Locomotives - Central Pacific Railroad 4-4-0 Type Engine The Governor Stanford

by J Craig Thorpe

Title

Locomotives - Central Pacific Railroad 4-4-0 Type Engine The Governor Stanford

Artist

J Craig Thorpe

Medium

Painting - Oil On Watercolor Paper

Description

In 1861, most people were skeptical about engineer Theodore D. Judah's idea of building America's first transcontinental rail line. After all, Judah's plan called for laying track from California eastward through the rugged Sierra Nevada mountain range, an engineering feat few thought possible. Yet, four California merchants -- Mark Hopkins, Charles Crocker, Leland Stanford and Collis P. Huntington -- shared Judah's vision and promptly formed the Central Pacific Railroad. Known later as the "Big Four," these entrepreneurs named Judah their chief engineer and sent him to Washington, D.C., to lobby for aid. Federal support came on July 1, 1862, when President Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act. The Act provided for land grants and subsidies to the Central Pacific, which was to build the line from Sacramento eastward, and to the Union Pacific, which would start at Omaha and head west. The Central Pacific laid its first tracks on October 26, 1863. The Union Pacific started westward some two years later. On May 10, 1869, the two rail lines joined at Promontory, Utah. On November 11, 1863, the 4-4-0 engine featured in this painting, the Governor Stanford, became the first locomotive to operate on the Central Pacific Railroad. Built by Richard Norris & Son of Philadelphia, this magnificent machine had made a 127-day ocean voyage from Boston to San Francisco. It was named for the president of the Central Pacific and then-governor of California, Leland Stanford.

Please note the "Fine Art America" watermark will not appear on the painting or any print reproduction.

Artwork Copyright © 1994 Wind River Studios Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved under United States and international copyright laws. You may not reproduce, distribute, transmit, or otherwise exploit the Artwork in any way. Any sale of the physical original does not include or convey the Copyright or any right comprised in the Copyright. WRSH Stock Number XB14893

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April 20th, 2022

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