The Railroads section is by far the most important and interesting part of this website. My past ancestors and present family including myself, have worked for the railroads. With the advent of this new form of transportation in the early 1800's, the railroads brought the westward expansion of the United States to the forefront. Now the necessary supplies and people to build a nation could be transported to their destination in a matter of days or weeks, where as before it took months or the goods could not be delivered at all. Passenger travel from the east to the west coast was now an attainable goal. Livestock transportation made it profitable to ship animals from the west to the east where there was a market for beef, pork and poultry. Wheat, corn, and other grains could now be shipped in mass quantities, along with coal and other necessary goods. But most of all the railroads provided jobs, either through the railroad company itself or with the creation of manufacturing jobs and farming. In the next pages you will read about my family, David T. Nichols, Edward J. Engel, James Crawford, David T. Crawford, Clifford L. Nichols, Charles Ervin and Robert E. Jacobs. Also, just as important were the family, friends, acquaintances and co-workers of my ancestors and present family, who are also included in this section. Without these individuals, there would be no story.
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