After riding over 18,00 miles on Amtrak the past 22 years, it is very interesting to read the stories behind the names of so many railroad locations. Much federal money and open western land was made available to hasten the expansion of population and commerce into the western territories. The results of this previous federal stimulus program are quite obvious today. Yes there was greed and manipulation aplenty. There was also vision, imagination, planning, breathtaking engineering and just plain hard work performed by ordinary people trying to make their own way. In doing so they all made history that is fascinating and insightful.

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