Another interesting comparison...

Building the railway, 1881–1885[edit]

Canadian Pacific Railway Crew laying tracks at lower Fraser Valley, 1881

"Building the railway took over four years. ...

Another obstacle was that the proposed route crossed land in Alberta that was controlled by the Blackfoot First Nation. This difficulty was overcome when a missionary priest, Albert Lacombe, persuaded the Blackfoot chief Crowfoot that construction of the railway was inevitable. In return for his assent, Crowfoot was famously rewarded with a lifetime pass to ride the CPR...(hear that Moonias? ;))

In 1881, construction progressed at a pace too slow for the railway's officials who, in 1882, hired the renowned railway executive William Cornelius Van Horne to oversee construction with the inducement of a generous salary and the intriguing challenge of handling such a difficult railway project. Van Horne stated that he would have 800 km (500 mi) of main line built in 1882. Floods delayed the start of the construction season, but over 672 km (418 mi) of main line, as well as various sidings and branch lines, were built that year. "

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Pacific_Railway

I say bring on Cornelius!