Compilation of letters written by Samuel B. Reed to his family during the mapping of Union Pacific Railroad's route west of the Continental Divide and its construction which he supervised from 1864 to 1869.

Samuel Benedict Reed (1818-1891) was born in Bennington, Vermont or Arlington, Virginia on November 18, 1818. His first position in 1841 was working on the Erie canal. Next, Reed worked on the construction of the Detroit and Pontiac Railroad. In 1846, he surveyed part of the Michigan Central Railroad and became a division engineer. He then moved to Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad and in 1852 became a location engineer for another railroad. Reed oversaw the construction of Chicago & Rock Island. Union Pacific Chief Engineer Thomas Durant hired Reed in 1864 and in 1865 he became one of three division engineers to survey the route of the Transcontinental Railroad west of the Continental Divide. In 1865, Reed was promoted to Superintendent of Construction with Union Pacific, a position he held during the building of the Transcontinental Railroad. After , he its completion in 1869,Reed oversaw the building of the the Illinois Central and part of the Canadian Pacific Railroad and became the receiver of the Chicago, Pekin & Southwestern Railroad.

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