Seven Wonders of the Industrial World S01E06 · The Line

Overview

The episode follows the construction of the Pacific Railroad, the first transcontinental rail system, which would unite the eastern and western seaboards of the United States. Started in Sacramento by a consortium of local shopkeepers with no experience in building a railroad, the episode follows their efforts to build from west to east through the forbidding Sierra Nevada mountains with the help of Chinese labourers whilst simultaneously following the efforts of the workers of the Union Pacific to build from east to west, and their problems in dealing with the lawless nature of the wild west, attacks by Native American raiding parties, and financial corruption and scandal.

Torrents

Subtitles

Episodes

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2. 2 2. The Brooklyn Bridge2003-09-11 · 50mFocusing on the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, the episode examines the family that built it - John Augustus Roebling, who designed the bridge; his son, Washington Roebling,
3. 3 3. The Bell Rock Lighthouse2003-09-18 · 50mThis episode tells the story of the construction in the early nineteenth century of the offshore lighthouse on Bell Rock, by the Scottish engineer Robert Stevenson. Bell or Inchcap
4. 4 4. The Sewer King2003-09-25 · 50mSet in London during the 1850s, this episode focuses on the construction of the London sewerage system, built to replace the antiquated medieval system that was overworked and inad
5. 5 5. The Panama Canal2003-10-02 · 50mBoth the French and the American efforts build a sea-level canal through Panama linking the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean are presented in this episode; firstly, the ill-fa
6. 6 6. The Line2003-10-09 · 50mThe episode follows the construction of the Pacific Railroad, the first transcontinental rail system, which would unite the eastern and western seaboards of the United States. Star
7. 7 7. The Hoover Dam2003-10-16 · 50mThe final episode focuses on the construction of the Hoover Dam during the Great Depression of the 1930s, focussing in particular on the ruthless pace set by Frank Crowe, the build