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Song Samples (MP3 Format) 900 Miles (2.196 MB mp3 file) Casey Jones (3.378 MB mp3 file) Railroading on the Great Divide (2.398 MB mp3 file) Fifty songs that describe the planning and construction of the five transcontinental railroads, the builders, the railroaders, railroad events, characters, scandal and corruption. Playing time: Two hours, forty five minutes. "...enjoyable listening...a delightful and timeless look at our past." --- Desert News "These old songs make for pleasant and interesting listening, and they're performed with feeling by the McNeils and the other musicians they've assembled." --- Trains Magazine "Impeccably combined in this entertaining and accessible production are songs about everything from the railroad bums to the robber barons, from Rock Island to Goat Island, from Jim Fisk to Casey Jones." --- School Library Journal
Part One: Steam locomotives challenge the steam boats and canal boats. President Lincoln signs the Pacific Railroad Act. Chinese workers dominate the Central Pacific, Irish workers dominate the Union Pacific. The race begins.
Part Two: The "Hell On Wheels" towns follow the rails. Mormons join the Union Pacific and Central Pacific workforces. East and west rails join at Promontory. Train robbers and gamblers fleece railroads and passengers.
Part Three: Railroad boomers, brakemen, switchmen, firemen, conductors and engineers worked the trains, the hoboes rode for free.
Part Four: Railroad fever grips the West. Greed and scandal come to light. Pathos, sentiment and humor fill the song sheets. East, west, north and south, the rails span the continent.
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