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- [Narrator] This Indiana
Bicentennial Minute

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is made possible by the
Indiana Historical Society

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and law firm of Krieg DeVault.

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- [Jane] It's no exaggeration
to say building Indiana's

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first railroad was an uphill battle.

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From near the Ohio River in Madison,

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the track grows over 400
feet in just over a mile,

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the steepest track in the country.

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In 1841 no engine was strong
enough to make the climb,

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so horses pulled the cars
up the incline for 27 years

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until one of the world's
most powerful locomotives,

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The Reuben Wells, was built.

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The track reached Indianapolis in 1847,

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where six years later,

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the nation's first Union Station opened.

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A single terminal, used
by all competing railroads

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to simplify connections.

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A new Union Station was finished in 1888,

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and still stands today.

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I'm Jane Pauley, with this
Indiana Bicentennial Minute.

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- [Narrator] Made possible by

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the Indiana Historical Society,

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and the law firm of Krieg DeVault.