Alarm of canal-owners at the success of railroads--The making of the Baltimore & Ohio--The "Tom Thumb" engine--Difficulties in crossing the Appalachians--Extension to Pittsburgh--Troubles of the Erie Railroad--This road the first to use the telegraph--The prairies begin to be crossed by railways--Chicago's first railroad, the Galena & Chicago Union--Illinois Central--Rock Island, the first to span the Mississippi--Proposals to run railroads to the Pacific--The Central Pacific organized--It and the Union Pacific meet--Other Pacific roads. CHAPTER III THE BUILDING OF A RAILROAD 34 Cost of a single-track road--Financing--Securing a charter-- Survey-work and its dangers--Grades--Construction--Track-laying. CHAPTER IV TUNNELS 48 Their use in reducing grades--The Hoosac Tunnel--The use of shafts--Tunnelling under water--The Detroit River tunnel. CHAPTER V BRIDGES 56 Bridges of timber, then stone, then steel--The Starucca Viaduct--The first iron bridge in the United States--Steel bridges--Engineering triumphs--Different types of railroad bridge--The deck span and the truss span--Suspension bridges--Cantilever bridges--Reaching the solid rock with caissons--The work of "sand-hogs"--The cantilever over the Pend Oreille River--Variety of problems in bridge-building--Points in favor of the stone bridge--Bridges over the Keys of Florida. CHAPTER VI THE PASSENGER STATIONS 80 Early trains for suburbanites--Importance of the towerman-- Automatic switch systems--The interlocking machine--Capacities of the largest passenger terminals--Room for locomotives, car-storage, etc.--Storing and cleaning cars--The concourse-- Waiting-rooms--Baggage accommodations--Heating--Great development of passenger stations--Some notable stations in America. CHAPTER VII THE FREIGHT TERMINALS AND THE YARDS 107 Convenience of having freight stations at several points in a city--The Pennsylvania Railroad's scheme at New York as an example--Coal handled apart from other freight--Assorting the cars--The transfer house--Charges for the use of cars not promptly returned to their home roads--The hard work of the yardmaster. CHAPTER VIII THE LOCOMOTIVES AND THE CARS 119 Honor required in the building of a locomotive--Some of the early locomotives--Some notable locomotive-builders--Increase of the size of engines--Stephenson's air-brake--The workshops-- The various parts of the engine--Cars of the old-time-- Improvements by Winans and others--Steel cars for freight. CHAPTER IX