Life in Camp

Life in camp as a worker for the railroad was a rough and dirty life. There weren’t any comfy mattresses or walls sheltering them from the drastic weather they faced. The camps they built for the men were put up as fast as they could because the men needed to focus on building the railroad, not their camps. Many diseases were passed through these camps because of the uncleanliness. The tents and blankets the workers used for sleeping were never cleaned after each time used; they were just packed up and moved to the next location. For fun in the camp, the workers liked to gamble, drink and shoot their friends. This goes to show that these men lived a hard life. The workers worked long hours and every once in a while needed a break, that’s why so many gambling houses, brothels and saloons were popping up around. The workers enjoyed spending some of the money they made and getting a night off. Life in camp was probably not very fun. They were always packing up their belongings and moving because they had to get to new parts of the railroad to build. So many men were traveling out there for this that there were towns being put up for the workers and the trail they followed was becoming permanent. The building of the railroad put up many new cities and towns along the railroad and brought many men out west to help work on it. Life in camp for these men was quite the experience.

By: Allie Morgan

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/tcrr-hell/