Life Before Trains
What state was the last state to get railway service?
Montana
What does transcontinental mean?
All the way across the country.
What is a labor union?
What is a tycoon?
A wealthy business man.
True or False
Trains could serve as school busses.
True! The shorter lines and smaller railroads that connected smaller towns sometimes served as school busses.
gold, copper, silver, wool, and cattle
The government gave the Northern Pacific how many acres of land for the railroad construction? Bonus 200 points if you know how much of that was in Montana.
Overall 39 million acres
In Montana 13.3 million acres
What is a reservation?
What immigrant was often hired to do the back breaking work of laying railroad tracks?
Asian Immigrants
What fuel was used to ensure that trains ran smoothly across the transcontinental lines?
Coal
How long did it take to travel to Montana for the East, before railroads?
3 to 4 months
In 1869, the train company to get closest to Montana was whom? For an additional 200 points, how close did the railway get to Montana's gold fields?
Union Pacific
Within 500 miles
What is a right-of-way?
What was the average pay per day of a railroad worker?
Between $.90 to $1.45 per day... (about $21-$33 today)
How did cities improve to accomodate travelers? Name three things.
Fancy restaurants, sports events, ceremonial gatherings, larger stores, wider variety of foods, and entertainment.
How many hours did it take to travel the 120 miles from Helena to Virginia City, before railways?
18 hours
In 1872 a northern route of construction began from Utah to Montana. When it was completed, what was that railway called? For an extra 200 points, how long did it take to complete?
The Utah and Northern Railway
8 years
Investors who finance large projects.
Why did labor unions form during the building of the railroads?
They were organizations that helped employees bargain for better wages, working conditions, or benefits.
The telegraph lines that ran along the railroad tracks changed how people received information. Name one specific thing that was sometimes transmitted on the telegraph wire.
Personal messages, baseball games, breaking news, and even transmitters could play chess!
2 weeks
In 1882 the government approved an agreement with the Crow tribe that reduced their reservation by how many acres?
1.5 million acres
A measurement of lumber equal to 1 board foot long, 1 foot wide, and 1 inch thick.
How many people were employed by the railroads in Montana by the early 1900's?
About 23,000 were employed by the railroad.
What are three things that trains carried to make lives better for Montanan's?
Gadgets, machines, telephones, automobiles, plate glass windows, washing machines, tin ceilings, and catalog items.