The Big Fill Trail

 The Big Fill Trail  demonstrated the engineering skill and sheer determination of railroad workers who labored here.This portion of the railroad represents the most grueling construction the Union Pacific undertook from Omaha to Promontory. It took the railroad companies three months to build this small section of railroad. At 1,776 miles long, the railroad stretched from Omaha to Sacramento. It remains one of the most remarkable engineering feats in American history.

 The Orange Special Wreck was caused in part by the steep 1.6 percent grade. As you might have guessed it was called the Orange Special Wreck because the train was carrying oranges from California. Because of the wreck, railroads were limited to two percent grades, remember they had small steam locomotives during this timeframe, even at 1.6 grades they had to have at least one helper, or hog, locomotive.

Here we have a rock cut which was one way of keeping grades within the 2 percent limit.To make the cuts, a two man team called "double jackers" drilled holes in solid rock using a long, narrow drill bit, which was repeatedly struck with a heavy sledgehammer or double jack. After the hole was drilled, a worker called a "powder monkey" would fill it with black powder, carefully tamp and fuse the powder, and set off the charge.

Central Pacific's Big Fill took over two months of intense effort by 250 dumpcart teams and more than 500 workers. Load after mule-drawn dump cart of fill, totaling more than 101,000 cubic yards, was required to conquer the 500 foot chasm.

a repeat bad Bill

There was a parallel construction taking place here this is the Union Pacific's railroad bed, it was later abandoned.