There’s no doubt that
the introduction of the railroad was responsible for a lot of good in the west…people
could travel in relative comfort from points east and settle down, or just
visit some family or friends…companies could ship materials across country…but
it’s also true that the railroad made a lot of enemies in the process…took
advantage of its workers, sometimes putting them in harm’s way…or running
people off their land so they could lay track…some folks even took to robbing
trains or blowing up trestles to get a measure of revenge…there’s few things in
life that happen without someone’s toes being stepped on.
