I saw this movie, and wanted to see just how accurate it was, so I looked at a history of the Rock Island Railroad. I discovered that Iowa City posted a $50,000 bonus to the builders if the railway reached the station in the town and a train came into the station on or before midnight December 31, 1855.
On December 31st, in a temperature of 30 degrees below zero, the rails were just 1,000 feet short of their goal. Crews worked feverishly to finish the job. Ties were dropped on the staked earth and rails spiked hurriedly in place. Finally, with only minutes to go, a signal was given for the engine to approach. It couldn't move, because it was frozen to the track. With the help of every available man, they pushed the engine into the station with only seconds to spare.
This would have made an exciting sequence for the film, and it would have been historically accurate. But they didn't even try to put it in.
On December 31st, in a temperature of 30 degrees below zero, the rails were just 1,000 feet short of their goal. Crews worked feverishly to finish the job. Ties were dropped on the staked earth and rails spiked hurriedly in place. Finally, with only minutes to go, a signal was given for the engine to approach. It couldn't move, because it was frozen to the track. With the help of every available man, they pushed the engine into the station with only seconds to spare.
This would have made an exciting sequence for the film, and it would have been historically accurate. But they didn't even try to put it in.