The West the Railroads Made

Take a fresh look at what the iron road created. Learn about how this one form of transportation reshaped the West and helped create a truly continental nation.

Beyond iron tracks and coal-fired engines, the story of railroads is a story of transformation.

Railroads brought the modern world to the West and the West to the modern world. The West the Railroads Made recounts how the idea of a Pacific railroad grew through the 1840s and 1850s, how it came to life in the second half of the 19th century, and how it reconceived itself to survive new challenges by the late 20th century. The exhibit will focus on the battleground between the river cities St. Louis and Portland, and the railroad cities Chicago and Seattle/Tacoma.

The West the Railroads Made will feature more than 80 artifacts, including rare railroad ephemera, photographs, paintings and other three-dimensional pieces. Organized by the Washington State Historical Society and the Barriger Railroad Library of the St. Louis Mercantile Library at the University of Missouri, St. Louis.