Hell on Wheels

Hell on Wheels was the itinerant collection of flimsily assembled gambling houses, dance halls, saloons, and brothels that followed the army of Union Pacific railroad workers westward as they constructed the First Transcontinental Railroad in 1860s North America. The huge numbers of wage-earning young men working in what was a remote wilderness, far from the constraints of home, provided a lucrative opportunity for business. As the end of the line continually moved westward, Hell on Wheels followed along, reconstructing itself on the outskirts of each town that became, in turn, the center of activity for the Union Pacific's construction work.[1][2]

For other uses, see Hell on Wheels (disambiguation).

Etymology

In 1869, the use of the term "Hell on Wheels" to describe the phenomenon was documented by Springfield, Massachusetts Republican newspaper editor Samuel Bowles.[3]

John Ford's silent film The Iron Horse (1924) portrayed an idealized image of Hell on Wheels.

AMC's television drama series, Hell On Wheels was originally broadcast from 2011 to 2016 and was set from 1865 to 1869. It centers on the mobile encampment that accompanied the construction of First Transcontinental Railroad, including the Union Pacific company men, surveyors, support workers, laborers, prostitutes, church staff, and mercenaries.[4][5]

Several scenes in the 2013 Disney film The Lone Ranger briefly take place at a Hell on Wheels brothel.

Other uses

The 2nd Armored Division of the United States Army adopted the nickname "Hell on Wheels" during World War II.[6]

References
  1. Klein, Maury (2006) [1987]. Union Pacific: Volume I, 1862–1893. U of Minnesota press. pp. 100–101. ISBN 1452908737.
  2. Ambrose, Stephen E. (2000). Nothing Like It In the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869. New York: Simon and Schuster. pp. 217-219. ISBN 0743210832.
  3. Frederic L. Paxson: The Last American Frontier. Simon Publications, 2001 (reprint), ISBN 9781931313544, p. 332 (online excerpt (Google))
  4. Seidman, Robert (July 28, 2011). "AMC Announces Premiere Date for 'Hell on Wheels'". TVbytheNumbers. Archived from the original on January 21, 2012. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
  5. Solomon, Brian (2000). Union Pacific Railroad. Osceola, WI: MBI Publishing Co. p. 24. ISBN 0-7603-0756-3.
  6. "Special Unit Designations". United States Army Center of Military History. 2010-04-21. Archived from the original on 2010-06-09.
  • Ammer, Christine (2013). "Hell on Wheels". The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms (2nd ed.). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 209.
  • Bowles, Samuel (1869). Our New West. Hartford Pub. Co. (Hartford, CT); J.D. Dennison (New York). p. 56. OCLC 1627933.
  • Wishart, David J. (2004). Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. University of Nebraska Press. pp. 170–171. ISBN 9780803247871.
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