Theodore Judah
Encyclopedia
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
who dreamed of the first Transcontinental Railroad
First Transcontinental Railroad
The First Transcontinental Railroad was a railroad line built in the United States of America between 1863 and 1869 by the Central Pacific Railroad of California and the Union Pacific Railroad that connected its statutory Eastern terminus at Council Bluffs, Iowa/Omaha, Nebraska The First...
. He found investors for what became the Central Pacific Railroad
Central Pacific Railroad
The Central Pacific Railroad is the former name of the railroad network built between California and Utah, USA that formed part of the "First Transcontinental Railroad" in North America. It is now part of the Union Pacific Railroad. Many 19th century national proposals to build a transcontinental...
(CPRR). As chief engineer, he performed much of the land survey
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
work to determine the best possible route for the railroad over the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Early life and education
Theodore Judah was born in 1826 in Bridgeport, ConnecticutBridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...
, the son of an Episcopal
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
clergyman. After his family moved to Troy, New York
Troy, New York
Troy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...
, Judah studied engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Stephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...
.
On May 10, 1847 at age 21, Judah married Anne Pierce. Twenty-two years later, to the day, some six years after Judah's death, the "golden spike" was driven, completing the Transcontinental Railroad
Transcontinental railroad
A transcontinental railroad is a contiguous network of railroad trackage that crosses a continental land mass with terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single railroad, or over those owned or controlled by multiple railway companies...
.
Career
After working on a number of railroads in the Northeast, Judah was hired as the Chief Engineer for the Sacramento Valley RailroadSacramento Valley Railroad
The Sacramento Valley Railroad was California's first railroad. It was organized on August 4, 1852. The railroad's gauge was 7" wider than the standard 4'–8½" gauge and was laid with 60-pound-per-yard Welsh iron "pear" rail.-Original route:...
in California. It was the first railroad built west of the Mississippi River. Throughout the 1850s, Judah was known as "Crazy Judah" for his idea to build a railroad through and over the wall of mountains known as the Sierra Nevada, a project which many people at the time considered impossible.
CPRR
As the chief engineer of the Central Pacific Railroad, Judah surveyed the route over the Sierra Nevada along which the railroad was to be built during the 1860s. Failing to raise funds for the project in San FranciscoSan Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, he succeeded in signing up four Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
merchants—the "Big Four": Leland Stanford
Leland Stanford
Amasa Leland Stanford was an American tycoon, industrialist, robber baron, politician and founder of Stanford University.-Early years:...
, Collis P. Huntington
Collis P. Huntington
Collis Potter Huntington was one of the Big Four of western railroading who built the Central Pacific Railroad as part of the first U.S. transcontinental railroad...
, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker
Charles Crocker
Charles Crocker was an American railroad executive.-Early years:Crocker was born in Troy, New York, to a modest family and moved to an Indiana farm at age 14. He soon became independent, working on several farms, a sawmill, and at an iron forge. In 1845 he founded a small, independent iron...
. They managed financing and construction of the CPRR.
With their backing, Judah lobbied for federal authorization and government financing of the transcontinental railroad in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. He contributed to the passage of the 1862 Pacific Railroad Act, which authorized construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad
First Transcontinental Railroad
The First Transcontinental Railroad was a railroad line built in the United States of America between 1863 and 1869 by the Central Pacific Railroad of California and the Union Pacific Railroad that connected its statutory Eastern terminus at Council Bluffs, Iowa/Omaha, Nebraska The First...
. After passage of the 1862 Act, the Big Four marginalized Judah. They put Crocker in charge of construction. Construction was completed in 1869, with virtually the entire course of the railroad having followed Judah's plans.
Early death
Judah died of yellow feverYellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
(then known as Panama fever). He caught the disease in Panama while taking a ship voyage with his wife to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, apparently becoming infected during their land passage across the Isthmus of Panama
Isthmus of Panama
The Isthmus of Panama, also historically known as the Isthmus of Darien, is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North and South America. It contains the country of Panama and the Panama Canal...
. They were going to New York for him to seek alternative financing to buy out the Big Four investors.
Legacy and Honors
- The CPRR named one of its steam locomotiveSteam locomotiveA steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
s (CP No. 4T. D. JudahT. D. Judah was the name of a 4-2-2 steam locomotive owned by the Central Pacific Railroad. It was named in honor of the railroad's first chief engineer, Theodore Dehone Judah, who surveyed a passable route over the Sierra Nevada Mountains for the Transcontinental Railroad.- History and career...
) after him. Judah crossed paths with the 19-ton locomotive bearing his name while on his way to New York. - Judah Street in San Francisco and its N-Judah Muni streetcar line are named after him.
- Memorial plaques dedicated to him have been erected in FolsomFolsom, CaliforniaFolsom is a city in Sacramento County, California, United States. Folsom is most commonly known for its famous Folsom Prison. The population was 72,203 at the 2010 census....
and SacramentoSacramento, CaliforniaSacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
. - Schools have been named after Judah.
Within days of Judah's death, the CPRR's first locomotive, Gov. Stanford
Gov. Stanford
Gov. Stanford is a 4-4-0 steam locomotive originally built in 1862 by Norris Locomotive Works. It entered service on November 9, 1863 and it was used in the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad in North America by Central Pacific Railroad bearing road number 1...
, made a trial run over the new railroad's first 500 feet of track.
Historical analysis
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
s have been sharply divided over his legacy. They agree that he had a vision, and his optimism helped popularize the remarkable plan of building a transcontinental railroad, convinced the Big Four to finance it, and was instrumental in securing Congressional passage of the 1862 law.