?

[@LittleRabbit1138]

I live in one of the railroad towns in Wyoming, started by little more than a tent city and a saloon. The way the rails have impacted history here is incredible. The original 1868 track is gone, but we still have quite a few lines from the 1880's, and one of the last roundhouses built for engine maintenance.

[@CSMartin]

I get to be one of the few people alive who can say I was there the day the Trans-Continental Railroad was completed. I acted on the TV Series 'Hell on Wheels'. We recreated many of the unfavourable conditions, and yes, some days were truly hellish. From the biting cold, snow, rain, and mud, to the five layers of cotton in 35 degrees Celsius, we made it as real as possible. Although our conditions were not great, I have a huge appreciation for those who really did it.

[@MaxwellAerialPhotography]

what part did you play on the show?

[@coleh591]

AMAZING SHOW THANK YOU!

[@sherylcascadden4988]

I loved that show

[@jmincks74]

As someone who worked as a conductor for Union Pacific out of Council Bluffs, I can tell you there’s a great deal of pride and nostalgia for what it means to work out of zone 100. From the ice house to the dispatch center, I loved every bit of it.

[@timmeyer9191]

I live in Nebraska, and there are not a lot of trees here for railway lines, but I bet there would have been fewer crossing across west Texas and the Mojave desert. Thanks for the video.

[@slpkenney]

As a person that lives at the "end of the line or beginning": Council Bluffs, IA The history of the Transcontinental Railroad makes very proud of living here and discovering new things about this mega project. Going down to the rail yard and seeing the Golden Spike Monument

[@Finallybianca]

Move to Omaha less meth labs.

[@KanyeTheGayFish69]

Steven Procopio Iowa sucks

[@clinton5538]

The trains of the Central Pacific can be distinguished from the trains from the East Coast, since the West had an abundance of trees for their wood burning trains. To keep embers from flying away and causing wildfires, the smokestacks had a big round circular chimney to slow the escape of hot embers, allowing them to burn completely before exiting. Whereas the smokestack on the coal burning trains from the East had a straight pipe chimney for the smoke from burned coal.

[@JohnCampbell-rn8rz]

The story of the transcontinental railroad built across Canada & how important it was in the formation of a country from coast to coast is at least as fascinating as the U.S. story. Scandal, corruption, the making & unmaking of governments & Prime Ministers. It has it all. Give it a go, Simon.

[@--enyo--]

Sounds cool

[@Matt-tx1tc]

especially the engineering that it took to get through the Canadian Rockies with didn't have any easy paths through

[@KanyeTheGayFish69]

Matt it was basically the same with the us

[@fumblerooskie]

This channel completely ignores pretty much anything to do with Canada.

[@fumblerooskie]

@Mike Bailey I what world are railroads useless? Certainly not anywhere in North America.

[@J3scribe]

I've been studying railroads for 50 years and I'll give you credit for doing a pretty good job of encapsulating a topic that is far too involved to cover in a 20 minute video. The transcontinental railroad that you characterized today as being mostly forgotten with the exception of Amtrak's California Zephyr trundling along couldn't be further from the truth. Union Pacific runs nearly 100 trains per day on the transcon in central Nebraska, where the largest classification rail yard in the world can be found in North Platte. Millions upon millions of tons of freight roll along the transcon every year. It is double track from end to end, triple track in Chicago and quadruple track in stretches of Nebraska. Oh and, the California Zephyr doesn't ride the transcon until it gets to Winnemucca, Nevada. Prior to that point it runs along its original Burlington Route - Denver & Rio Grande Western - Western Pacific Railway routing before switching over to the former Southern Pacific (nee CP) trackage over Donnor Pass and eventually to Emeryville, CA. Just thought you'd like to know.

[@IronHorsefan1869]

Thank you! Someone notices the mistakes here

[@Draugo]

Are those on the original tracks or the subsecuent additional tracks because the way I interpreted Simon was that those two are the only ones still using the original tracks

[@J3scribe]

@@Draugo With the exception of a few realignments in Wyoming and Utah, the original Union Pacific right of way is still intact. The route through Promontory, Utah was abandoned when Southern Pacific later built a more direct route via a causeway across Salt Lake. It's a very busy stretch of railroad from Chicago to Oakland.

[@RichardAllen7753]

We'll credit Simon for being a foreigner, but credit to YOU for laying stronger ties under his track.

[@J3scribe]

@@RichardAllen7753 Thank you sir.

[@johnoleary7775]

Idea for future megaprojects video: the Erie Canal- conceptually this was a precursor to the trans continental railroad in its scope and ambition

[@TestingPyros]

It was also a practice run for the Panama Canal.

[@hardlyb]

And it made New York. I imagine the people behind the Erie Canal would be pretty upset to see what's happening to NYC right now.

[@tylernilson7021]

not to mention it has changed a lot over the years

[@doncarlin9081]

Canals can be seen as the forerunner of rails, particularly in the UK.

[@theironherder]

The engineering solutions they employed building the Erie Canal are inspiring, especially their tree-stump-pulling mechanism, which, in the absence of steam engine power, used mega-wheels and horses in an efficient manner. Otherwise, the tree-stumps might have, you know, stumped them.

[@andyattitude2000]

Thank you Simon for all the work you do. I would like to see a behind the scenes look at all that goes into one of your videos. As many as you host, it has to be a wild ride.All of your videos I have watched have been top notch and professional. On top of that, you let enough of you being human shine through to make it interesting.

[@DinsdalePiranha67]

Fun fact: the location of the Golden Spike at Promontory, UT is no longer served by rail. In the early 20th century, Southern Pacific (the successor to Central Pacific) built the Lucin Cutoff across the Great Salt Lake, which greatly reduced the distance between Council Bluffs and San Francisco. At this point, the trackage to Promontory was changed to a spur, and that was pulled up during WWII.

[@bradleykillen6104]

Simonnnnn.. you are cherished by the youtube community. Good health and keep it up! (Shoutout to the team cuz I know there are a lot of behind the scenes workers making this happen)

[@bicyclist2]

How about the Mackinaw bridge? It connects the two peninsulas of Michigan. Or even better yet the Millau bridge in France. Its the tallest bridge in the world. Keep up the good work. Thank you.

[@duanesamuelson2256]

A friend's brother was killed building the mackinaw bridge. Iron worker and while helicoptering steel in he had a static arc hit him before it was close enough to ground safely. Took him off one of the towers. Don't know if he died from electrocution or the sudden stop after the fall.

[@micahphilson]

4:39 I'm not used to my home state being mentioned so many times in one video! The Oregon Trail and the Transcontinental Railroad are two of the only times people hear much about Nebraska, but it was a super important region back then! It's hard hearing him say "Councils Bluff", though, haha! It's Council Bluffs!

[@SelahGrace1]

As an Iowan it got me every time he said "Councils Bluff" too

[@Mercat25]

Same... As an Iowan I felt it in my cornfed soul.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

0:35 - Chapter 1 - A vast land 2:20 - Chapter 2 - Life on the line 3:55 - Chapter 3 - The plan 5:35 - Chapter 4 - Civil war 6:10 - Chapter 5 - Competition 8:30 - Chapter 6 - Construction 11:35 - Chapter 5 - Life on the line 13:25 - Chapter 6 - The finish line 15:15 - Chapter 7 - Crossing the T's and dotting the I's 16:55 - Chapter 8 - Today

[@Noise-Bomb]

How about the Cologne Cathedral. One of the longest lasting building projects in human history and a marvellous building to behold.

[@fletcherlucas7908]

One little correction: The California Zephyr takes a slightly different route going over the Rockies than the transcontinental railroad. The transcontinental railroad went through Wyoming but after the mining industry in Colorado starting booming and Denver became a larger city than Cheyenne, they changed the route to go through Colorado.

[@ronclark9724]

Don't confuse the Burlington/Denver & Rio Grande/Western Pacific California Zephyr with the Union Pacific's City of San Francisco....

[@stevedietrich8936]

Simon didn't mention it, but by 1883 that southern railroad through New Mexico and Arizona had been completed, connecting the west coast to New Orleans.

[@kentcourtney5535]

I love the railroad videos that you do. This is an interesting perspective on a critical aspect of the development of these United States.

[@stevedietrich8936]

"Nebraska is a fairly empty place at the best of times . . ." Simon's obviously been to Nebraska.

[@KanyeTheGayFish69]

It’s better than Iowa

[@jonnunn4196]

@@KanyeTheGayFish69 I've driven thru both; there wasn't much difference; but it was somewhat emptier in Nebraska, particularly near the Southwest corner (I-80 path)

[@applejacks971]

I live here. Imma tellin' ya, it sucks.

[@KanyeTheGayFish69]

applejacks971 it’s one of the best states to live in

[@scotcoon1186]

If you never leave i80, you don't see anything but the bluffs of the Platte valley, and trees.

[@TheQuarterrat]

It couldn't be considered a Mega Project, but the story of Sears and Roebucks is fascinating. It was the Amazon of it's time. At one point they were so swamped with orders, they just started burning orders placed to keep caught up. When the internet came along, Sears ignored it in favor of their signature stores, a big mistake.

[@SephirothRyu]

Don't forget Montgomery Ward. Had they not discontinued their mail catalogs in the 80s and bet everything on brick and mortar stores, they likely would have been what Amazon became.

[@theironherder]

When I visited the site where the 2 lines met (Golden Spike National Historical Park), I learned two things that are relevant to this excellent video. 1. Because of the land grants and because the meeting point wasn't designated in a timely fashion, both lines feverishly built as much track as they could. Even after they "met", they laid track for additional miles, going past each other for quite a distance. 2. The UP won the track laying bet by waiting until the CP wouldn't have a chance to respond, because there was a point when the CP wasn't allowed to lay any more track. The UP then set the world's track-laying record, which still stands, I think. And while I won't argue that Nebraska has great scenery, the people here are wonderful: read about the North Platte Canteen during WW2 for a heart-warming story. Besides, as I learned when living in Montana, scenery is great, but you can't eat it.

[@deadfreightwest5956]

17:04 - talks about service in California, shows a picture of an Amtrak Cascades Talgo at King Street Station in Seattle. D'oh!

[@ronclark9724]

Simon just haphazardly pulled up a Amtrak photo... At least Simon didn't pull up a City of San Francisco photo for the California Zephyr...

[@LtColShingSides]

If you like the transcontinental railroad I'd recommend "Hell on Wheels". It's a pretty good western series that is centered around the construction

[@robertfrost1683]

a very good show !

[@OddSpaceGhost]

Literally finished it last night, loved it

[@CSMartin]

I acted on that show.

[@LtColShingSides]

@@CSMartin that's pretty cool, who did you play?

[@OddSpaceGhost]

Truckee Bartender according to IMDB, that’s awesomeness! That show was awesome, like I said, just watched the final episode last night. And now here you are.

[@HelloMrTang]

Little bit older than most of our topics - didn’t you just do the lighthouse at Alexandria??

[@semurobo]

And the Roman Road system

[@JennRighter]

That's why he said "most".

[@mountainman1210]

I live not too far from promontory there's about sixty miles of abandoned grade you can drive on it's amazing to drive across that and think it was all done by pick and shovel. You should do a mega projects on the Lucin cut off that goes across the great salt lake

[@--enyo--]

Could you do a Megaproject on the Belt and Road Initiative? It seems an interesting mix of the physical infrastructure, as well as diplomacy/economic interests. I want to learn more about it (including both the positives and negatives it's likely to bring, and controversies in construction). The sad thing is that I almost trust Megaprojects more than most sources to be relatively unbiased.

[@brianoconnor406]

This yes, would be really interesting, spans so many countries

[@familywilliams4058]

Regarding the Donner party: a contemporary account written by Eliza Gregson (You should seriously google her, she was amazing) stated that after some of their husbands died, the women in the party (who were breaking the trail in the snow) were approached by some of the surviving men who asked if their dead husbands could be eaten. The women responded that they couldn't be hurt anymore so the men could do whatever they wanted. she also gave a specific account of when the rescue party, who had initially left Mrs. Donner behind as Mr. Donner had something wrong with his hand and could be transported, went back for Mrs. Donner. They couldn't find her, but they could see her footprints in the snow leading to the animal they had slaughtered and left for her to eat. When they went to the neighboring camp (one or two miles away iirc) the man there claimed that Mr. and Mrs. Donner had died of natural causes and he had been eating them. He even showed them Mr. Donner's bad hand as proof. The money that Mrs. Donner had with her was also missing, and the man at first claimed he didn't know anything about it, so they strung him up a tree till he was blue a few times and he eventually told them where some of the money was, but they never recovered all of it. When they brought him back to Sutter's fort for the remainder of the winter, Eliza claimes they were woken several times in the middle of the night to the man's wife screaming "murder!" When one of the women got up the nerve to ask him what human tasted like, he stated that it was "better than chicken." If you're interested in more information regarding the Gregsons and their immigration and eventual settlement in California, I highly suggest perusing her memoir www.loc.gov/item/40033553/ (It'd actually make an interesting biographics or brainfood show, imo, but I might be biased since she's my ancestor) p.s. she once made a tea for her husband out of cow dung to cure him of fever after the "doctor" took all their gold and said there was nothing more he could do for James.

[@btomimatsucunard]

But the entirety of the transcontinental railroad still exists, well a large portion of it. Track relocations and rebuilding by the Southern Pacific (Bought the central pacific in the late 19th century) and the Union pacific in the 20th century saw a portion of the line over donner pass abandoned, as the new roadbed allowed the line to travel the pass lower than the original route, and the promontory point line was abandoned with the completion of the Salt Lake Trestle/Causeway. Its just that the Union Pacific portion of the line was abandoned by Amtrak when they assumed the D&RGW's passenger service in the 80's, the line is still used by the UP's freights and occasional passenger excursions. As to whether the railroad has passed, its previous importance has passed, but the line still plays a major role in transporting intermodal shipments from the West Coast to the east coast, and the line has proven to be important for passenger trains, especially on the California end of the line. I think what we have to remember is that the infrastructure hasn't been left to the pages of history, its still used and its something we need to reimagine for a new age.

[@chris1237992]

Great video! This channel is a gem of KZbin. I would also encourage everyone to take a trip out west via rail at least once. I had the opportunity to do so in 2019 and took a trip from Chicago to LA via the southwest chief route and it was amazing. I’ll be looking to take the California Zephyr in the future.

[@kennethlacewell1517]

As Mark Twain once said, "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." The Transcontinental Railroad is very much alive and well, and until the pandemic was busier than it's ever been. Just no passengers. Amtrak's California Zephyr uses a different route.

[@ZAV1944]

The quickest way of transporting large amounts of good over long distance is till by rail, a semi truck can carry one intermodal containers worth of stuff while a train can be over 100 cars long and each car able of carrying two intermodal containers.

[@TubeRudeYou]

I love traveling by train. Sure, it takes longer, but you have leg room, can get up and walk around, there's a dining car, a bar, and an observation car where you can get a great view of the passing countryside, and have a nice chat with your fellow passengers. Oh, and it's fairly cheap, too.

[@bigbaddms]

Brendan Lawrence it is something I’ve always wanted to do, but fairly cheap wasn’t what I’ve seen. If you have a cabin to sleep in it costs many thousands. Unless you want to sleep in a seat for 3 days?

[@dingusdingus2152]

The incessant announcements over the p.a. system make train travel torture. I once rode the Amtrak from Flagstaff az to Chicago. Having to listen to the nonstop jabber was like being pinched on the toe with a pliers, or being poked with a hot needle. I have no intention of ever traveling by rail ever again

[@farmerdave7965]

You switched the stats @ 14:05. It was the Central Pacific that laid 10 miles of track. Also 14:12 you said 1863 instead of 1869.

[@haraldisdead]

Hard to imagine how important this was at the time. We barely held it together until this moment.

[@scottroland6577]

I think the video is great. However, your summation of the US railroad's in modern times, is anything but correct. The advent of containerization of land and sea freight has brought a new Boom to the US railroads. Most are generating record profits and reinvesting in their roadbeds accordingly. Thanks for your great works.

[@joeyr7294]

It would be awesome if you did a vid on this channel about the gold and copper mine Grasberg in New Guinea. Keep up the awesome content as always!

[@rejecteddriftwood314]

Please do a video on "THE COLOSSEUM"!

[@mho...]

by now, that seems kinda "ordinary"

[@bicyclist2]

Been there in Aug 1990. Its way cool.

[@CrazyUncleChris]

Rome or Los Angeles? ;)

[@anactualfennecfox1]

I don't imagine there'd be enough information on its construction to do it justice also it's been done to death, so it'd probably be a little uninteresting (at least in my opinion)

[@weirdshibainu]

The tunnel at 11:21 has been long abandoned. It's accessible to the public to walk and I've explored it a few times. Just looking at the solid rock walls, it would be a tough job today, I can't imagine what it was like then.

[@riptide5671]

I would also like to see the Bethlehem steel factory, they made the steel for the Golden Gate Bridge and the Empire State Building

[@MIghtyEpson]

I was reading something really interesting about the Donner party the other day. According to local Native American oral histories, a group of white settlers did get trapped in that mountain pass. The local tribe tried to help the trapped group once bringing a deer carcass and several rabbits to feed the obviously starving settlers, but were driven off by several gunshots before they could approach. The second time they tried to help, they were able to get closer but were frightened when they saw a dismembered boy and an older man eating nearby. They fled and did not return.

[@carrioncrow8191]

The pentagon. I think that would be a cool building to look at the history of. It’s a lot of concrete and held up to a plane flying into it

[@rvog6584]

Agreed. several different facets of its construction story wuld make a gud vid. BTW, guess how long it took the pentagon 2 b built? * * * * * * **~18 mo.** /i like 2 use said factoid when i c a ridciulously long constructon timeline [!!]

[@FoolOfATuque]

There's a historic film about the impact of the railroad on town. It is called Blazing Saddles. It can give you an idea of what could happen to a town when a railroad was planned close to that town.

[@JoshuaTootell]

Interesting story of inclusion in law enforcement as well.

[@weissbelladonna]

I know we don’t have much information on them, but I would love Megaproject to cover the other wonders of the ancient world.

[@--enyo--]

I'd really like that too. Especially discussion of evidence behind them, as I know some are suspected (or most likely) to have not existed, or were in a very different form to the story/were greatly exaggerated.

[@awkc63]

Good point for sure. I too would be quite interested in that.

[@awkc63]

Good point for sure. I too would be quite interested in that.

[@Colonel_Overkill]

Look at the geographics channel, theres a couple on there already

[@miltoncallan1471]

Simon, this is the best Megaproject video yet! Could have been about 30 minutes longer, but good anyway. I see all the requests for the US Interstate System and I would like to throw in my vote for it, also. Route 66 has way too many videos out and, frankly, is a bit over done. However, the Interstate System is a magnificent story that needs to be told, from it's approval by Ike, to the truck stops and attractions (both existent and dead) that really are Americana at its best. I live in LA and can get in the car and be ANYWHERE in the US in less than 3 days. Gas costs of course depend on your car's fuel economy, but food is surprisingly affordable.

[@BillHalliwell]

G'day Simon, I'd really like to see Megaproject's take on the famous Berlin Airlift. The world's biggest humanitarian movement of essential goods and fuel by aircraft. Involving hundreds of aircraft, millions of tons of supplies that kept the entire population of West Berlin alive and warm during a harsh winter. Brave airmen died, the entire population got behind the project forging a bond between the US and their former enemy that, in time, blossomed into a solid democracy in the heart of Communist West Germany. Let's find out if it was even bigger than flying entire US armies to the Middle East in preparation for the first Gulf War. Cheers, BH

[@rayfridley6649]

Bill, I guest you mean Communist East Germany.

[@rakmanyt]

The Donner party did not get lost. They started out in St. Louis following a book that was totally wrong and were delayed by months. They survived crossing the Great Salt Lake flats and were chased by Indians into the Sierras. Finding grass for their oxen and cattle, they rested but the snows came early and massive and they became stuck at Donner Pass. Food ran short and 2 of the party struck out for Sutter's Fort. The Sierras slope gently to the west and it took months to reach Sacramento. The rescue party also took a lot of time as the snow was still heavy. Quite a challenge.

[@Altered_Alchemist]

Yay, Council Bluffs Iowa, we still have a ton of friggin trains

[@KanyeTheGayFish69]

Omaha does

[@matthilton7635]

umop apIsdn North Platte has the biggest rail yard in the world

[@Finallybianca]

Counciltucky still has the Heritage fleet from U.P. Not to mention a ton of meth labs and a grocery store that had a dead body rotting in it but no one knew because the City smells like a rotting corpse anyway.

[@HeyItsJonny]

@@Finallybianca as a ganderman, I read that as Upper Peninsula, and was extremely confused because we don't have meth labs and stores in the U.P. We have trees. Just trees. Even the smokeable kind of tree if you meet the right great value brand Canadian up there.

[@zaggrukk8644]

@@matthilton7635 "classification yards". Yes, plural. Bailey Yards has two classification yards/humps. But, there are bigger rail yards in Texas. They are being built to bypass North Platte.

[@jimfurman4725]

Enjoyed this video. Have you ever considered the Allegheny Portage Railroad and Mainline Canal system built in the 1830's in Pennsylvania? It was the first transportation system other than a wagon road to bridge the Allegheny Mountains. It included the first railroad tunnel built in the United States and used a series of canals, railroads and inclines with stationary steam engines to pull the cars up the inclines. Quite an engineering feet for the day. I believe the steam engines were imported from England since the United States had not yet developed steam engines with the needed capability.

[@davidhouchin7150]

The Boeing company Everett factory the largest building in the world

[@sailinbob11]

Awe hell... Now come on. Are you another one of these people, who go to see the most ridiculous ,biggest, last,most stupendous, superfluous, crap in the world ? I just burnt 2 brain cells over railroad spikes that don't exist. Now a giant empty building? Ever think of visiting somewhere that's actually interesting? I don't know,like Kennedy Space Center? The big blue hole,off the coast of Belize? The Dali museum? Maybe the biggest ball of string ? The Coral Castle? Jurassic Park ? Lol...

[@Mover333]

By volume!

[@mytech6779]

@@sailinbob11 What sort of lame trolling is this?

[@sailinbob11]

@EmperorJuliusCaesar i build mega yachts, so get to work skippy your wasting my tax money .

[@sailinbob11]

@@mytech6779 Not sure i follow you. I've built skyscrapers, and yachts up to 200 ft. Not like we're working in the garage.

[@pravoslavn]

Another excellent production ! And that lovely, impeccable, erudite and cultured diction is just icing on the cake.

[@realdanksta2237]

I’m European but damn I have this weird love/respect for America. The ideals and the identity of America.

[@MOsaucy]

Thank you! Honestly, with as much of a mess as we are now, it's a nice thing to hear. Many of us in America keep looking at Europe and asking why we can't do some things like you right now.

[@Natogoon]

As a European, I don't. I've noticed that quite a lot of Americans have this notion that their nation is above everyone else and they're really vocal about it, often attacking non-americans online for disagreeing or for simply not being american. I really don't get it, nobody ever wronged them like some other countries have been wronged and they are the richest nation in the world right now. I don't understand what's making them so angry and defensive. Maybe it is just online, I dont know.

[@daveowen378]

Americans have ideals now?

[@EDKguy]

@@daveowen378 We seem to be coming apart at the seams. We used to want to unite many people in to one nation and now many want to separate everyone into their color. I get sick of the division. I don't care about your color, just don't be a jerk🤪

[@KanyeTheGayFish69]

Mao LongDong we aren’t attacking people online for not being American, if we attack anyone it’s because they are ignorant about our country, or make stupid judgmental assumptions. Some People in Europe can be cocky and self centered too at times, and sometimes some of them can make a rude or ignorant assumption about the us. Whenever a foreigner criticizes the us it doesn’t go over well, but it’s even more infuriating if it’s because of ignorance or some misinformation they heard online, on the news, tv shows, movies, or social media, and just stereotypes all of which are completely fake and untrustworthy. Most people from Europe who go to the us are treated well and end up having a positive experience, but if all you know about the us comes from the internet or online (I.e. negative sources) then you are ignorant about the us, and when you make jokes or talk trash about the us based on out of context and misinformed information from the news or social media we get mad because you fail to understand very complicated cultural norms of the us and use your own country’s as context. And yet you feel like you understand the issues well enough to lecture us about them or make fun of us, which really makes us frustrated and mad. Don’t knock it if you haven’t been there.

[@MaxwellAerialPhotography]

If anyone is interested, there is a really great TV show that is about the building of the transcontinental railroad (amongst other things). Hell On Wheels, really underrated show, especially the later seasons. I might be a bit biased since it was filmed in my home town and many friends of mine were extras on the show. Thomas Durant (played Colm Meaney aka Miles O'Brien on TNG) is a main character on the show and is one of the favourite TV villians of all time.

[@jeffallen6191]

If you're going to tell history, please do your research. The Chinese were paid by the CPRR on average $3.50 per day. Today's adjusted number for inflation makes it about $64. BUT, the buying power of the dollar in 1865 was also about 3.5 times what it is today making it more accurately at roughly $224 per day x 6 days a week or $1,344 per week. And while they were in fact paid 40%-50% less than the Irish were paid by the UPRR, they also did not waste their money at the brothels or whisky bars and as a result they came away in 1869 with today's equal amount of around $300,000 to $400,000. For those who decided to go back to China, that was an amount of money most could not even fathom. Some established dynasty's. Those who chose to stay in the US continued to capitalize on much of their wealth as they were excellent entrepreneurs and except for when the Democrats tried to oust them from society in the 1890's, also established wealthy family heritages. You can't minimize the fact that they were regarded as sub human by most of America at the time, but you also have to put perspective to their accomplishments and abilities.

[@415s30]

I used to rock climb right around Donner Pass as trains passed by. Some of us have also jumped over trains skiing in the winter in that area seen at 11:26.

[@Darryl_Frost]

Do the Australian Snowy River Scheme please ... thankyou..

[@mooseman1071]

Classy shirt, Simon. Awesome blue color.

[@LukeLovesTrains-Mr.RailYard]

The equivalent to the man on the moon. The anniversary was last year and the Union Pacific brought out recently restored Big Boy 4014.

[@zaggrukk8644]

Restored? You mean maintained. It's been active for a couple decades. I've seen it on the rails and at stations dozens of times in the last 30 years.

[@rskalisky]

@@zaggrukk8644 How? It was displayed at Rail Giants until UP reacquired it in 2016. Sat dormant for almost 6 decades.

[@zaggrukk8644]

@@rskalisky I'm thinking of the Challenger that's usually in Cheyenne. Seen that one all my life. Sorry for the confusion.

[@Lint6]

I suggested this a few weeks ago! Hope thats why it popped up! Great video as always Simon

[@idancohen4753]

I'll wait for the Colosus of Rhodes for eternity Good thing eternity's coming next week

[@bjw4859]

Cross the country went from a couple of months to a couple of days, that would like be someone coming up with faster than light travel today, great video again.

[@philipgallagher69420]

"good old fashioned american hard work..............and THOUSANDS of immigrants"

[@StrangeTerror]

Business as usual.

[@KanyeTheGayFish69]

Philip Gallagher America is a country of immigrants

[@Vasiliosx2]

What's the difference!? 🤣

[@triquivijate]

Interesting 20 minute summary. Good Job. A 1/4 of which is adverts, shame on you, KZbin.

[@jakezoucha4691]

Council BluffS. Or if you have ever been there, Council-tucky. And forgot to add, it's the Platte River, not the river Platte. Wtf?

[@deadfreightwest5956]

Yes, he was calling your Council's Bluff.

[@DevinEMILE]

Lol. I was like he’s saying it so right but also so wrong.

[@blakebiermann4316]

Definitely Counciltucky

[@4TheRecord]

It's a bluff!

[@jlidral]

Don't worry all the residents were to high or bush stealing copper to notice.

[@seaninman3658]

Having been born and raised in Cheyenne, WY I really enjoyed this episode. I can tell you that the Union Pacific is still alive and well today, but the rail line no longer carries passengers. One of the things that I wish would have been pointed out in the video as he said that automobile challenged the railroad. I-80 follows the path laid forward in parallel with the Transcontinental Railroad.

[@ronclark9724]

Dinah Shore sold a lot of Chevys... kzbin.info/www/bejne/mKDIo6emrtF-Zq8

[@AxelSiemens]

could you cover the Paraguay - Brazil ITAIPU Dam?

[@FNLN6446]

Great video. The presentation style is better than before. Very well done 👍

[@bammmsource8941]

Considering ur doing railways across big land masses, surely do the trans Australian railway

[@mrjack8849]

Really like your relative quick stories about historical projects. Very informative! Some other video ideas... -NASA's creation and build up to manned moon missions (Mercury, Gemini, Apollo) -A sequel featuring NASA's first unmanned planet missions (Pioneer, Voyager) -Then a third to complete the trilogy with the Hubble ST and eventual James Webb ST

[@JackBWatkins]

I am glad California High Speed Rail Commission wasn’t around during the building of the Trans Continental Railway because they would still be doing environmental impact studies, engineering studies, economic impact studies, studies on how to get federal grant money and paying thousands of 6 figure employees without even a descent street car line to show for the wasted $11 Billion.

[@jonnunn4196]

Fortunately California state government was much smaller then.

[@bigbaddms]

I thought it was way over $11B now? This will be the biggest scam in world history if it isn’t already

[@TomCat777]

I'm a big history buff, so I greatly appreciate you don't these. Keep up the great work

[@anttisalmi242]

London Underground, please...?

[@peregrine1993]

How about more ancient megaprojects episodes? -The Pyramids of Giza -The Great Wall -Hadrian's Wall -Angkor Wat -St. Peter's Basilica -Taj Mahal -Easter Island Heads

[@kellycharlton]

Suggestion: High speed rail infrastructure in China, past, present, and future

[@obsidian....]

He did high speed rail for Japan, either here or on another channel. . Edit: It was here kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmPRg4qbg5iordE

[@jordanoneill]

Obsidian I had the same thought and went to go find it too 😂

[@--enyo--]

The train ones seem really popular. I think Simon is really leaning into the British Sterotype there. Not a complaint, just an observation.

[@matthew_natividad]

And japan/Europe?

[@glennrugar9248]

Thanks simon! Been waiting a long time since I suggested this one in the J.P. Morgan biographics

[@bchin4005]

My great-grandfather was one of the coolies that helped build the trans-continental railroad and what he saw of America inspired him to send his son to the US to make a better life for him and his future family. They're both long gone now and I'd have to say they'd be pretty disappointed in where we are today as a country.

[@bwake]

Could you elaborate?

[@davidjacobs8558]

Both American Transcontinental Railroad, and Trans-Siberian Railroad were built by Chinese Coolies. Chinese Coolies named Tahoe Lake, when they first came upon the lake. Chinese uttered "太湖" (tai-ho) at the sight, literally "Great Lake"

[@ronclark9724]

@@davidjacobs8558 Mostly European immigrants, many of them Irish, built the tracks for most of the railroads throughout America... Only in the west coast of America did Chinese immigrants built tracks... Please don't diminish the work of the Irish...

[@davidjacobs8558]

@@ronclark9724 the toughest stretch on the roughest terrain were built by Chinese, because even Irish weren't willing to work there for such little pay. Same thing in Siberia, Russians couldn't find any Eastern European workers who are willing to work on icy hell on earth.

[@grimreaper6557]

awesome video simon there was a lot of history that i didnt know on the building of the railroad thank you

[@justoutofframemoviereviews656]

someone from Council Bluffs dislikes this video.

[@peten2956]

Was waiting for him to say he was trolling us Midwesterners

[@matthilton7635]

GBR

[@MidwestAviator90]

Lmao was waiting to see a comment disputing the beginning of the westward part. 😂 Go Nebraska!

[@applejacks971]

We here in Omaha refer to it as 'Council-tuckey'. There's some weird peeps on that side of the river

[@evanulven8249]

@@applejacks971 Fremonster here. Even we think the people in Council-tuckey are weird, and coming from this hole that means something. :P

[@acatsforklift]

You should do the Interstate Defense Highway Act in 1956. Interesting reasons behind our freeways; not only to make car travel safer, but also mass evacuations if we get nuked. And considering how they ribbon endlessly through cities and something that hundreds of millions of Americans use daily.

[@ronclark9724]

Dinah Shore sold more Chevys than anybody...

[@Mrgunsngear]

great info

[@IndustrialParrot2816]

union pacific outlasted or acquired all but one of their competitors BNSF

[@Train_Tok_Man]

Great video! Speaking of railroading, can you please do a video on the Union Pacific Big Boys, the biggest steam locomotives ever built?

[@SilvanaDil]

There are population concentrations all over the US (unlike Canada, Russia, Australia, even Brazil and China) The distances between them make high speed passenger rail impractical in all huge countries except in eastern China. But, when it comes to coverage by freight rail, roads, airports -- the US excels.

[@carlandersson2185]

You could also do a video on Sveaborg in Finland also called the Gibraltar of the north.

[@jackprice6599]

"Immigrants, we get the job done" -Hamilton Many people in the USA seem to have forgotten their own history.

[@ronclark9724]

America no longer has a lot of free land to give away.... It is all taken....

[@joesterling4299]

We haven't, unless it gets brainwashed away at certain institutions of higher indoctrination.

[@thaddeustaylor0911]

I know... I can’t believe we went to China and Ireland in order force all of those people on a boat leaving all of their luxury and wealth behind! Then we forced them to work for a dollar a day plus rations and housing. Only to further the greed and filth that this country truly is. Good thing we have well informed people to remind us of that. By the by, unless you are an American Indian then someone at some time in your line immigrated to this country. Let’s not forget our history.

[@Lyle-xc9pg]

Im from america and you have no idea what you are talking about

[@OriginalBongoliath]

@@thaddeustaylor0911 The difference is the immigrants back then wanted to be American, assimilated, and were vetted at ports of entry for diseases. The current crop of so-called "immigrants" are illegals who butt in front of the line of legal ones (the former who don't want to assimilate, don't want to learn English, aren't vetted for disease, want benefits their home socialist countries can't provide, illegally vote for policies that ruined their own country and slowly ruining our own, and essentially want to take over the country replacing Americans) and H1b's that corporations import to work for pennies on the dollar because they are too cheap to hire citizens and pay a decent wage who couldn't give a crap about America.

[@MSCM2000]

As a train enthusiast this was the first history video i was stoked to watch in school with my knowledge of trains passed that day with an A+

[@katieandkevinsears7724]

They still run a lot of freight on the transcontinental line Simon. Why do Europeans ignore that in favor of flashy passenger trains?

[@SpeedbirdNine9]

-Yea tell that to UP and BNSF

[@seantramper]

@@SpeedbirdNine9 Hum we move freight by train too.... But sometimes trucks are cheaper and more convenient.

[@vincentherrington6162]

@@SpeedbirdNine9 trains movefreight deeper inland and trucks carry them to their final destination.

[@jetsons101]

The "American" term skid row came from the building of the T.C.R.R.. Skid row was at the end of the line were supply's were off-loaded onto "skids" to be stored till needed. As you said this is were all the saloons, and painted ladies were. As more track was laid skid row would move down to the new end of the line, this was also known as "hell on wheels." Skid row is now used to describe the worst part of down town of a big city. Great video.....

[@AlexBaldwin440]

Why not do the Alaskan Highway for an episode?

[@Kampfmesser89]

The original transcontinental is very much still in use. It’s still one of UP’s mainlines.

[@theragingdolphinsmaniac4696]

Send a wire to the man office and tell them I said "OW!"

[@andyattitude2000]

One of the funniest movies of all time.

[@theragingdolphinsmaniac4696]

@@andyattitude2000 It's one of my favorites too.

[@natehill8069]

@@andyattitude2000 Its also funny to see how network TV edits it to try to make it PC. In a couple of years at this rate, whats left wont fill 1/2 hour.

[@route66flyer29]

In the mid-'50s (I was about 10 or 11) I remember taking a train from Boston Mass to Seattle, Wash., one of the many outstanding moments of my life.

[@hueyiroquois3839]

1:17 To Americans, calling a railroad tiny enough to fit in the UK "The Great Western" seems strange.

[@KanyeTheGayFish69]

What are you talking about?

[@hueyiroquois3839]

@@KanyeTheGayFish69 I was referring to the idea that, by US standards, The Great Western Railway is tiny.

[@chrisredding6673]

@@hueyiroquois3839 Yes, but the GWR opened in 1841 ... 22 years before the UP was even started. Yes, the USA is 'great', but that doesn't make everybody else 'small'.

[@cabowerks3973]

I’d love to visit the museum dedicated to the Great Western Railway in the UK. I love the designs of their steam locomotives. The Large Prairie design is one of my favorites.

[@grandaddyoe1434]

@@cabowerks3973 Visit Swindon and Didcot museums; they're close enough. UK is becoming one huge museum these days . . .

[@labrat9296]

Thank you Simon for translating metric to standard.