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European Capital, British Iron, and an American Dream by William Reynolds
European Capital, British Iron, and an American Dream by William Reynolds Edited by Peter K Gifford & Robert D Ilisevich
The story of the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad
Hard Cover with Dust Jacket
258 pages
Copyright 2002
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations ix
Editors' Preface xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Railroad Abbreviations xv
Timeline of the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad, 1851-1864 xvii
Introduction 3
Author's Preface 41
1 "Railroad or No Railroad," 1851-1857 43
Railroad Mania 1851 43
County Subscription 1853 47
A Bad Start 1854 50
The Meadville Branch 1855 51
Six Feet from New York to St. Louis 1856 53
Discouragement and Panic 1857 54
The Meadville Railroad Company 55
County Repudiates Subscription 56
Reaching Out to Europe 58
2 From Ohio to New York, 1858-1859 61
The Atlantic & Great Western RR of Pennsylvania 1858 61
Sale of Bonds in Europe 65
The Atlantic & Great Western RR of New York 185971
General Ward's Ten Mile Road 72
Contract of Mutual Guaranty 75
McHenry, Salamanca, and European Capital 76
3 Building the Road, 1860 85
Bonds, Rails, and Spikes 85
Purchase of the Erie & New York City RR 86
First Dispute with McHenry 87
The Work Progresses go Financial Headaches 98
Jamestown Opening 104
Seizure of Iron 107
Rejection of Erie RR Plan 118
4 Challenges and More Challenges, 1861 122
Financial Crisis and the Coming of War 122
Attack on Fort Sumter 131
Finances and Oil 132
Cutting Back 136
A European Trip 139
Visit with Salamanca 144
Peto Joins the Ranks 150
Conditions at Close of Year 151
5 Difficulties Continue,1862 152
Oil Traffic Increases 152
Labor Shortages during the War 160
More Financial Difficulties 161
Franklin Branch 164
6 Pressing On, 1863 175
Tightening Control of Management 175
Shortcomings of Kennard and McHenry 187
Coal and Oil 191
Meadville and Cleveland Celebrations 193
Tighter Control Needed 199
7 Finishing the Job, 1864 202
Driving the Last Spike 202
Sale of the Oil Creek Railroad 204
Disappointment in Kennard 205
McHenry's Visit 212
Resignation 217
Editors' Afterward 221
Biographies 231
James McHenry 231
Marvin Kent 232
Horace Cullum 233
Christopher L. Ward 233
John Dick 234
Samuel Hallett 234
Sir Samuel Morton Peto 234
Gaylord Church 235
James J. Shryock 235
Darwin Finney 236
Robert Thallon 236
Thomas W. Kennard 236
Don Josde Salamanca 237
George Francis Train 237
Notes 239
Bibliography 247
Index 251
Series on Ohio History and Culture 257
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Marvin Kent 27
William Reynolds 35
Judge Gaylord Church 45
Pennsylvania section of the A&GW 62
W. S. Streator 63
James A. McHenry 67
Railroads in the State of New York 72
Robert Thallon 74
Henry A. Kent 103
The first train into Jamestown, New York, on the A&GW 105
A bridge on the Franklin Branch 179
The station at the Franklin Petroleum Oil Works 181
Trestle near Akron, Ohio 185
A&GW shop complex 189
Meadville, Pennsylvania depot with the McHenry House 194
The dining room at the depot, Meadville, Pennsylvania 197
View of the A&GW Engine No. 71 203
A&GW Locomotive built by Rogers Locomotive Company 205
Sir Samuel Morton Peto, Thomas W. Kennard, James A. McHenry, Samuel Wann, and S. S. L'Hommedieu 213
McHenry House and Meadville Depot 215
Thomas W. Kennard's house at Glencove, Long Island 216
James Shryock 225
Don Josde Salamanca 232
ON THE BACK COVER:
The Atlantic & Great Western Railraod was one of the earliest and largest east-west railroad projects in the United States. It was the dream of American builders William Reynolds of Pennsylvania and Marvin Kent of Ohio. By using the non-standard six-foot gauge, these men helped construct a trunk line connecting the Atlantic tidewater with the Mississippi River "without break of gauge."
Money for the construction came principally from European investors, like Don Jose de Salamanca of Spain, while Great Britain furnished the iron. A strong English support group included James McHenry, Sir Samuel Morton Peto, and the brilliant engineer, Thomas Kennard. This American-European enterprise represented an unique example of intercontinental cooperation in railroad history.
Reynolds was the first president of the Pennsylvania and New York divisions of the A&GW. This history is the first published source on this important railroad.
With a memorable talent for detail and authority, Reynolds demonstrates how difficult it was to build a railroad against the backdrop of the Civil War. The lack of capital and resources, the scarcity of labor, the control of the oil market, and the endless struggle against hostile public opinion and fierce competitors like the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central posed challenges that were not easly overcome. Yet, as Reynolds states, "in the face of all these formidable obstacles, the enterprise was crowned with success."
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