The Passenger's Railroad

Passenger travel on the Union Pacific Railroad began in July of 1868, and the first transcontinental service began just 10 days after the golden spike was driven on May 10, 1869, at Promontory Point in Utah. The first passenger trains were crude, seldom traveled more than 20 miles per hour, and required meals to be eaten quickly in station dining halls. Wooden benches were the standard seating, wood stoves furnished heat, and air conditioning was unheard of until the 1930's. Improvements came slowly with the introduction of sleeper service using folding wooden benches in the fall of 1869, along with new engines and reworked grades and bridges. In the early years there were occasional wrecks until the intricacies of traffic control were figured out. Further improvements and innovations accompanied continental travel as George Pullman developed his famous hotel sleeping cars, the Pullman Sleeper, and dinners, buffet cars, and other special railroad cars followed. Different engines were made for different grades, while bridges, trestles, and tunnels were rebuilt and realigned to ensure safety, and feeder lines were constructed to haul passengers and freight to every corner of the continent. Soon inter-cities and high mountain villages had their own train service, and then came the automobile and the Linclon Highway.

Wyoming · United States