While the railroads were quickly forming, entrepreneurs eager to take advantage of the idle labor force rushed in. Everything you could imagine, from gambling houses to brothels, sprang up to accompany the needs of the railroaders...while taking all their cash from them at the same time. Eager for the comfort of this new outpost, miners and traders alike gathered around the towns that featured a railroad running through it. Because these towns grew to become boomtowns, they grew without law, just as the other convergence points did during that time. This created a spirt of utter loss of control and reason...a time of anarchy.
These colonies were extremely portable. As soon as the railroaders began building towards new towns and opportunities, the agents of these enterprises could easily pack up and follow along. Because of the loss of profit, this typically left the past towns they had stayed in dried up. All throughout the Union Pacific, prospective towns were made into lots, which were then sold to emigrants carried West by the railroad. A few of the camps turned into grand enterprises, such as Cheyanne, which didn't produce as much rough and tumble as the other "Hell on Wheels" towns.
These towns were called "Hell on Wheels", because the people who escorted the railroads advance were considered immoral and criminal. It got to the point that the town of Laramie, Wyoming had murders occurring nightly and overall anarchy happening in the streets. The characters who started these camps created a time of scoundrels, retaliation and misbehavior.
Great job! very detailed.
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