HELL ON WHEELS Ep. 1 | “The Great Race”

Legends of the Old West

Black Barrel Media

Arts, History, Documentary, Society & Culture

4.8 • 3.4K Ratings

🗓️ 21 May 2025

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For decades in the early 1800s, engineers and merchants attempt to convince the United States to build a railroad that could link the east to the west. But it isn’t until the nation is thrown into Civil War that the government passes a bill to construct a transcontinental railroad. Two companies are formed: the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific. The Union Pacific begins building west from Omaha. But the man who oversees everything, Thomas Durant, uses the project to enrich himself. Thanks to our sponsor, HelloFresh! To get started, check out our plan: HelloFresh.com/legends10fm Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join Apple users join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes, bingeable seasons and bonus episodes. Click the Black Barrel+ banner on Apple to get started with a 3-day free trial. For more details, visit our website www.blackbarrelmedia.com and check out our social media pages. We’re @OldWestPodcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. On YouTube, subscribe to LEGENDS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: hit “Join” on the Legends YouTube homepage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	November 1st, 1855 was a crisp autumn day in St. Louis, Missouri.
0:16.8	Over at the train station, a tinge of coal smoke filled the air for something unusual,
0:22.6	a special excursion train from St. Louis to Jefferson City, about 125 miles west.
0:29.6	The trip was meant to be a celebratory journey, a testament to the progress of the Pacific Railroad,
0:35.6	one of the many railroad companies in the nascent
0:38.3	but booming rail industry. The train was filled with the most esteemed citizens of St. Louis,
0:45.4	railroad executives, politicians, and their families. Among those travelers were the mayors of
0:51.1	St. Louis and Carondelet, as well as Henry Chuteau, whose father founded St. Louis.
0:57.5	Roughly 600 or so loaded into the train, whose locomotive was dubbed O'Sullivan and headed west.
1:04.5	As the train rolled out of town, the passengers reveled in the Missouri landscape. In the VIP cars, champagne glasses clinked,
1:13.3	laughter rang out, and titans of industry spoke in bold tones of the fortunes they envisioned
1:19.2	being built on rails of steel. But soon after they left St. Louis, things went south.
1:33.3	At mile marker 39, the train reached a bridge over the Gascad River. The bridge was an engineering marvel, a 760-foot-long wooden structure stretching across the water.
1:40.3	But there was a caveat.
1:42.3	It was a marvel built in haste and barely tested under a full load.
1:47.9	And yet, the O'Sullivan rolled onto the bridge. As the train began its crossing, disaster struck.
1:55.3	With a sickening snap, the span between the East Bank and the first pier collapsed. Wooden timbers splintered beneath the weight
2:03.6	of the engine. The O'Sullivan tipped backward as it fell, crashing down onto the first passenger car.
2:10.7	Behind it, seven cars followed, falling into the river below. Miraculously, one passenger car remained upright on the tracks.
2:19.3	It didn't take long for the chorus of screams to rise above the wreckage.
2:24.3	Survivors clawed their way out of the twisted cars, dazed and bloodied and stumbled over splintered beams and jagged iron.
2:32.3	Some managed to crawl out of the river. 31 people died in the
	...

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