Colonel Silas Seymour was Consulting Engineer of the line during 1865-1866 and 1867, leaving it to enter the service of the Kansas Pacific Railway.
H. M. Hoxie was first in charge of Council-Bluffs-Omaha Ferry, then of the steamboats carrying construction material on the Missouri River, later Assistant General Superintendent, earning for himself the title of "The Ubiquitous." He died in 1866, while holding the position of Vice President and General Manager of the Missouri Pacific Railway.
S. B. Reed, Superintendent of Construction, was the man who had the handling of the forces at the front. He it was who ran the construction trains—fought the Indians and the toughs and bore the heat and burden of the day. He also made the surveys and located the line between Salt Lake Valley and Green River.
P. T. Brown, Assistant Engineer, was in charge of the advance survey under the direction of General Dodge and also located the line from the "foot of the Black Hills" to Julesburg.
James A. Evans was Division Engineer and in that capacity made many of the profiles, plats and estimates and final surveys. Also made the final surveys and location between Green River and the foot of the Black Hills.
D. B. Warren was Superintendent Utah Division; Colonel Hopper, Superintendent Laramie Division; L. H. Eicholtz, Engineer of Bridges and Buildings, and General Ledlie, Bridge Builder.
Among others to whom credit is due is Brigham Young, the then head (President) of the Mormon Church, and other prominent Mormons. The contract for grading from the head of Echo Canon to Ogden, known as "the hundred mile job," costing two and a half million dollars, was taken by President Young personally, and by him sublet in part to Bishop John Sharp and Joseph A. Young, the President's eldest son. They employed between five and six hundred men and the amount of their contract was about one million dollars. Other subcontractors were Apostle John Taylor, George Thatcher, Brigham Young, Jr., etc. President Young is said to have cleared about eight hundred thousand dollars out of this contract. East of his section the grading was done by Joseph F. Nounnan & Company, Gentile bankers of Salt Lake City, who sublet it to the Mormons. West of President Young's section the grading was done by Sharp & Young, the same parties mentioned above as subcontractors under President Young. It was conceded that the Mormons carried out their contracts not only to the letter, but in the spirit. Doing some of the best work on the line.
The track laying proper was done by General J. S. (Jack) Casement and his brother, D. T. (Dan), with Captain Clayton as their Superintendent. They had in their employ as high as two thousand men at one time and worked under a contract that gave them a substantial bonus for all track laid in excess of two miles a day, as well as made them allowance for idle time occasioned by their being unable to work on account of the grade not being ready for them. Thus they were to receive eight hundred dollars per mile of track laid if two miles or less was laid in a day. If they laid over two miles in one day they were to receive twelve hundred dollars per mile, and for time they were idle waiting for the grade they were to receive three thousand dollars per day.
Many other names should be mentioned here and would did space permit, but will have to be omitted.
The men who built the Union Pacific Railroad are entitled to great credit and praise. They made money, much money out of the project, but they were entitled to it. Their success brought in its train the usual consequences, they have been accused of almost every crime in the calendar, assailed by the press, investigated by Congress, and sued by their less fortunate associates. Their achievement speaks for them louder than words and they can leave their reputations to history for vindication.