What railroad for which Oakes Ames is credit as being the single most important influence in building was caught up in the  Crédit Mobilier scandal?
Crédit Mobilier of America scandal The Crédit Mobilier scandal of 1867, which came to public attention in 1872, involved the Union Pacific Rail Road and the Crédit Mobilier of America construction company in the building of the eastern portion of the First Transcontinental Railroad. The scandal was in two parts. The construction company charged the railroad far higher rates than usual, and cash and $9 million in discounted stock were given as bribes to 15 powerful Washington politicians, including the Vice-President, the Secretary of the Treasury, four senators, and the Speaker and other members of the House.
Virginian and Ohio The Virginian and Ohio is both the name of a fictional railroad company created by W. Allen McClelland and the HO scale model railroad he built featuring this railroad. The V&O is famous in the model railroading world for setting a new standard for freelanced (fictional) model railroads designed to operate in a prototypical manner and was a major influence upon many model railroaders of the time. In 1984, Mr. McClelland wrote a detailed guide to the construction and operation of the railroad.