Railroad Team 2

Your team is responsible for telling the story of the workers of the Union Pacific Railroad. Many were Irish immigrants; others were Civil War Veterans. Some were both!

The Union Pacific built more miles of track than any other railroad company involved on the Transcontinental Railroad. You get to show just how much track they laid and how many miles they covered. You will also show how many boxes of spikes, ties and other supplies were needed. To honor the workers’ heritage, you will need to use kilometers and kilograms (the Metric System) as well as miles and pounds (the U.S. Standard System). Round all your answers to the nearest WHOLE NUMBER.

 

1. The Union Pacific laid 1,085 miles of track. Calculate the number of kilometers that is.

2. If the Union Pacific placed 3,250 ties per mile, about how many did they place total?

3. One section of the Union Pacific track was 27 miles. About how many kilometers is that?

   1. About how many ties did they lay in that section?

   2. How many spikes did they use if they placed 4 spikes per tie?

4. If each case of 8 spikes weighs 4 pounds, how many cases of spikes would they need to buy for that 27-mile stretch?

   1. How many pounds of spikes is that?

   2. What would that be in kilograms?

5. Present the above information in a creative way, like an infographic or poster.