Film Screening, Discussion of Railroad Documentary

University of Wyoming historian Phil Roberts and retired Geography Professor Larry Ostresh will be among panelists during a film screening and discussion of the PBS documentary, “End of Track,” Tuesday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m. at the historic railroad depot at First and Kearney streets.

The documentary will have its premiere on Wyoming PBS Sunday, March 10, at 7 p.m.

“End of Track” is the story of the Transcontinental Railroad's construction march across southern Wyoming and the growing pains of a state in its infancy.

“It's a story of incredible engineering achievements and boisterous ‘Hell on Wheels’ towns,” according to a Wyoming PBS promotion. “(It’s) a story of greed and corruption, murder and mayhem; of a clash of cultures and Native American retaliation. But it's also a story of hope and ambition, determination and unimagined success.”

The program follows the progress of the surveyors and engineers, the graders and tracklayers -- from Cheyenne to Evanston -- in 1868. It delves into the lives of merchants and saloon keepers, gamblers and outlaws, new residents and famous visitors. Along the way, the story moves up vertically in time at various locations to fully explore how the railroad changed the lives of people along its path.

Producer Tom Manning also is a panelist. Anna Lee Ames Frohlich, descendant of Union Pacific chief financier Oakes Ames, will moderate the discussion, which is hosted by Laramie County Community College and Wyoming PBS.