jan 1, 1862 - The Pacific Railway Act

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Under the Act signed by President Abraham Lincoln the LP&W RW would construct a feeder branch from Leavenworth to Lawrence, and also from Wyandot, through Lawrence, Topeka and Fort Riley. Thirty-year Treasury bonds were issued for five sections of land on either side of these surveyed lines at $16,000 per mile, and 5% of net earnings went to pay off the bonds (Petrowski p. 53). The 1862 Act also called for telegraph lines to be placed alongside the rail for communications. Mail was to be delivered and nearly every depot would have a telegrapher and post office clerk. The first railway act issued a penalty of three years in jail and three times the amount in fine for railroad related bribery (Petrowski, p. 52). Ferries would be used to take the trains and passengers across the Missouri River until wood bridges could be constructed.

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