Skip to main content
Back to Show
American Experience

The Task Ahead

Engineer Theodore Judah solved the great riddle of the Pacific Railroad when he reached Donner Pass. Judah immediately recognized the location as ideal for constructing a line through the Sierra Nevada. Judah's plans called for bridging rivers and ravines, carving 20-foot wide shelves out of sheer mountain faces and driving 18 tunnels -- one more than a 1000 feet long -- through solid granite.

Support Provided By
Season
The Presidents
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:52:37
Part of the award-winning "The Presidents" collection.
The Presidents: Reagan (Part 2)
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:53:50
Ronald Reagan left the White House one of the most popular presidents of the 20th century.
The Presidents: Reagan (Part 1)
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:50:17
A biography from American Experience's collection of presidential portraits.
The Presidents: FDR (Part 2)
Unlock with PBS Passport
2:16:40
Part of the award-winning The Presidents collection.
The Presidents: FDR (Part 1)
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:44:52
Part of the award-winning The Presidents collection.
The Presidents: LBJ (Part 2)
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:50:24
Follow LBJ from rural Texas to his ascendancy to the presidency after the assassination of JFK.
The Presidents: LBJ (Part 1)
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:50:37
Part of the award-winning The Presidents collection.
The Presidents: Nixon
Unlock with PBS Passport
2:47:05
Part of the award-winning The Presidents collection.
Active loading indicator