1850 | Photograph
Few original images remain of railroad workers in the 1850s, especially of construction crews, whether free labor or enslaved. Northern railroad companies employed thousands of men on their payrolls in a dizzying array of occupations.
January 21, 1850 | Contract
Claudius Crozet offers the Board of Public Works his assessment of the bids for one section of the Tunnel project.
May 6, 1850 | Letter
Claudius Crozet keeps the Board informed of the project's progress on the Blue Ridge and measures that progress in numbers of "hands" employed and the amount of rock and earth moved.
August 15, 1850 | Time Table
This timetable, which took effect August 15, 1850, shows the departure and arrival times of trains on the Boston and Worcester Railroad.
1850 | Annual report
When proposed and the first efforts made in 1850, the Blue Ridge Tunnel was to be the longest tunnel in North America. Claudius Crozet, as chief engineer, warns his Board of Public Works against comparing its progress with other tunnels. The condition of the rock and the scale of the project were different and unprecedented, respectively. Crozet tries to educate the Board on the nature of the project.
October 29, 1850 | Illustration
Note the delicate illustration of the passenger car in this advertisement.
November 15, 1850 | Letter
The Kelly contract dispute occupied the first year of Claudius Crozet's project to build the Blue Ridge Tunnel. This letter from Kelly to the Governor of Virginia explains the contractor's view of his contract and his disagreement with Claudius Crozet, the chief engineer. Kelly claims his contract was to include the building of some parts of the project, while Crozet let these to another contractor at a much lower price.
November 15, 1850 | Letter
Claudius Crozet reports on his disagreement with the Tunnel's general contractor.
January 15, 1851 | Letter
In one of the first reports to the Board, Claudius Crozet explains the dangerous conditions in the construction and advises against using sink shafts on the project. Crozet refers to Col. Randolph, probably Thomas Jefferson Randolph, grandson of Thomas Jefferson and contractor of slaves to the project.
May 5, 1851 | Time Table
This timetable, which took effect May 5, 1851, shows the summer schedule for trains leaving Boston on the Boston & Maine Railroad.
December 1, 1851 | Illustration
An example of the ways opportunities created by railroads pushed Americans to to conceptualize space and time in new ways, this illustration for the article "Thoughts on a Rail-Road System for New Orleans and the Southwest. No. III" emphasizes the commercial opportunities offered by rail networks.
1852 | Book
An excerpt from Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin.
April 2, 1852 | Contract
Contractors on the Blue Ridge Railroad and Tunnel project filled out elaborate and detailed descriptions of work that they were to complete.
June 5, 1852 | Contract
Contractors on the Blue Ridge Railroad and Tunnel project filled out elaborate and detailed descriptions of work that they were to complete.
August 2, 1853 | Letter
Claudius Crozet reports on the changing costs of labor in 1853.
August 2, 1853 | Letter
Claudius Crozet explains what he thinks prompted the strike among the Tunnel workers in April 1853 for $1.50 a day wages.
November 1, 1853 | Time Table
This timetable, which took effect November 1, 1853, shows arrival and departure times on the Boston and Worcester Railroad.
December 6, 1853 | Letter
Claudius Crozet reports on labor costs and the national labor market as it affects the Blue Ridge tunnel project. He encourages the Board to consider a mixed labor force of white and enslaved black workers as a means to keep both in check.
December 23, 1853 | Contract
In December 1853, George A. Farrow and David Hansbrough signed a contract with the Blue Ridge Railroad to provide fifty slaves to assist in the construction of the Blue Ridge railroad tunnel.
1854 | Book
An excerpt from Henry David Thoreau's Walden. The progress represented by the railroad presents a mixed legacy to the rural life Thoreau treasures.