Gulf To Rockies

The Heritage of the Fort Worth and Denver–Colorado and Southern Railways, 1861–1898

Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Transportation, Railroads, History
Cover of the book Gulf To Rockies by Richard C. Overton, University of Texas Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Richard C. Overton ISBN: 9781477306246
Publisher: University of Texas Press Publication: January 16, 2015
Imprint: University of Texas Press Language: English
Author: Richard C. Overton
ISBN: 9781477306246
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Publication: January 16, 2015
Imprint: University of Texas Press
Language: English
Gulf to Rockies is a chapter in the business and economic history of the American West and the story of two of the most colorful railroad builders of the nineteenth century. Throughout the 1860s the mineral treasures of Colorado were virtually inaccessible for lack of railroads. Even after a hectic decade of building in the 1870s, the state faced a new sort of isolation: every railroad crossing her borders was controlled by the Union Pacific or the Santa Fe. As a result, the Rocky Mountain region could not hope to compete with the Midwest for the business of the Atlantic seaboard. To remedy this situation, John Evans, former governor of Colorado, organized in 1881 a railroad to run southward from Denver as the first link in a cheap rail-water route via the Gulf of Mexico to the East. Meanwhile ambitious Fort Worth citizens had incorporated the Fort Worth and Denver City in 1873. Not a rail was laid on either road, however, until General Grenville M. Dodge, famed builder of the Union Pacific and the Texas Pacific, took up the Texas project and joined forces with Evans to create the Gulf-to-Rockies route. It took seven years for these men and their associates to mobilize funds and complete the Fort Worth–Denver line, and another decade to establish the system’s independence and solve its financial problems in the face of drought, depression, and intense competition. Gulf to Rockies was written under special agreements with Northwestern University and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, whereby the university relieved Mr. Overton of a part of his duties in order that he might have time for research and writing and the railroad undertook to bear the cost of the research. The Burlington also permitted him free access to all company records and granted him unrestricted freedom to publish his findings.
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Gulf to Rockies is a chapter in the business and economic history of the American West and the story of two of the most colorful railroad builders of the nineteenth century. Throughout the 1860s the mineral treasures of Colorado were virtually inaccessible for lack of railroads. Even after a hectic decade of building in the 1870s, the state faced a new sort of isolation: every railroad crossing her borders was controlled by the Union Pacific or the Santa Fe. As a result, the Rocky Mountain region could not hope to compete with the Midwest for the business of the Atlantic seaboard. To remedy this situation, John Evans, former governor of Colorado, organized in 1881 a railroad to run southward from Denver as the first link in a cheap rail-water route via the Gulf of Mexico to the East. Meanwhile ambitious Fort Worth citizens had incorporated the Fort Worth and Denver City in 1873. Not a rail was laid on either road, however, until General Grenville M. Dodge, famed builder of the Union Pacific and the Texas Pacific, took up the Texas project and joined forces with Evans to create the Gulf-to-Rockies route. It took seven years for these men and their associates to mobilize funds and complete the Fort Worth–Denver line, and another decade to establish the system’s independence and solve its financial problems in the face of drought, depression, and intense competition. Gulf to Rockies was written under special agreements with Northwestern University and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, whereby the university relieved Mr. Overton of a part of his duties in order that he might have time for research and writing and the railroad undertook to bear the cost of the research. The Burlington also permitted him free access to all company records and granted him unrestricted freedom to publish his findings.

More books from University of Texas Press

Cover of the book From Can See to Can’t by Richard C. Overton
Cover of the book Surrealist Women by Richard C. Overton
Cover of the book Heaven Born Merida and Its Destiny by Richard C. Overton
Cover of the book The United States and Inter-American Security, 1889–1960 by Richard C. Overton
Cover of the book Roughnecks, Drillers, and Tool Pushers by Richard C. Overton
Cover of the book Steel and Economic Growth in Mexico by Richard C. Overton
Cover of the book Evolving Images by Richard C. Overton
Cover of the book Art and Society in a Highland Maya Community by Richard C. Overton
Cover of the book Understanding Misunderstandings by Richard C. Overton
Cover of the book Together, Alone by Richard C. Overton
Cover of the book Narrative of the Incas by Richard C. Overton
Cover of the book The Princes of Naranja by Richard C. Overton
Cover of the book Houston Blue by Richard C. Overton
Cover of the book Vestal Virgins, Sibyls, and Matrons by Richard C. Overton
Cover of the book Landscapes Of Bacchus by Richard C. Overton
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy