Sign In

- Or use -
Forgot Password Create Account
This item has been sold, but you can enter your email address to be notified if another example becomes available.
Description

The Railroads Conquering the West.

With a Plan for the Bridge over the Last Major River Before the UPRR's Unification.

Excellent collection of twenty-eight hand-drawn designs for railroad buildings and tracks, by UPRR assistant engineer for Wyoming, Henry Harding.

The drawings include plans for specific projects, including a bridge over the Green River and the bridge over its subsidiary wash, Black's Fork. It also includes a plethora of designs for other generic buildings that would need to be built at railway stations and depots, including freight houses, blacksmith shops, oil rooms, and storage tanks. It is unclear if these were for a specific project or more generally for the various stations that would need to be built throughout Wyoming. There are also unlabeled bridges and other railroad designs included in the collection.

Green River, Wyoming, and the UPRR

The plan for the bridges over the Green River and Black's Fork are perhaps the most important in the set. The plan for the bridge over the Green River is dated to September 1868, shortly before the railroad itself arrived at the town in October of that year. Harding was evidently preparing for this event beforehand, as the Green River was the last major river that needed to be crossed prior to unification. Interestingly, he suggests that the railroad should cross the river at a 40-degree angle, a much higher angle than for the final design.

The UPRR had long planned to build a settlement and winter terminus in Green River, but, much to its chagrin, when it arrived there was already an extant town. Annoyed at not being able to plan out the town in standard UPRR fashion, it moved its planned terminus to the town of "Bryan" on the Black's Fork some 12 miles west. As suggested by the cross-section of the fork in Harding's drawings, the Black's Fork was a large wash with variable floods. When the Fork dried up in 1872, the UPRR was forced to pack up and head back to Green River.

The Green River presented a major watershed for the UPRR. To the east stood the plains of the midwest and the Wyoming deserts, which, while presenting some issues, were simple enough to traverse. Between Green River and unification were the major mountain ranges of western Wyoming and eastern Utah, which required substantially more planning over and debate.

Henry Harding

Henry Harding was assistant engineer for the USPRR stationed in Laramie, Wyoming, where work for the railroad began in 1863. In addition to his engineering plans, he also produced a number of surveys for the UPRR in Wyoming.

Contents

  1. "General Plan of "Green River Bridge" Showing the Proposed Crossing at an angle of 40 degrees. Sketch paper. 25" by 20"
  2. [Untitled diagram of swinging doors] Drafting linen. 29" by 24.5".
  3. Plan of Piers and Abutment Black's For Bridge U.P.R.R. 1869. Sketch paper. 74.5" by 15"
  4. Plan of Freight House for R.R. Drafting linen. 25" by 17".
  5. [Plans for R.R. Freight House]. Drafting linen. 26.5" by 17.5".
  6. Plan of Covering for Tank House. Drafting linen. 26" by 17".
  7. [Cross-section of a structure 60' by 100'] Drafting linen. 29.5" by 17.5".
  8. Section of R. R. Black Smith Shop. Drafting linen. 30.5" by 17".
  9. [Base for tank?]. Drafting linen. 31" by 25".
  10. Plan of Machine Shop for R. R. Drafting linen. 37" by 24".
  11. [Foundry cross-section?]. Drafting linen. 18.5" by 24".
  12. [Cross-section for tank]. Drafting linen. 26" by 24".
  13. [Plans fur culvert and stream crossing?]. Drafting linen. 19.5" by 24".
  14. Framing Plan of Supply House. Drafting linen. 26.5" by 20.5"
  15. Center Stone 4 ft sqr [Columnades?] Drafting linen. 31" by 23.5".
  16. [Cross-section of wrought iron bridge with cable support]. Drafting linen. 45" by 13".
  17. [1' to 1" cross-section of steel joints]. Drafting linen .7.5" by 20".
  18. [Cross-section of structure, possibly black smith shop in 8]. Drafting linen. 30" by 15.5".
  19. Forgings for Round House. Drafting linen. 18" by 26".
  20. [Cross-section of freight house with roof section]. Drafting linen. 22.5" by 21".
  21. Transverse Section of Shop for R. R. Drafting Linen. 26" by 15.5".
  22. [Cross-section for number 18]. Drafting linen. 20" by 17".
  23. Longitude and Transverse Sections of Oil Room for a R.R. Drafting linen. 24.5" by 17.5".
  24. [Cross-section and transverse section of railway bridge]. Drafting linen. 35" by 11".
  25. [Plan of support beams?]. Drafting linen. 53" by 8.5".
  26. [Bridge cross-section]. Drafting linen. 44.5" by 24".
  27. [Plans for R.R. Freight House]. Drafting linen. 46" by 17".
  28. [Plans for R.R. Freight House]. Sketch paper. 26.5" by 17.5".
Condition Description
Twenty-eight sheets of various sizes on drafting linen and sketch paper, drawn on with pen and ink and wash color.
Henry Harding Biography

Henry Harding (1837-1910) was a railroad engineer from Hartland, Vermont. 

Harding worked for multiple eastern railroads during the 1850s, until he was recruited to serve as an assistant engineer for the Union Pacific under the direction of Grenville Mellon Dodge, an old friend and Chief Engineer of the railroad.  Harding worked on the Union Pacific from 1865 to1870, Harding’s particular focus was the design and construction of structures such as bridges, station houses, round houses, and terminals.

After the completion of the Union Pacific / Transcontinental Railraod,  Harding returned East, working briefly for the Adirondac, Housatonic, and Naguatuck Railroads,  befor taking a job with the United States Engineering Corps from 1873-90, and finally retiring to Hartland, Virginia in 1890.

For a more complete account of Harding’s career, see Ellis, W.A., Norwich University, 1819-1911, Her History, Her Graduates, Her Role of Honor. Published by Major-General Grenville M. Dodge, 1911.