Part 3-Transcontinental Railroad-Desperadoes of Every Grade: Legends of the Old West
- Matthew Kerns
- Jun 5
- 2 min read
Episode 3 of 6 in a series on The Transcontinental Railroad I wrote for Legends of the Old West.
In episode 3, “Desperadoes of Every Grade,” we dive into the explosive transformation of the Union Pacific’s construction effort from a sluggish scheme to a full-speed sprint across the American plains—and into chaos. With financier Thomas Durant finally sidelined by the Ames brothers, real engineers like Grenville Dodge and track boss Jack Casement take command. Under their leadership, the rails push rapidly west through Nebraska and Colorado, but what follows is both an explosion of progress and an eruption of vice, violence, and unrelenting lawlessness.
As end-of-track towns like Julesburg and Cheyenne spring to life almost overnight, they become hives of crime, fueled by unpaid wages, opportunistic grifters, and the allure of railroad money. Gambling halls, brothels, and saloons outnumber homes, and the justice system is replaced by lynch mobs and vigilantes. When Dodge sends Casement to restore order in Julesburg, the response is swift and bloody. Meanwhile, Cheyenne’s lynchings and Laramie’s payroll shootouts force the Army to intervene for the first time—not against Native resistance, but to protect the railroad from itself.
But even as the Union Pacific battles internal disorder, it also faces external threats. The farther west it pushes into Wyoming Territory, the more resistance it meets from Native nations defending their homelands. Surveyors are ambushed, stakes are torn up, and supply lines are cut. With blood spilled in Laramie and bullets flying in the Red Desert, the railroad becomes as much a military operation as an engineering one.
“Desperadoes of Every Grade” captures a brutal truth behind the romantic myth of westward expansion: this was a race built not just with steel and ambition, but with greed, violence, and the desperate will to survive. Listen now to hear how Hell on Wheels didn’t just follow the rails—it laid them.
🎧 Listen now to "Desperadoes of Every Grade" on your favorite podcast platform.
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