Railroad Laborers

Railroad Laborers (HM2AZ9)

Location: Bonners Ferry, ID 83805 Boundary County
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Country: United States of America
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N 48° 41.861', W 116° 18.693'

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Inscription
A vast labor force was needed during construction of the railroads. Workers came from many ethnic groups, bringing a piece of "home" with them as they contributed to the growing culture of Boundary County.
Laborers hired for low wages, became experts in blasting rock, building tunnels, and grading the rail beds. They acquired colorful titles such as "swampers" and "powder monkeys."
Laborers constructed bridges and trestles across waterways, gullies, and swamps. "Tie hacks" hewed ties by hand, crews spiked rails to ties.
Railroads employed "track walkers" to inspect two mile sections of rail line for obstructions. Later, handcarts and speeders were used. Section crew men called "gandy dancers" continued to maintain the rail line.
Rock Ovens

The aroma of freshly baked bread spread throughout the railroad construction camps. Dome shaped rock ovens, attributed to the Italian laborers, were built of local rock and chinked with clay. This have been mistakenly called "Chinese ovens" because Chinese crews used similar ovens along other earlier railroads. A fire would be built inside and kept going until the rocks sufficiently hot. With the coals raked out, loaves of dough were placed inside to bake.
Details
HM NumberHM2AZ9
Tags
Year Placed2009
Placed ByBoundary County Historical Society
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Friday, August 31st, 2018 at 11:01am PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)11U E 550658 N 5394078
Decimal Degrees48.69768333, -116.31155000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 48° 41.861', W 116° 18.693'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds48° 41' 51.66" N, 116° 18' 41.58" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)208
Which side of the road?Marker is on the right when traveling North
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 7229 Main St, Bonners Ferry ID 83805, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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