Before taming the fearsome Colorado river, those newly liberated Americans had already taken magnificent steps to bridge the gap between east and west, namely by creating the Transcontinental Railway. In 1862, the line was commissioned by President Lincoln, who authorised the construction of 1800 miles of track. Two corporate giants were pitched against each other in a race to join both coasts of America with the single aim to shrink the continent. In doing so they changed the whole world.