What caused the great strike of 1877 B&O Railroad?
What caused the great strike of 1877 B&O Railroad?
Great Railroad Strike of 1877, series of violent rail strikes across the United States in 1877. The strikes were precipitated by wage cuts announced by the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad—its second cut in eight months. Railway work was already poorly paid and dangerous.
What did Vanderbilt do to Gould and Fisk?
In a twist, the younger men pushed Drew aside and took over control of the railroad. But Vanderbilt exacted some revenge by having the Erie Railroad buy back the watered stock he had purchased. In the end, Gould and Fisk wound up running the Erie Railroad, and essentially looting it.
What impact did the railroad have on Chicago?
One means by which the railroads contributed to Chicago’s transformation into a metropolis was their purchase of land in the city and the subsequent development of that land. When the Illinois Central was constructed in 1852, the railroad needed a route by which to enter the city.
What two major things did the great railroad strike of 1877 reveal?
The first national strike began July 16, 1877, with Baltimore and Ohio Railroad workers in Martinsburg, West Virginia, and Baltimore, Maryland. It spread across the nation halting rail traffic and closing factories in reaction to widespread worker discontent over wage cuts and conditions during a national depression.
What was the result of the great railroad strike of 1877?
What was the outcome of the great railroad strike of 1877? Railroad workers walked off the job in other states and seriously disrupted commerce in the East and Midwest. The strikes were ended within a few weeks, but not before major incidents of vandalism and violence.
Who scammed Cornelius Vanderbilt?
At the root of the scandal were two well-known scoundrels, Jay Gould and Jim Fisk. The two financiers had worked together in 1868, when they used stock fraud and bribery to keep Cornelius Vanderbilt from taking control of the Erie Railroad, which they owned.
Who owned the Erie line?
The merger eliminated duplicating track, resulting in a 2,900-mile road. Despite this, the Erie Lackawanna became bankrupt in 1972 and was taken over by Consolidated Rail Corporation (q.v.; Conrail) in 1976.
How much money did Vanderbilt lose to Gould and Fisk?
One Senator, as was disclosed by an investigating committee, accepted $75,000 from Vanderbilt and then $100,000 from Gould, kept both sums, — and voted with the dominant Gould forces. But in 1870, Fisk and Gould betrayed Drew, again manipulating the Erie Railroad stock price and causing him to lose $1.5 million.
Why is Chicago a train hub?
Chicago Becomes the Country’s Rail Hub 1848 saw the completion of both the Illinois and Michigan Canal and Chicago’s first railroad connection to the East Coast. The natural resources of the Midwest meant that railroads were very easy to build here.
Who organized the Great Railroad Strike of 1877?
The St. Louis Workingman’s Party led a group of approximately 500 men across the Missouri River in an act of solidarity with the nearly 1,000 workers on strike. It was a catalyst for labor unrest spreading, with thousands of workers in several industries striking for the eight-hour day and a ban on child labor.
What is the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway?
The Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway (W&LE) is a Class I railroad that operates mostly within Ohio, and consists of several abandoned or disused branches. Throughout its long history, the W&LE has been a part of the Nickel Plate, Norfolk & Western and Norfolk Southern.
What happened to the Alliance & Lake Erie Railroad?
The LEA&W was sold to the Cleveland Rolling Mill Company who reorganized the railroad as the Alliance & Lake Erie Railroad (A&LE) in May 1878 with the goal of building north to Fairport Harbor. 4 But by 1879, the A&LE was only able to be built as far north as Phalanx on the Erie Railroad’s Cleveland Branch.
How many miles of railroad track does the Wheeling Railroad have?
840 miles of railroad track throughout Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway Company is the largest Ohio-based railroad and among the largest regional railroads in the country. Our service area includes 840 miles of track operating in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland.
What is the Wheeling & Lake Erie SD40-2?
Wheeling & Lake Erie SD40-2 #416 idles away ahead of a grain train sits at Connellsville, Pennsylvania on the night of March 1, 2004. Wade Massie photo. The Wheeling & Lake Erie’s story begins with two different systems; one carrying the same name and another as a narrow-gauge linking Cleveland with Zanesville.