Since the 1860s, railroads like Union Pacific have played a pivotal role in the opening and then the settling and disruption of the American West. Today, Union Pacific continues to play a critical role in keeping the economy moving. While it is a slight exaggeration to say that the history of Union Pacific is the history of the West, it’s not one to say that the two histories are inextricably linked.
Explore the beginnings of this great endeavor through original photographs taken during the construction of the transcontinental railroad from the Union Pacific Historical Collection, the largest collection of such images in the world. Patricia LaBounty, the curator of the collection at the Union Pacific Museum in Council Bluffs, Iowa, explores the context and construction of the nation’s first transcontinental railroad based on this rare and exciting collection and examines the railroad’s role in building America.
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