Hell on Wheels2011

Louise Ellison:
How many men do you have?

Cullen Bohannan:
Near 3,000. Work 6 days a week, sunup, sundown. $1.50 a day. Them's good wages.

Louise Ellison:
How many miles do you make a day?

Cullen Bohannan:
Two now, weather and Indians permittin'. Rust eaters lay the rails. Walking boss makes sure the gauge is right. Spiker teams secure the rails to the ground. Fish-plates tie them together. Three swings of the hammer per spike, 10 spikes per rail, 400 rails to a mile, 1,500 miles to Sacramento.

Louise Ellison:
Do you really believe you can win the race against the Central Pacific to build this road?

Cullen Bohannan:
Wouldn't be here otherwise.

Louise Ellison:
You think you can do it without Thomas Durant's political connections? Without his money, his ego to drive it on?

Cullen Bohannan:
Well here I stand, and here he don't.