Cowboy Kisses

 

The day the railroad united two coasts.

I’d like to thank the people who laid those tracks mile by mile. Their backbreaking work made modern freedom possible.

Before train travel, people either road horses, went by stagecoach, 

or joined a wagon train.

In the movies, there’ something romantic about canvas-topped wagons rolling toward the horizon, oxen plodding forward, dust rising like a promise.

But this was no scenic road trip. Pioneers traveled ten to fifteen miles a day. The journey from the East Coast to California could take four to six months. Families bounced across rutted trails in covered wagons. They crossed rivers and plains and deserts. They cooked over open fires. Storms rolled in without warning. Wheels broke. Illness spread. And still they kept moving west, one slow, stubborn stretch at a time. They faced danger, exhaustion, and uncertainty. All for the chance for a better life.

Then Came the Iron Horse

The laborers who built the railroad blasted through mountains and set track across unforgiving terrain. Thousands of workers put in long hours and dealt with dangerous dynamite to get the job done. On May 10, 1869, two rail lines, the Union Pacific Railroad building westward and the Central Pacific Railroad building eastward, met at Promontory Summit. The Golden Spike was driven into the track, linking the nation from coast to coast.

 

The journey that once took months could be done in about a week. Plush seats and wide windows framed the landscape. Instead of risking disease, weather, and wagon breakdowns, passengers could ride a train across mountains, plains, and deserts. It was faster, safer, and far more predictable.

Because of the railroad, towns sprang up along the tracks. Ranchers had the ability to ship cattle and goods to distant markets. Mail traveled faster. Supplies arrived more easily. People who once lived in isolated settlements suddenly had a connection to the rest of the country. Railroads brought cowboys, settlers, gamblers, and dreamers. They created boomtowns, sparked rivalries, and fueled the growth of places that might never have existed otherwise.

Why is this history important?

Westward travel was an act of faith into a life with no guarantees. We need to respect these pioneers determination and tenacity. People today still long to see what’s over the next ridge, beyond the next mountain, across the next stretch of sky. It just moves a little quicker these days.

 

I am thankful I can drive my air-conditioned car with cruise control and hop on the freeway in excess of 60 mph. I also appreciate the fact that a flight across the country can be done in a matter of several hours. But I still like to travel by train on occasion and think about the hard work it took for our ancestors to make that come to fruition.

Niki J. Mitchell

As a side note, I used old locomotives as a catalyst for my western time travel romance books.