REPORT OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER ON THE PRELIMINARY SURVEY, COST OF CONSTRUCTION, AND ESTIMATED REVENUE, OF THE CENTRAL PACIFIC RAILROAD OF CALIFORNIA, ACROSS THE SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS, FROM SACRAMENTO TO THE EASTERN BOUNDARY OF CALIFORNIA. OCTOBER 22, 1862. Sacramento: H. S. Crocker & Co.'s Print, 107 J Street, 1862. 21x13.8 cm (octavo), pp. [1-5] 6-56, new plain paper wrappers. First edition. [accompanied by] Central Pacific Railroad [Judah, Theodore Dehone.] REPORT OF THE CHIEF ENGINEER UPON RECENT SURVEYS, PROGRESS OF CONSTRUCTION, AND AN APPROXIMATE ESTIMATE OF COST OF FIRST DIVISION OF FIFTY MILES OF THE CENTRAL PACIFIC RAILROAD OF CAL., JULY 1st, 1863. Sacramento: James Anthony & Co., Printers, Union Book and Job Office, 1863. 21x14 cm (octavo), pp. [1-3] 4-26 [27-28: blank], new plain paper wrappers. First edition. Theodore Dehone Judah (1825-1863), American civil engineer, was the central figure in the founding of America's first transcontinental railroad. Failing to raise funds in San Francisco, Judah succeeded in convincing five Sacramento merchants (James Bailey, Leland Stanford, Collis P. Huntington, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker) to support the project. On 8 June 1861, the Central Pacific Rail Way of California (CPRR) was incorporated with Judah as the chief engineer. As chief engineer, he performed much of the route survey work to determine the best route for the railroad over the Sierra Nevada. On 9 October 1861, the directors of the CPRR authorized Judah to go to Washington D. C. as their agent to procure "appropriations of land and U.S. Bonds from the Government to aid in the construction of this road." At Washington Judah campaigned for a Pacific Railroad bill. On 1 July 1862, President Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad Act into law. It authorized the issuance of land grants and U.S. bonds to CPRR and the newly chartered Union Pacific Railroad for the construction of a transcontinental railroad. Judah then went to New York to order supplies and sailed back to California on 21 July 1862, having accomplished his mission in less than a year. "Friction with his partners led to an agreement that they could buy him out for $100,000 or he could purchase their shares for the same amount to each. Sailing east to secure financing for this purpose from the Vanderbilts or other financiers, he contracted typhoid fever while crossing the Isthmus and died soon thereafter" (James D. Hart). Cowan (1933), p. 508 (both reports). Greenwood 1627 (1862 report). Howes J269 and J270. The 1862 report lacks the rarely found folded map and the first leaf is foxed. Both reports are in very good condition. Both reports enclosed in a custom quarter black leather and blue cloth slipcase. (#166764).
Price: $4,250.00
No statement of printing.