  railroad
@162.94.x.x
| reply to garagerock Re: What will get posted in this thread
Actually, as an incentive to get the railroads to lay down track out west, the government GAVE the railroads every odd numbered section of land within 25 miles on each side of their track. Talk about a giveaway and corporate subsidy! This did open up the west and made it easier for people to move themselves and things West. Now, the railroads have since sold off a lot of their land holdings (making a HUGE bundle of cash) but more importantly THEY KEPT THE MINERAL RIGHTS. This is why (in Colorado and Wyoming at least) virtually every oil and gas well has a name like UPRR-Amoco #5, where UPRR stands for Union Pacific Railroad. |