Wild West Tech: Train Tech

SYNOPSIS

Nothing affected settlement of the American West more than construction of the transcontinental railway that connected the Wild West to the civilized East. We spotlight tools as well as techniques used to build tracks, bridges, and tunnels through mountains of solid granite. We also explore technology developed to make trains less vulnerable to bandits and train wrecks--better tracks and rails, arming mechanics with guns, and use of the telegraph as a warning system. Keith Carradine narrates.