John Henry: Steel Driving Man

Southern Gothic

Southern Gothic Media LLC

Society & Culture, History, Documentary, True Crime

4.7 • 980 Ratings

🗓️ 5 March 2021

⏱️ 22 minutes

🔗️ Recording | Apple Podcasts | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

When the Civil War drew to a close, the United States’ railway networks, particularly those in the Southern states, were in shambles. During the Reconstruction era, the rehabilitation of the southern rails and expansion of transcontinental railroads became a major undertaking, and as the importance of the railroad rose. In the three decades after the Civil War over 170,000 miles of track were added to America’s railway system; it opened the western states for further settlement and reestablished the accessibility of the southern states. The accomplishment required a considerable workforce, and railway companies became a significant employers of thousands of men finally freed from enslavement. The work was dangerous, physically intensive, and time consuming. It’s unknown exactly how many men lost their lives to injury or illness while expanding the nation’s railroad system during Reconstruction, but the legacy of these men lives on in one of the most enduring folk heroes in American history…the ballad of John Henry, the steel-driving man. Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today! Connect with Southern Gothic Media: Website: SouthernGothicMedia.com Merch Store: https://www.southerngothicmedia.com/merch Pinterest: @SouthernGothicMedia Facebook: @SouthernGothicMedia Instagram: @SouthernGothicMedia Twitter: @SoGoPodcast Join our Facebook Group! If you are a sponsor looking to advertise on the show visit Airwave Media or email contact@airwavemedia.com for information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	The homes of the future need EV chargers, solar panels and energy efficient heat pumps.
0:07.0	But at EDF, we're not waiting for the future.
0:10.0	Our teams, rated excellent on TrustPilot, are installing them all over the UK.
0:15.0	Right now.
0:21.6	EDF. Change is in our power.
0:30.0	Toy car to Danny from me.
0:32.5	Fluffy slippers to Emma from me.
0:34.8	The Cheesy McChispy.
0:36.0	To me from me.
0:37.7	Treat yourself to the new Cheesy McChisby from McDonald's
0:40.2	with the delicious cheese sauce, cheese slices and crispy onions.
0:43.2	Go on, you've earned it.
0:46.0	Available until the 5th of Jan,
0:47.3	served from 11am, participating in restaurants only.
0:49.2	Subject to availability. Just south of Talcott, West Virginia, is an old decommission rail tunnel originally built for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway.
1:21.1	In February of 1870, over 800 men began digging this tunnel through the Big Bend Mountain,
1:28.7	a process that took too long and grueling years,
1:32.8	as at the time every step had to be done by hand.
1:39.6	First, a man known as a shaker held a steel drill into place, while another man, known as a steel
1:47.2	driver, used brute force to hammer it directly into the rock.
1:53.6	In between each strike, the shaker cleared the hole of debris, and the process continued
1:59.3	until it was deep enough to fill with black powder for blasting.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Southern Gothic Media LLC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Southern Gothic Media LLC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.