Samuel S. Montague

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Samuel Skerry Montague, 1830-1883. Chief Engineer of the Central Pacific Railroad. In charge of building the western half of the first transcontinental railroad. Leland Stanford's( founder of Stanford University), Chief engineer. Samuel was one of Leland Stanford's "inner circle". He was the engineer charged with building the western section of the transcontinental railroad that linked the west and east coasts of the united states, specifically his portion linked Omaha, Nebraska to Sacramento, California. This railroad, which crossed the Sierra Nevada, was a monumental engineering undertaking that involved a commitment from president Abraham Lincoln and was one of the issues instigating the Civil War. Samuel was one of eight officers of the Central Pacific Railroad. Samuel's title was Chief Engineer; today he would probably be considered "VP of Engineering". Samuel contribution played a key role in the formation, layout, and demographics of modern California.