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id="toc-Asa_Whitney" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Asa_Whitney"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 3.1 Asa Whitney </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Asa_Whitney-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Theodore_Judah" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Theodore_Judah"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 3.2 Theodore Judah </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Theodore_Judah-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_Big_Four" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_Big_Four"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 3.3 The Big Four </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_Big_Four-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Thomas_Durant" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Thomas_Durant"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 3.4 Thomas Durant </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Thomas_Durant-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Grenville_M._Dodge" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Grenville_M._Dodge"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 3.5 Grenville M. Dodge </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Grenville_M._Dodge-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Authorization_and_funding" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Authorization_and_funding"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 4 Authorization and funding </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Authorization_and_funding-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> Toggle Authorization and funding subsection </button> <ul id="toc-Authorization_and_funding-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Federal_financing" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Federal_financing"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 4.1 Federal financing </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Federal_financing-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Union_Pacific_financing" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Union_Pacific_financing"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 4.2 Union Pacific financing </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Union_Pacific_financing-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Central_Pacific_financing" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Central_Pacific_financing"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 4.3 Central Pacific financing </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Central_Pacific_financing-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Land_grants" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Land_grants"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 4.4 Land grants </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Land_grants-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Railroad_self-dealing" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Railroad_self-dealing"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 4.5 Railroad self-dealing </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Railroad_self-dealing-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Labor_and_wages" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Labor_and_wages"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 4.6 Labor and wages </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Labor_and_wages-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Transcontinental_route" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Transcontinental_route"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 5 Transcontinental route </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Transcontinental_route-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> Toggle Transcontinental route subsection </button> <ul id="toc-Transcontinental_route-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Construction_begun" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Construction_begun"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 5.1 Construction begun </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Construction_begun-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Rail_standards" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Rail_standards"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 5.2 Rail standards </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Rail_standards-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Time_zones_and_telegraph_usage" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Time_zones_and_telegraph_usage"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 5.3 Time zones and telegraph usage </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Time_zones_and_telegraph_usage-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Union_Pacific_route" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Union_Pacific_route"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 5.4 Union Pacific route </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Union_Pacific_route-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Central_Pacific_route" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Central_Pacific_route"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 5.5 Central Pacific route </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Central_Pacific_route-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Construction" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Construction"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 6 Construction </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Construction-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> Toggle Construction subsection </button> <ul id="toc-Construction-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Labor" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Labor"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 6.1 Labor </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Labor-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Central_Pacific_construction" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Central_Pacific_construction"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 6.2 Central Pacific construction </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Central_Pacific_construction-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Union_Pacific_construction" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Union_Pacific_construction"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 6.3 Union Pacific construction </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Union_Pacific_construction-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_"Last_Spike"_ceremony" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_"Last_Spike"_ceremony"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 6.4 The "Last Spike" ceremony </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_"Last_Spike"_ceremony-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Aftermath" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Aftermath"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 7 Aftermath </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Aftermath-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> Toggle Aftermath subsection </button> <ul id="toc-Aftermath-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Railroad_developments" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Railroad_developments"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 7.1 Railroad developments </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Railroad_developments-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Crédit_Mobilier" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Crédit_Mobilier"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 7.2 Crédit Mobilier </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Crédit_Mobilier-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Visible_remains" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Visible_remains"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 7.3 Visible remains </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Visible_remains-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Current_passenger_service" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Current_passenger_service"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 7.4 Current passenger service </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Current_passenger_service-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-In_popular_culture" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#In_popular_culture"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 8 In popular culture </div> </a> <ul id="toc-In_popular_culture-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 9 See also </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Notes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Notes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 10 Notes </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Notes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 11 References </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Further_reading" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Further_reading"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 12 Further reading </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Further_reading-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> 13 External links </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" title="Table of Contents" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" > Toggle the table of contents </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading">First transcontinental railroad</h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 27 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-27" aria-hidden="true" > 27 languages </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A3%D9%88%D9%84_%D8%B3%D9%83%D8%A9_%D8%AD%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%A9_%D9%85%D9%85%D8%AA%D8%AF%D8%A9_%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%B1_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A9" title="أول سكة حديدية ممتدة عبر القارة – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="أول سكة حديدية ممتدة عبر القارة" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target">العربية</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ast mw-list-item"><a href="https://ast.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primer_ferrocarril_transcontinental_d%27Estaos_Xun%C3%ADos" title="Primer ferrocarril transcontinental d'Estaos Xuníos – Asturian" lang="ast" hreflang="ast" data-title="Primer ferrocarril transcontinental d'Estaos Xuníos" data-language-autonym="Asturianu" data-language-local-name="Asturian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Asturianu</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-be mw-list-item"><a href="https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%88%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%82%D1%8B%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D1%87%D1%8B%D0%B3%D1%83%D0%BD%D0%BA%D0%B0" title="Першая транскантынентальная чыгунка – Belarusian" lang="be" hreflang="be" data-title="Першая транскантынентальная чыгунка" data-language-autonym="Беларуская" data-language-local-name="Belarusian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Беларуская</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bg mw-list-item"><a href="https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D1%8A%D1%80%D0%B2%D0%B0_%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%B6%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%B7%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%86%D0%B0" title="Първа трансконтинентална железница – Bulgarian" lang="bg" hreflang="bg" data-title="Първа трансконтинентална железница" data-language-autonym="Български" data-language-local-name="Bulgarian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Български</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primer_ferrocarril_transcontinental_dels_Estats_Units" title="Primer ferrocarril transcontinental dels Estats Units – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Primer ferrocarril transcontinental dels Estats Units" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target">Català</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Transcontinental_Railroad" title="First Transcontinental Railroad – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="First Transcontinental Railroad" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target">Deutsch</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-dv mw-list-item"><a href="https://dv.wikipedia.org/wiki/%DE%84%DE%A6%DE%87%DE%B0%DE%83%DE%AA%DE%8C%DE%A6%DE%87%DE%B0_%DE%86%DE%A6%DE%82%DE%91%DE%A6%DE%8C%DE%AA%DE%86%DE%AE%DE%81%DE%B0_%DE%8B%DE%A6%DE%8C%DE%AA%DE%83%DE%AA%DE%86%DE%AA%DE%83%DE%A7_%DE%8A%DE%AA%DE%83%DE%A6%DE%8C%DE%A6%DE%89%DE%A6_%DE%83%DE%AD%DE%8D%DE%AA%DE%89%DE%A6%DE%8E%DE%AA" title="ބައްރުތައް ކަނޑަތުކޮށް ދަތުރުކުރާ ފުރަތަމަ ރޭލުމަގު – Divehi" lang="dv" hreflang="dv" data-title="ބައްރުތައް ކަނޑަތުކޮށް ދަތުރުކުރާ ފުރަތަމަ ރޭލުމަގު" data-language-autonym="ދިވެހިބަސް" data-language-local-name="Divehi" class="interlanguage-link-target">ދިވެހިބަސް</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-el mw-list-item"><a href="https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%A0%CF%81%CF%8E%CF%84%CE%BF%CF%82_%CE%B4%CE%B9%CE%B7%CF%80%CE%B5%CE%B9%CF%81%CF%89%CF%84%CE%B9%CE%BA%CF%8C%CF%82_%CF%83%CE%B9%CE%B4%CE%B7%CF%81%CF%8C%CE%B4%CF%81%CE%BF%CE%BC%CE%BF%CF%82" title="Πρώτος διηπειρωτικός σιδηρόδρομος – Greek" lang="el" hreflang="el" data-title="Πρώτος διηπειρωτικός σιδηρόδρομος" data-language-autonym="Ελληνικά" data-language-local-name="Greek" class="interlanguage-link-target">Ελληνικά</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primer_ferrocarril_transcontinental_de_Estados_Unidos" title="Primer ferrocarril transcontinental de Estados Unidos – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Primer ferrocarril transcontinental de Estados Unidos" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target">Español</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D9%88%D9%84%DB%8C%D9%86_%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%87%E2%80%8C%D8%A2%D9%87%D9%86_%D8%A8%DB%8C%D9%86%E2%80%8C%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%87%E2%80%8C%D8%A7%DB%8C" title="اولین راه‌آهن بین‌قاره‌ای – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="اولین راه‌آهن بین‌قاره‌ای" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target">فارسی</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premier_chemin_de_fer_transcontinental" title="Premier chemin de fer transcontinental – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Premier chemin de fer transcontinental" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target">Français</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Transcontinental_Railroad" title="First Transcontinental Railroad – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="First Transcontinental Railroad" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Italiano</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hu mw-list-item"><a href="https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Els%C5%91_transzkontinent%C3%A1lis_vas%C3%BAtvonal" title="Első transzkontinentális vasútvonal – Hungarian" lang="hu" hreflang="hu" data-title="Első transzkontinentális vasútvonal" data-language-autonym="Magyar" data-language-local-name="Hungarian" class="interlanguage-link-target">Magyar</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ms mw-list-item"><a href="https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landasan_Rentas_Benua_Pertama" title="Landasan Rentas Benua Pertama – Malay" lang="ms" hreflang="ms" data-title="Landasan Rentas Benua Pertama" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Melayu" data-language-local-name="Malay" class="interlanguage-link-target">Bahasa Melayu</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcontinental_Railroad" title="Transcontinental Railroad – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Transcontinental Railroad" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target">Nederlands</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9C%80%E5%88%9D%E3%81%AE%E5%A4%A7%E9%99%B8%E6%A8%AA%E6%96%AD%E9%89%84%E9%81%93" title="最初の大陸横断鉄道 – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="最初の大陸横断鉄道" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target">日本語</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Den_transamerikanske_jernbanen" title="Den transamerikanske jernbanen – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="Den transamerikanske jernbanen" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target">Norsk bokmål</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ps mw-list-item"><a href="https://ps.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AF_%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%B8%D9%85%D9%88%D9%86%D9%88_%D8%AA%D8%B1_%D9%85%D9%86%DA%81_%D9%84%D9%88%D9%85%DA%93%D9%86%DB%8D_%D8%AF_%D8%B1%DB%90%D9%84_%D9%BE%D9%BC%D9%84%DB%8D" title="د براعظمونو تر منځ لومړنۍ د رېل پټلۍ – Pashto" lang="ps" hreflang="ps" data-title="د براعظمونو تر منځ لومړنۍ د رېل پټلۍ" data-language-autonym="پښتو" data-language-local-name="Pashto" class="interlanguage-link-target">پښتو</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierwsza_Kolej_Transkontynentalna" title="Pierwsza Kolej Transkontynentalna – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Pierwsza Kolej Transkontynentalna" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target">Polski</a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a 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id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">First U.S. railroad connecting the Pacific coast and Eastern states</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1257001546">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme)>div:not(.notheme)[style]{background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme) div:not(.notheme){background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media(min-width:640px){body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table{display:table!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>caption{display:table-caption!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>tbody{display:table-row-group}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table tr{display:table-row!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table th,body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table td{padding-left:inherit;padding-right:inherit}}</style><table class="infobox" style="width:250;"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above">First transcontinental railroad</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><a href="/wiki/File:East_and_West_Shaking_hands_at_the_laying_of_last_rail_Union_Pacific_Railroad_-_Restoration.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/East_and_West_Shaking_hands_at_the_laying_of_last_rail_Union_Pacific_Railroad_-_Restoration.jpg/250px-East_and_West_Shaking_hands_at_the_laying_of_last_rail_Union_Pacific_Railroad_-_Restoration.jpg" decoding="async" width="250" height="190" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/East_and_West_Shaking_hands_at_the_laying_of_last_rail_Union_Pacific_Railroad_-_Restoration.jpg/375px-East_and_West_Shaking_hands_at_the_laying_of_last_rail_Union_Pacific_Railroad_-_Restoration.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/East_and_West_Shaking_hands_at_the_laying_of_last_rail_Union_Pacific_Railroad_-_Restoration.jpg/500px-East_and_West_Shaking_hands_at_the_laying_of_last_rail_Union_Pacific_Railroad_-_Restoration.jpg 2x" data-file-width="4514" data-file-height="3435" /></a><div class="infobox-caption">The ceremony for the driving of the <a href="/wiki/Golden_spike" title="Golden spike">"Last Spike"</a> at <a href="/wiki/Promontory_Summit,_Utah" class="mw-redirect" title="Promontory Summit, Utah">Promontory Summit, Utah</a>, May 10, 1869</div></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header" style="background-color: #efefef;">Overview</th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Other name(s)</th><td class="infobox-data nickname">Pacific Railroad</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Owner</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Federal_government_of_the_United_States" title="Federal government of the United States">U.S. government</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Locale</th><td class="infobox-data">United States</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Termini</th><td class="infobox-data"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1126788409">.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0}</style><div class="plainlist"><ul><li><a href="/wiki/Council_Bluffs,_Iowa" title="Council Bluffs, Iowa">Council Bluffs, Iowa</a> (<a href="/wiki/Omaha,_Nebraska" title="Omaha, Nebraska">Omaha, Nebraska</a>)</li><li><a href="/wiki/Alameda_Terminal" title="Alameda Terminal">Alameda Terminal</a>, starting September 6, 1869; <a href="/wiki/Oakland_Long_Wharf" title="Oakland Long Wharf">Oakland Long Wharf</a>, starting November 8, 1869 (<a href="/wiki/San_Francisco_Bay" title="San Francisco Bay">San Francisco Bay</a>)</li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header" style="background-color: #efefef;">Service</th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Operator(s)</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Central_Pacific_Railroad" title="Central Pacific Railroad">Central Pacific</a> <a href="/wiki/Union_Pacific_Railroad" title="Union Pacific Railroad">Union Pacific</a></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header" style="background-color: #efefef;">History</th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Opened</th><td class="infobox-data">May 10, 1869; 155 years ago (1869-05-10)</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header" style="background-color: #efefef;">Technical</th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Line length</th><td class="infobox-data">1,912 mi (3,077 km)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/Track_gauge" title="Track gauge">Track gauge</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1154941027">.mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);clip-path:polygon(0px 0px,0px 0px,0px 0px);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}</style>4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) <a href="/wiki/Standard_gauge" class="mw-redirect" title="Standard gauge">standard gauge</a></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-below" style="vertical-align: middle; padding: 0"><table style="border-spacing: 0; width: 100%; min-width: 100%" class="mw-collapsible uncollapsed"> <tbody><tr style="background-color: #efefef;" class="infobox-header"><th style="text-align:center"><div style="margin:0 4em">Route map</div></th></tr><tr><td style="text-align:center; padding-top: 3px"> <a href="/wiki/File:Transcontinental_railroad_route.png" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="First transcontinental railroad route map" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f6/Transcontinental_railroad_route.png/250px-Transcontinental_railroad_route.png" decoding="async" width="250" height="155" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f6/Transcontinental_railroad_route.png/375px-Transcontinental_railroad_route.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f6/Transcontinental_railroad_route.png/500px-Transcontinental_railroad_route.png 2x" data-file-width="1000" data-file-height="619" /></a> 1863–1869: Union Pacific built west (blue line), Central Pacific built east (red) and Western Pacific built the last leg (green)</td></tr> </tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table> America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the "<a href="/wiki/Overland_Route_(Union_Pacific_Railroad)" title="Overland Route (Union Pacific Railroad)">Overland Route</a>") was a 1,911-mile (3,075 km) continuous railroad line built between 1863 and 1869 that connected the existing eastern U.S. rail network at <a href="/wiki/Council_Bluffs,_Iowa" title="Council Bluffs, Iowa">Council Bluffs, Iowa</a>, with the Pacific coast at the <a href="/wiki/Oakland_Long_Wharf" title="Oakland Long Wharf">Oakland Long Wharf</a> on <a href="/wiki/San_Francisco_Bay" title="San Francisco Bay">San Francisco Bay</a>.<a href="#cite_note-1">[1]</a> The rail line was built by three private companies over public lands provided by extensive <a href="/wiki/Land_grant#Public_lands_and_bounty-land_warrants" title="Land grant">U.S. land grants</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Pacific_Railroad_Act;1-2">[2]</a> Building was financed by both state and U.S. government subsidy bonds as well as by company-issued mortgage bonds.<a href="#cite_note-Pacific_Railroad_Act;2-3">[3]</a><a href="#cite_note-First_Mortgage_Bonds-4">[4]</a><a href="#cite_note-$1,000_Pacific_Railroad_Bond-5">[5]</a><a href="#cite_note-7">[N 1]</a> The <a href="/wiki/Western_Pacific_Railroad_(1862%E2%80%931870)" title="Western Pacific Railroad (1862–1870)">Western Pacific Railroad Company</a> built 132 miles (212 km) of track from the road's western terminus at <a href="/wiki/Alameda,_California" title="Alameda, California">Alameda</a>/<a href="/wiki/Oakland,_California" title="Oakland, California">Oakland</a> to <a href="/wiki/Sacramento,_California" title="Sacramento, California">Sacramento, California</a>. The <a href="/wiki/Central_Pacific_Railroad" title="Central Pacific Railroad">Central Pacific Railroad Company of California</a> (CPRR) constructed 690 miles (1,110 km) east from Sacramento to <a href="/wiki/Promontory_Summit,_Utah" class="mw-redirect" title="Promontory Summit, Utah">Promontory Summit, Utah Territory</a>. The <a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Union_Pacific_Railroad" title="History of the Union Pacific Railroad">Union Pacific Railroad</a> (UPRR) built 1,085 miles (1,746 km) from the road's eastern terminus at the <a href="/wiki/Missouri_River" title="Missouri River">Missouri River</a> settlements of Council Bluffs and <a href="/wiki/Omaha,_Nebraska" title="Omaha, Nebraska">Omaha, Nebraska</a>, westward to Promontory Summit.<a href="#cite_note-ExecOrder-8">[7]</a><a href="#cite_note-9">[8]</a><a href="#cite_note-10">[9]</a> The railroad opened for through traffic between Sacramento and Omaha on May 10, 1869, when CPRR President <a href="/wiki/Leland_Stanford" title="Leland Stanford">Leland Stanford</a> ceremonially tapped the gold "Last Spike" (later often referred to as the "<a href="/wiki/Golden_Spike" class="mw-redirect" title="Golden Spike">Golden Spike</a>") with a silver hammer at <a href="/wiki/Promontory_Summit" class="mw-redirect" title="Promontory Summit">Promontory Summit</a>.<a href="#cite_note-11">[10]</a><a href="#cite_note-12">[11]</a><a href="#cite_note-13">[N 2]</a> In the following six months, the last leg from Sacramento to San Francisco Bay was completed. The resulting coast-to-coast railroad connection revolutionized the settlement and economy of the <a href="/wiki/American_Old_West" class="mw-redirect" title="American Old West">American West</a>.<a href="#cite_note-14">[N 3]</a><a href="#cite_note-18">[N 4]</a> It brought the western states and territories into alignment with the northern Union states and made transporting passengers and goods coast-to-coast considerably quicker, safer and less expensive. The first transcontinental rail passengers arrived at the Pacific Railroad's original western terminus at the <a href="/wiki/Alameda_Terminal" title="Alameda Terminal">Alameda Terminal</a> on September 6, 1869, where they transferred to the steamer Alameda for transport across the Bay to San Francisco. The road's rail terminus was moved two months later to the <a href="/wiki/Oakland_Long_Wharf" title="Oakland Long Wharf">Oakland Long Wharf</a>, about a mile to the north, when its expansion was completed and opened for passengers on November 8, 1869.<a href="#cite_note-19">[15]</a><a href="#cite_note-20">[16]</a><a href="#cite_note-23">[N 5]</a> Service between San Francisco and Oakland Pier continued to be provided by ferry. The CPRR eventually purchased 53 miles (85 km) of UPRR-built grade from Promontory Summit (MP 828) to <a href="/wiki/Ogden,_Utah" title="Ogden, Utah">Ogden, Utah Territory</a> (MP 881), which became the interchange point between trains of the two roads. The transcontinental line became popularly known as the <a href="/wiki/Overland_Route_(Union_Pacific_Railroad)" title="Overland Route (Union Pacific Railroad)">Overland Route</a> after the name of the principal passenger rail service to <a href="/wiki/Chicago" title="Chicago">Chicago</a> that operated over the length of the line until 1962.<a href="#cite_note-24">[19]</a> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Overall_significance">Overall significance</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Overall significance">edit</a>]</div> Railroads not only increased the speed of transport, they also dramatically lowered its cost. The first transcontinental railroad resulted in passengers and freight being able to cross the country in a matter of days instead of months and at one tenth the cost of stagecoach or wagon transport. With economical transportation in the West (which had been referred to as the <a href="/wiki/Great_American_Desert" title="Great American Desert">Great American Desert</a>) now farming, ranching and mining could be done at a profit. As a result, railroads transformed the country, particularly the West (which had few navigable rivers).<a href="#cite_note-25">[20]</a><a href="#cite_note-26">[21]</a><a href="#cite_note-27">[22]</a><a href="#cite_note-28">[23]</a><a href="#cite_note-29">[24]</a> For example, before the railroads were built in the West, if a farmer were to ship a load of corn only 200 miles to Chicago, the shipping cost by wagon would exceed the price for which the corn could be sold.<a href="#cite_note-30">[25]</a><a href="#cite_note-31">[26]</a><a href="#cite_note-32">[27]</a> So, under such circumstances, farming could not be done at a profit. Mining and other economic activity in the West were similarly inhibited because of the high cost of wagon transportation. One Congressman referring to the West, bluntly stated that “All that land wasn’t worth ten cents until the railroads came.”<a href="#cite_note-33">[28]</a><a href="#cite_note-34">[29]</a> Freight rates by rail were a small fraction of what they had been with wagon transport. When the United States bought the <a href="/wiki/Louisiana_Purchase" title="Louisiana Purchase">Louisiana Purchase</a> in 1803, people thought that it would take 300 years to populate it. With the introduction of the railroad, it took only 30 years. The low cost of shipping by rail resulted in the <a href="/wiki/Great_American_Desert" title="Great American Desert">Great American Desert</a> becoming the great American breadbasket.<a href="#cite_note-35">[30]</a><a href="#cite_note-36">[31]</a><a href="#cite_note-37">[32]</a><a href="#cite_note-38">[33]</a><a href="#cite_note-39">[34]</a><a href="#cite_note-40">[35]</a><a href="#cite_note-41">[36]</a><a href="#cite_note-42">[37]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Origins">Origins</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Origins">edit</a>]</div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Hartwell_Carver_1847_Pacific_Railroad_Proposal_Title_Page.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/Hartwell_Carver_1847_Pacific_Railroad_Proposal_Title_Page.jpg/220px-Hartwell_Carver_1847_Pacific_Railroad_Proposal_Title_Page.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="288" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/Hartwell_Carver_1847_Pacific_Railroad_Proposal_Title_Page.jpg/330px-Hartwell_Carver_1847_Pacific_Railroad_Proposal_Title_Page.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/Hartwell_Carver_1847_Pacific_Railroad_Proposal_Title_Page.jpg/440px-Hartwell_Carver_1847_Pacific_Railroad_Proposal_Title_Page.jpg 2x" data-file-width="564" data-file-height="738" /></a><figcaption>Title page of Dr. Hartwell Carver's 1847 Pacific Railroad proposal to Congress from <a href="/wiki/Lake_Michigan" title="Lake Michigan">Lake Michigan</a> to the <a href="/wiki/West_Coast_of_the_United_States" title="West Coast of the United States">West Coast</a></figcaption></figure> Among the early proponents of building a railroad line that would connect the coasts of the United States was <a href="/wiki/Hartwell_Carver" title="Hartwell Carver">Dr. Hartwell Carver</a>, who in 1847 submitted to the <a href="/wiki/United_States_Congress" title="United States Congress">U.S. Congress</a> a "Proposal for a Charter to Build a Railroad from Lake Michigan to the Pacific Ocean", seeking a congressional charter to support his idea.<a href="#cite_note-43">[38]</a><a href="#cite_note-44">[39]</a><a href="#cite_note-45">[N 6]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Preliminary_exploration">Preliminary exploration</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Preliminary exploration">edit</a>]</div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:TranscontinentalPoster.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/TranscontinentalPoster.jpg/170px-TranscontinentalPoster.jpg" decoding="async" width="170" height="393" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/TranscontinentalPoster.jpg/255px-TranscontinentalPoster.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/TranscontinentalPoster.jpg/340px-TranscontinentalPoster.jpg 2x" data-file-width="417" data-file-height="965" /></a><figcaption>The official poster announcing the Pacific Railroad's grand opening</figcaption></figure> Congress agreed to support the idea. Under the direction of the <a href="/wiki/United_States_Department_of_War" title="United States Department of War">Department of War</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Pacific_Railroad_Surveys" title="Pacific Railroad Surveys">Pacific Railroad Surveys</a> were conducted from 1853 through 1855. These included an extensive series of expeditions of the American West seeking possible routes. A report on the explorations described alternative routes and included an immense amount of information about the <a href="/wiki/American_West" class="mw-redirect" title="American West">American West</a>, covering at least 400,000 sq mi (1,000,000 km2). It included the region's natural history and illustrations of reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals.<a href="#cite_note-46">[40]</a> The report did not include detailed <a href="/wiki/Topographic_map" title="Topographic map">topographic maps</a> of potential routes needed to estimate the feasibility, cost and select the best route. However, the survey was detailed enough to determine that the best southern route lay south of the <a href="/wiki/Gila_River" title="Gila River">Gila River</a> boundary with Mexico in mostly vacant desert, through the future territories of <a href="/wiki/Arizona_Territory" title="Arizona Territory">Arizona</a> and <a href="/wiki/New_Mexico_Territory" title="New Mexico Territory">New Mexico</a>. This in part motivated the United States to complete the <a href="/wiki/Gadsden_Purchase" title="Gadsden Purchase">Gadsden Purchase</a>.<a href="#cite_note-47">[41]</a> In 1856, the Select Committee on the Pacific Railroad and Telegraph of the US House of Representatives published a report recommending support for a proposed Pacific railroad bill: <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1244412712">.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 32px}.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;margin-top:0}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{padding-left:1.6em}}</style><blockquote class="templatequote">The necessity that now exists for constructing lines of railroad and telegraphic communication between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of this continent is no longer a question for argument; it is conceded by every one. In order to maintain our present position on the Pacific, we must have some more speedy and direct means of intercourse than is at present afforded by the route through the possessions of a foreign power.<a href="#cite_note-48">[42]</a></blockquote> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Possible_routes">Possible routes</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Possible routes">edit</a>]</div> The U.S. Congress was strongly divided on where the eastern terminus of the railroad should be—in a southern or northern city.<a href="#cite_note-49">[43]</a> Three routes were considered: <ul><li>A northern route roughly along the Missouri River through present-day northern <a href="/wiki/Montana" title="Montana">Montana</a> to <a href="/wiki/Oregon_Territory" title="Oregon Territory">Oregon Territory</a>. This was considered impractical because of the rough terrain and extensive winter snows.<a href="#cite_note-50">[N 7]</a></li> <li>A central route following the <a href="/wiki/Platte_River" title="Platte River">Platte River</a> in <a href="/wiki/Nebraska" title="Nebraska">Nebraska</a> through to the <a href="/wiki/South_Pass_(Wyoming)" title="South Pass (Wyoming)">South Pass</a> in <a href="/wiki/Wyoming" title="Wyoming">Wyoming</a>, following most of the <a href="/wiki/Oregon_Trail" title="Oregon Trail">Oregon Trail</a>. Snow on this route remained a concern.</li> <li>A southern route across <a href="/wiki/Texas" title="Texas">Texas</a>, <a href="/wiki/New_Mexico_Territory" title="New Mexico Territory">New Mexico Territory</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Sonora_desert" class="mw-redirect" title="Sonora desert">Sonora desert</a>, connecting to <a href="/wiki/Los_Angeles" title="Los Angeles">Los Angeles</a>, California. Surveyors found during an 1848 survey that the best route lay south of the border between the United States and Mexico. This was resolved by the <a href="/wiki/Gadsden_Purchase" title="Gadsden Purchase">Gadsden Purchase</a> in 1853.<a href="#cite_note-51">[44]</a><a href="#cite_note-52">[N 8]</a></li></ul> Once the central route was chosen, it was immediately obvious that the western terminus should be Sacramento. But there was considerable difference of opinion about the eastern terminus. Three locations along 250 miles (400 km) of Missouri River were considered: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/St._Joseph,_Missouri" title="St. Joseph, Missouri">St. Joseph, Missouri</a>, accessed via the <a href="/wiki/Hannibal_and_St._Joseph_Railroad" title="Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad">Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad</a>.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kansas_City,_Kansas" title="Kansas City, Kansas">Kansas City, Kansas</a> / <a href="/wiki/Leavenworth,_Kansas" title="Leavenworth, Kansas">Leavenworth, Kansas</a>, accessed via the <a href="/wiki/Leavenworth,_Pawnee_and_Western_Railroad" class="mw-redirect" title="Leavenworth, Pawnee and Western Railroad">Leavenworth, Pawnee and Western Railroad</a>, controlled by <a href="/wiki/Thomas_Ewing_Jr." title="Thomas Ewing Jr.">Thomas Ewing Jr.</a> and later by <a href="/wiki/John_C._Fr%C3%A9mont" title="John C. Frémont">John C. Frémont</a>.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Council_Bluffs,_Iowa" title="Council Bluffs, Iowa">Council Bluffs, Iowa</a> / <a href="/wiki/Omaha,_Nebraska" title="Omaha, Nebraska">Omaha, Nebraska</a>, accessed via an extension of Union Pacific financier <a href="/wiki/Thomas_C._Durant" title="Thomas C. Durant">Thomas C. Durant</a>'s proposed <a href="/wiki/Mississippi_and_Missouri_Railroad" title="Mississippi and Missouri Railroad">Mississippi and Missouri Railroad</a> and the new <a href="/wiki/Union_Pacific_Railroad" title="Union Pacific Railroad">Union Pacific Railroad</a>, also controlled by Durant.</li></ul> Council Bluffs had several advantages: It was well north of the Civil War fighting in Missouri; it was the shortest route to South Pass in the Rockies in Wyoming; and it would follow a fertile river that would encourage settlement. Durant had hired the future president <a href="/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln" title="Abraham Lincoln">Abraham Lincoln</a> in 1857 when he was an attorney to represent him in a business matter about a bridge over the Missouri. Now Lincoln was responsible for choosing the eastern terminus, and he relied on Durant's counsel. Durant advocated for Omaha, and he was so confident of the choice that he began buying up land in Nebraska.[<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>] <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Key_people">Key people</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Key people">edit</a>]</div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Leland_Stanford_and_CPRR_Officers_1870.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Leland_Stanford_and_CPRR_Officers_1870.jpg/170px-Leland_Stanford_and_CPRR_Officers_1870.jpg" decoding="async" width="170" height="303" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Leland_Stanford_and_CPRR_Officers_1870.jpg/255px-Leland_Stanford_and_CPRR_Officers_1870.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Leland_Stanford_and_CPRR_Officers_1870.jpg/340px-Leland_Stanford_and_CPRR_Officers_1870.jpg 2x" data-file-width="457" data-file-height="815" /></a><figcaption>Leland Stanford and the officers of the CPRR in 1870</figcaption></figure> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Asa_Whitney">Asa Whitney</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Asa Whitney">edit</a>]</div> One of the most prominent champions of the central route railroad was <a href="/wiki/Asa_Whitney" title="Asa Whitney">Asa Whitney</a>. He envisioned a route from Chicago and the Great Lakes to northern California, paid for by the sale of land to settlers along the route. Whitney traveled widely to solicit support from businessmen and politicians, printed maps and pamphlets, and submitted several proposals to Congress, all at his own expense. In June 1845, he led a team along part of the proposed route to assess its feasibility.<a href="#cite_note-53">[45]</a> Legislation to begin construction of the Pacific Railroad (called the Memorial of Asa Whitney) was first introduced to Congress by Representative <a href="/wiki/Zadock_Pratt" title="Zadock Pratt">Zadock Pratt</a>.<a href="#cite_note-54">[46]</a> Congress did not immediately act on Whitney's proposal. <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Theodore_Judah">Theodore Judah</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Theodore Judah">edit</a>]</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Theodore_Judah" title="Theodore Judah">Theodore Judah</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:CPRR_Chief_Engineer_Theodore_D._Judah.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/CPRR_Chief_Engineer_Theodore_D._Judah.jpg/170px-CPRR_Chief_Engineer_Theodore_D._Judah.jpg" decoding="async" width="170" height="210" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/CPRR_Chief_Engineer_Theodore_D._Judah.jpg/255px-CPRR_Chief_Engineer_Theodore_D._Judah.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/CPRR_Chief_Engineer_Theodore_D._Judah.jpg/340px-CPRR_Chief_Engineer_Theodore_D._Judah.jpg 2x" data-file-width="950" data-file-height="1174" /></a><figcaption>Theodore Judah, architect of the transcontinental railroad and first chief engineer of the Central Pacific</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Lewis_M_Clement.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Lewis_M_Clement.jpg/172px-Lewis_M_Clement.jpg" decoding="async" width="172" height="233" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Lewis_M_Clement.jpg/258px-Lewis_M_Clement.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Lewis_M_Clement.jpg 2x" data-file-width="310" data-file-height="420" /></a><figcaption>Lewis M. Clement, Chief Assistant Engineer and Superintendent of Track</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Charles_Marsh,_courtesy_of_the_Nevada_County,_California_Historical_Scoiety.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Charles_Marsh%2C_courtesy_of_the_Nevada_County%2C_California_Historical_Scoiety.jpg/220px-Charles_Marsh%2C_courtesy_of_the_Nevada_County%2C_California_Historical_Scoiety.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="293" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Charles_Marsh%2C_courtesy_of_the_Nevada_County%2C_California_Historical_Scoiety.jpg/330px-Charles_Marsh%2C_courtesy_of_the_Nevada_County%2C_California_Historical_Scoiety.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Charles_Marsh%2C_courtesy_of_the_Nevada_County%2C_California_Historical_Scoiety.jpg/440px-Charles_Marsh%2C_courtesy_of_the_Nevada_County%2C_California_Historical_Scoiety.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3024" data-file-height="4032" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Charles_Marsh_(railroad_builder)" title="Charles Marsh (railroad builder)">Charles Marsh</a> was the leading expert on the topography in the part of the Sierra Nevada Mountains where the <a href="/wiki/Central_Pacific_Railroad" title="Central Pacific Railroad">Central Pacific Railroad</a> was to be built. He was a civil engineer, and founding investor and member of the board of directors of the Central Pacific.<a href="#cite_note-55">[47]</a><a href="#cite_note-56">[48]</a><a href="#cite_note-57">[49]</a><a href="#cite_note-58">[50]</a><a href="#cite_note-59">[51]</a><a href="#cite_note-60">[52]</a></figcaption></figure> <a href="/wiki/Theodore_Judah" title="Theodore Judah">Theodore Judah</a> was a fervent supporter of the central route railroad. He lobbied vigorously in favor of the project and undertook the survey of the route through the rugged Sierra Nevada, one of the chief obstacles of the project. In 1852, Judah was chief engineer for the newly formed <a href="/wiki/Sacramento_Valley_Railroad_(1852-1877)" class="mw-redirect" title="Sacramento Valley Railroad (1852-1877)">Sacramento Valley Railroad</a>, the first railroad built west of the <a href="/wiki/Mississippi_River" title="Mississippi River">Mississippi River</a>. Although the railroad later went bankrupt once the easy placer gold deposits around <a href="/wiki/Placerville,_California" title="Placerville, California">Placerville, California</a>, were depleted, Judah was convinced that a properly financed railroad could pass from <a href="/wiki/Sacramento,_California" title="Sacramento, California">Sacramento</a> through the Sierra Nevada mountains to reach the <a href="/wiki/Great_Basin" title="Great Basin">Great Basin</a> and hook up with rail lines coming from the East.<a href="#cite_note-61">[53]</a> In 1856, Judah wrote a 13,000-word proposal in support of a Pacific railroad and distributed it to Cabinet secretaries, congressmen and other influential people. In September 1859, Judah was chosen to be the accredited lobbyist for the Pacific Railroad Convention, which indeed approved his plan to survey, finance and engineer the road. Judah returned to Washington in December 1859. He had a lobbying office in the <a href="/wiki/United_States_Capitol" title="United States Capitol">United States Capitol</a>, received an audience with President <a href="/wiki/James_Buchanan" title="James Buchanan">James Buchanan</a>, and represented the Convention before Congress.<a href="#cite_note-judah-62">[54]</a> Judah returned to California in 1860. He continued to search for a more practical route through the Sierra suitable for a railroad. In mid-1860, local miner Daniel Strong had surveyed a route over the Sierra for a wagon toll road, which he realized would also suit a railroad. He described his discovery in a letter to Judah. Also in 1860, <a href="/wiki/Charles_Marsh_(railroad_builder)" title="Charles Marsh (railroad builder)">Charles Marsh</a>, a surveyor, civil engineer and water company owner, met with civil engineer Judah. Marsh, who had already surveyed a potential railroad route between Sacramento and Nevada City, California, a decade earlier, went with Judah into the Sierra Nevada Mountains. There they examined the Henness Pass Turnpike Company's route (Marsh was a founding director of that company). They measured elevations and distances and discussed the possibility of a transcontinental railroad. Both were convinced that it could be done. Judah, Marsh and Strong then met with merchants and businessmen to solicit investors in their proposed railroad.<a href="#cite_note-judah-62">[54]</a><a href="#cite_note-63">[55]</a><a href="#cite_note-64">[56]</a><a href="#cite_note-65">[57]</a><a href="#cite_note-66">[58]</a><a href="#cite_note-67">[59]</a><a href="#cite_note-68">[60]</a><a href="#cite_note-69">[61]</a><a href="#cite_note-70">[62]</a> From January or February 1861 until July, Judah and Strong led a 10-person expedition to survey the route for the railroad over the Sierra Nevada through Clipper Gap and <a href="/wiki/Emigrant_Gap" title="Emigrant Gap">Emigrant Gap</a>, over <a href="/wiki/Donner_Pass" title="Donner Pass">Donner Pass</a>, and south to <a href="/wiki/Truckee,_California" title="Truckee, California">Truckee</a>. They discovered a way across the Sierras that was gradual enough to be made suitable for a railroad, although it still needed a lot of work.<a href="#cite_note-judah-62">[54]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="The_Big_Four">The Big Four</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: The Big Four">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/Big_Four_(Central_Pacific_Railroad)" title="Big Four (Central Pacific Railroad)">Big Four (Central Pacific Railroad)</a> and <a href="/wiki/Central_Pacific_Railroad" title="Central Pacific Railroad">Central Pacific Railroad</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Leland_Stanford_Governor.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7c/Leland_Stanford_Governor.jpg/170px-Leland_Stanford_Governor.jpg" decoding="async" width="170" height="181" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7c/Leland_Stanford_Governor.jpg/255px-Leland_Stanford_Governor.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Leland_Stanford_Governor.jpg 2x" data-file-width="296" data-file-height="316" /></a><figcaption>Leland Stanford's official gubernatorial portrait</figcaption></figure> Four northern California businessmen formed the <a href="/wiki/Central_Pacific_Railroad" title="Central Pacific Railroad">Central Pacific Railroad</a>: <a href="/wiki/Leland_Stanford" title="Leland Stanford">Leland Stanford</a>, (1824–1893), President; <a href="/wiki/Collis_Potter_Huntington" title="Collis Potter Huntington">Collis Potter Huntington</a>, (1821–1900), Vice President; <a href="/wiki/Mark_Hopkins_(railroad)" class="mw-redirect" title="Mark Hopkins (railroad)">Mark Hopkins</a>, (1813–1878), Treasurer; <a href="/wiki/Charles_Crocker" title="Charles Crocker">Charles Crocker</a>, (1822–1888), Construction Supervisor. All became substantially wealthy from their association with the railroad. Judah, Marsh, Strong, Stanford, Huntington, Hopkins and Crocker, along with James Bailey and Lucius Anson Booth, became the first board of directors of the Central Pacific Railroad. <a href="#cite_note-71">[63]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Thomas_Durant">Thomas Durant</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Thomas Durant">edit</a>]</div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Thomas_Clark_Durant,_M.D..png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/Thomas_Clark_Durant%2C_M.D..png/170px-Thomas_Clark_Durant%2C_M.D..png" decoding="async" width="170" height="187" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/Thomas_Clark_Durant%2C_M.D..png/255px-Thomas_Clark_Durant%2C_M.D..png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/Thomas_Clark_Durant%2C_M.D..png/340px-Thomas_Clark_Durant%2C_M.D..png 2x" data-file-width="1000" data-file-height="1100" /></a><figcaption>Dr. Thomas C. Durant</figcaption></figure> Former ophthalmologist Dr. <a href="/wiki/Thomas_C._Durant" title="Thomas C. Durant">Thomas Clark "Doc" Durant</a> was nominally only a vice president of Union Pacific, so he installed a series of respected men like <a href="/wiki/John_Adams_Dix" title="John Adams Dix">John Adams Dix</a> as president of the railroad. While serving as vice president of Union Pacific he would be a key figure in the <a href="/wiki/Cr%C3%A9dit_Mobilier_scandal" title="Crédit Mobilier scandal">Crédit Mobilier scandal</a> which ultimately led to his removal from the company.<a href="#cite_note-PBS-TCRR-Durant-72">[64]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Grenville_M._Dodge">Grenville M. Dodge</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Grenville M. Dodge">edit</a>]</div> <figure class="mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Portrait_of_Maj._Gen._Grenville_M._Dodge,_officer_of_the_Federal_Army_LOC_cwpb.05485.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/Portrait_of_Maj._Gen._Grenville_M._Dodge%2C_officer_of_the_Federal_Army_LOC_cwpb.05485.jpg/161px-Portrait_of_Maj._Gen._Grenville_M._Dodge%2C_officer_of_the_Federal_Army_LOC_cwpb.05485.jpg" decoding="async" width="161" height="247" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/Portrait_of_Maj._Gen._Grenville_M._Dodge%2C_officer_of_the_Federal_Army_LOC_cwpb.05485.jpg/242px-Portrait_of_Maj._Gen._Grenville_M._Dodge%2C_officer_of_the_Federal_Army_LOC_cwpb.05485.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/Portrait_of_Maj._Gen._Grenville_M._Dodge%2C_officer_of_the_Federal_Army_LOC_cwpb.05485.jpg/323px-Portrait_of_Maj._Gen._Grenville_M._Dodge%2C_officer_of_the_Federal_Army_LOC_cwpb.05485.jpg 2x" data-file-width="444" data-file-height="679" /></a><figcaption>Maj. Gen. Grenville M. Dodge</figcaption></figure> Major General <a href="/wiki/Grenville_M._Dodge" title="Grenville M. Dodge">Grenville M. Dodge</a> served as the chief engineer of <a href="/wiki/Union_Pacific_Railroad" title="Union Pacific Railroad">Union Pacific</a> during the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad. In 1865 while fighting against Native-American tribes he would discover a pass in the <a href="/wiki/Laramie_Mountains" title="Laramie Mountains">Laramie Mountains</a>, which would serve as a vital passage for the First Transcontinental Railroad. Dodge would serve in the <a href="/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives" title="United States House of Representatives">United States House of Representatives</a> for <a href="/wiki/Iowa%27s_5th_congressional_district#:~:text=Iowa's_5th_congressional_district_is,_for_Iowa's_4th_congressional_district." title="Iowa's 5th congressional district">Iowa's 5th District</a> from 1867 until 1869. During this time he would push for legislation to help the construction of the railroad.<a href="#cite_note-73">[65]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Authorization_and_funding">Authorization and funding</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Authorization and funding">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Pacific_Railroad_Acts" title="Pacific Railroad Acts">Pacific Railroad Acts</a></div> In February 1860, Iowa Representative <a href="/wiki/Samuel_Ryan_Curtis" title="Samuel Ryan Curtis">Samuel Curtis</a> introduced a bill to fund the railroad. It passed the <a href="/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives" title="United States House of Representatives">House</a> but died when it could not be reconciled with the Senate version because of opposition from southern states who wanted a southern route near the <a href="/wiki/42nd_parallel_north" title="42nd parallel north">42nd parallel</a>.<a href="#cite_note-judah-62">[54]</a>[<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_clarify" title="Wikipedia:Please clarify">clarification needed</a>] Curtis tried and failed again in 1861. After the southern states seceded from the Union, the House of Representatives approved the bill on May 6, 1862, and the Senate on June 20. Lincoln signed the <a href="/wiki/Pacific_Railway_Acts" class="mw-redirect" title="Pacific Railway Acts">Pacific Railroad Act of 1862</a> into law on July 1. It authorized creation of two companies, the <a href="/wiki/Central_Pacific_Railroad" title="Central Pacific Railroad">Central Pacific</a> in the west and the <a href="/wiki/Union_Pacific" class="mw-redirect" title="Union Pacific">Union Pacific</a> in the mid-west, to build the railroad. The legislation called for building and operating a new railroad from the Missouri River at <a href="/wiki/Council_Bluffs,_Iowa" title="Council Bluffs, Iowa">Council Bluffs, Iowa</a>, west to <a href="/wiki/Sacramento,_California" title="Sacramento, California">Sacramento, California</a>, and on to <a href="/wiki/San_Francisco_Bay" title="San Francisco Bay">San Francisco Bay</a>.<a href="#cite_note-74">[66]</a> Another act to supplement the first was passed in 1864.<a href="#cite_note-75">[67]</a> The <a href="/wiki/Pacific_Railroad_Act" class="mw-redirect" title="Pacific Railroad Act">Pacific Railroad Act</a> of 1863 established the <a href="/wiki/Standard_gauge" class="mw-redirect" title="Standard gauge">standard gauge</a> to be used in these federally financed railways. <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Federal_financing">Federal financing</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Federal financing">edit</a>]</div> To finance the project, the act authorized the federal government to issue 30-year U.S. <a href="/wiki/Government_bond" title="Government bond">government bonds</a> (at 6% interest). The railroad companies were paid $16,000 per mile (approximately $560,000 per mile today) for track laid on a level grade, $32,000 per mile (about $1,120,000 per mile today) for track laid in foothills, and $48,000 per mile (or about $1,680,000 per mile today) for track laid in mountains. The two railroad companies sold similar amounts of company-backed bonds and stock.<a href="#cite_note-klein-76">[68]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Union_Pacific_financing">Union Pacific financing</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Union Pacific financing">edit</a>]</div> While the federal legislation for the Union Pacific required that no partner was to own more than 10 percent of the stock, the Union Pacific had problems selling its stock. One of the few subscribers was <a href="/wiki/The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints" title="The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints">the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints</a> leader <a href="/wiki/Brigham_Young" title="Brigham Young">Brigham Young</a>, who also supplied crews for building much of the railroad through Utah.<a href="#cite_note-77">[69]</a> Durant manipulated market prices on his stocks by spreading rumors about which railroads he had an interest in were being considered for connection with the Union Pacific. First he touted rumors that his fledgling M&M Railroad had a deal in the works, while secretly buying stock in the depressed <a href="/wiki/Cedar_Rapids_and_Missouri_Railroad" class="mw-redirect" title="Cedar Rapids and Missouri Railroad">Cedar Rapids and Missouri Railroad</a>. Then he circulated rumors that the CR&M had plans to connect to the Union Pacific, at which point he began buying back the M&M stock at depressed prices. It is estimated his scams produced over $5 million in profits for him and his cohorts.<a href="#cite_note-78">[70]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Central_Pacific_financing">Central Pacific financing</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: Central Pacific financing">edit</a>]</div> <a href="/wiki/Collis_Huntington" class="mw-redirect" title="Collis Huntington">Collis Huntington</a>, a Sacramento <a href="/wiki/Household_hardware" class="mw-redirect" title="Household hardware">hardware</a> merchant, heard Judah's presentation about the railroad at the St. Charles Hotel in November 1860. He invited Judah to his office to hear his proposal in detail. Huntington persuaded Judah to accept financing from himself and four others: <a href="/wiki/Mark_Hopkins_(railroad)" class="mw-redirect" title="Mark Hopkins (railroad)">Mark Hopkins</a>, his business partner; James Bailey, a jeweler; <a href="/wiki/Leland_Stanford" title="Leland Stanford">Leland Stanford</a>, a grocer; and <a href="/wiki/Charles_Crocker" title="Charles Crocker">Charles Crocker</a>, a dry-goods merchant. They initially invested $1,500 each and formed a board of directors. These investors became known as <a href="/wiki/Big_Four_(Central_Pacific_Railroad)" title="Big Four (Central Pacific Railroad)">The Big Four</a>, and their railroad was called the <a href="/wiki/Central_Pacific_Railroad" title="Central Pacific Railroad">Central Pacific Railroad</a>. Each eventually made millions of dollars from their investments and control of the Central Pacific Railroad. Before major construction could begin, Judah traveled back to New York City to raise funds to buy out The Big Four. Shortly after arriving in New York, Judah died on November 2, 1863, of <a href="/wiki/Yellow_fever" title="Yellow fever">yellow fever</a> that he had contracted while traveling over the <a href="/wiki/Panama_Railroad" class="mw-redirect" title="Panama Railroad">Panama Railroad</a>'s transit of the <a href="/wiki/Isthmus_of_Panama" title="Isthmus of Panama">Isthmus of Panama</a>.<a href="#cite_note-79">[71]</a> The CPRR Engineering Department was taken over by his successor Samuel S. Montegue, as well as Canadian trained Chief Assistant Engineer (later Acting Chief Engineer) Lewis Metzler Clement who also became Superintendent of Track.<a href="#cite_note-judah-62">[54]</a><a href="#cite_note-lmc-80">[72]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Land_grants">Land grants</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: Land grants">edit</a>]</div> To allow the companies to raise additional capital, Congress granted the railroads a 200-foot (61 m) <a href="/wiki/Right-of-way_(transportation)" class="mw-redirect" title="Right-of-way (transportation)">right-of-way</a> corridor, lands for additional facilities like sidings and maintenance yards. They were also granted alternate <a href="/wiki/Section_(land)" class="mw-redirect" title="Section (land)">sections</a> of government-owned lands—6,400 acres (2,600 ha) per mile (1.6 km)—for 10 miles (16 km) on both sides of the track, forming a <a href="/wiki/Checkerboarding_(land)" title="Checkerboarding (land)">checkerboard pattern</a>. The railroad companies were given the odd-numbered sections while the federal government retained the even-numbered sections. The exception was in cities, at rivers, or on non-government property.<a href="#cite_note-walton-81">[73]</a> The railroads sold bonds based on the value of the lands, and in areas with good land like the Sacramento Valley and Nebraska<a href="#cite_note-82">[74]</a> sold the land to settlers, contributing to a rapid settlement of the West.<a href="#cite_note-83">[75]</a>[<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">verification needed</a>] The total area of the land grants to the Union Pacific and Central Pacific was larger than the area of the state of Texas: federal government land grants totaled about 130,000,000 acres, and state government land grants totaled about 50,000,000 acres.<a href="#cite_note-84">[76]</a>[<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">verification needed</a>] It was far from a given that the railroads operating in the thinly-settled west would make enough money to repay their construction and operation. If the railroad companies failed to sell the land granted them within three years, they were required to sell it at prevailing government price for homesteads: $1.25 per acre ($3.09/ha). If they failed to repay the bonds, all remaining railroad property, including trains and tracks, would revert to the U.S. government.[<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>] To encourage settlement in the west, <a href="/wiki/37th_United_States_Congress" title="37th United States Congress">Congress</a> (1861–1863) passed the <a href="/wiki/Homestead_Acts" title="Homestead Acts">Homestead Acts</a> which granted an applicant 160 acres (65 ha) of land with the requirement that the applicant improve the land. This incentive encouraged thousands of settlers to move west.<a href="#cite_note-85">[77]</a> In return for the land grants, the railroads were required to haul government personnel and cargo at significantly reduced rates (generally half of the normal rate). In addition, the land was granted in a checkerboard fashion, with the government retaining every other section. The land that the government retained typically doubled in value as a result of the railroad being built. The land grants were a good deal for the government.<a href="#cite_note-86">[78]</a><a href="#cite_note-87">[79]</a> The government guaranteed loans to several Pacific railroads, which were all paid off by 1899 ($63 million in principal, and $105 million in interest). After receiving rate discounts of approximately 50% on government personnel and cargo for 80 years (including during two world wars), Congress finally discontinued the rate reductions at the end of World War II. The land grants had been more than paid for (several times over).<a href="#cite_note-88">[80]</a><a href="#cite_note-89">[81]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Railroad_self-dealing">Railroad self-dealing</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: Railroad self-dealing">edit</a>]</div> The federal legislation lacked adequate oversight and accountability. The two companies took advantage of these weaknesses in the legislation to manipulate the project and produce extra profit for themselves. Despite the generous subsidies offered by the federal government, the railroad capitalists knew they would not turn a profit on the railroad business for many months, possibly years. They determined to make a profit on the construction itself. Both groups of financiers formed independent companies to complete the project, and they controlled management of the new companies along with the railroad ventures. This self-dealing allowed them to build in generous profit margins paid out by the railroad companies. In the west, the four men heading the Central Pacific chose a simple name for their company, the "Contract and Finance Company." In the east, the Union Pacific selected a foreign name, calling their construction firm "Crédit Mobilier of America."<a href="#cite_note-klein-76">[68]</a> The latter company was later implicated in a far-reaching scandal which would greatly effect the railroads purpose, described later. Also, the lack of federal oversight provided both companies with incentives to continue building their railroads past one other, since they were each being paid, and receiving land grants, based on how many miles of track they laid, even though only one track would eventually be used. This tacitly-agreed profiteering activity was captured (probably accidentally) by Union Pacific photographer <a href="/wiki/Andrew_J._Russell" title="Andrew J. Russell">Andrew J. Russell</a> in his images of the Promontory Trestle construction.<a href="#cite_note-90">[82]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Labor_and_wages">Labor and wages</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: Labor and wages">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See this list for names of <a href="/wiki/List_of_Union_Pacific_railroad_civil_engineers_(1863%E2%80%931869)" class="mw-redirect" title="List of Union Pacific railroad civil engineers (1863–1869)">Union Pacific civil engineers</a> (1863–1869)</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Chinese_Labor_Strike_of_1867" class="mw-redirect" title="Chinese Labor Strike of 1867">Chinese Labor Strike of 1867</a></div> Many of the <a href="/wiki/Civil_engineer" title="Civil engineer">civil engineers</a> and surveyors who were hired by the Union Pacific had been employed during the <a href="/wiki/American_Civil_War" title="American Civil War">American Civil War</a> to repair and operate the over 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of railroad line the <a href="/wiki/U.S._Military_Railroad" class="mw-redirect" title="U.S. Military Railroad">U.S. Military Railroad</a> controlled by the end of the war. The Union Pacific also utilized their experience repairing and building <a href="/wiki/Truss_bridge" title="Truss bridge">truss bridges</a> during the war.<a href="#cite_note-91">[83]</a> Most of the semi-skilled workers on the Union Pacific were recruited from the many soldiers discharged from the <a href="/wiki/Union_Army" class="mw-redirect" title="Union Army">Union</a> and <a href="/wiki/Confederate_Army" class="mw-redirect" title="Confederate Army">Confederate</a> armies along with emigrant <a href="/wiki/Irish_Americans" title="Irish Americans">Irishmen</a>.<a href="#cite_note-92">[84]</a> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:San_Francisco_Pacific_Railroad_Bond_WPRR_1865.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/San_Francisco_Pacific_Railroad_Bond_WPRR_1865.jpg/250px-San_Francisco_Pacific_Railroad_Bond_WPRR_1865.jpg" decoding="async" width="250" height="187" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/San_Francisco_Pacific_Railroad_Bond_WPRR_1865.jpg/375px-San_Francisco_Pacific_Railroad_Bond_WPRR_1865.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/San_Francisco_Pacific_Railroad_Bond_WPRR_1865.jpg/500px-San_Francisco_Pacific_Railroad_Bond_WPRR_1865.jpg 2x" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="598" /></a><figcaption>Pacific Railroad Bond, City and County of San Francisco, 1865</figcaption></figure> After 1864, the Central Pacific Railroad received the same Federal financial incentives as the Union Pacific Railroad, along with some construction bonds granted by the state of California and the city of San Francisco. The Central Pacific hired some Canadian and European civil engineers and surveyors with extensive experience building railroads, but it had a difficult time finding semi-skilled labor. Most Caucasians in California preferred to work in the mines or agriculture. The railroad experimented by hiring local emigrant Chinese as manual laborers, many of whom were escaping the poverty and terrors of the war (especially the <a href="/wiki/Punti%E2%80%93Hakka_Clan_Wars" title="Punti–Hakka Clan Wars">Punti–Hakka Clan Wars</a>) in the <a href="/wiki/Siyi" title="Siyi">Sze Yup districts</a> in the <a href="/wiki/Pearl_River_Delta" title="Pearl River Delta">Pearl River Delta</a> of <a href="/wiki/Guangdong" title="Guangdong">Guangdong</a> province in China.<a href="#cite_note-Chang_Fishkin_2019-93">[85]</a>: 7 <a href="#cite_note-chang-94">[86]</a>: 15–37  When they proved themselves as workers, the CPRR from that point forward preferred to hire Chinese, and even set up recruiting efforts in <a href="/wiki/Guangdong" title="Guangdong">Canton</a>.<a href="#cite_note-Kraus_Chinese_1969-95">[87]</a> Despite their small stature<a href="#cite_note-96">[88]</a> and lack of experience, the Chinese laborers were responsible for most of the heavy manual labor since only a very limited amount of that work could be done by animals, simple machines, or black powder. The railroad also hired some <a href="/wiki/Black_people" title="Black people">black people</a> escaping the aftermath of the American Civil War.<a href="#cite_note-97">[89]</a> Most of the <a href="/wiki/Black_people" title="Black people">black</a> and white workers were paid $30 per month and given food and lodging. Most Chinese were initially paid $31 per month and provided lodging, but they preferred to cook their own meals. In 1867 the CPRR raised their wage to $35 (equivalent to $790 in 2024) per month after a strike.<a href="#cite_note-Kraus_Chinese_1969-95">[87]</a><a href="#cite_note-98">[90]</a><a href="#cite_note-Crocker-99">[91]</a> CPRR came to see the advantage of good workers employed at low wages: "Chinese labor proved to be Central Pacific's salvation."<a href="#cite_note-white_2011-100">[92]</a>: 30  <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Transcontinental_route">Transcontinental route</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=18" title="Edit section: Transcontinental route">edit</a>]</div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-center" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Pacific_Railroad_Profile_1867.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b5/Pacific_Railroad_Profile_1867.jpg/700px-Pacific_Railroad_Profile_1867.jpg" decoding="async" width="700" height="244" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b5/Pacific_Railroad_Profile_1867.jpg/1050px-Pacific_Railroad_Profile_1867.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Pacific_Railroad_Profile_1867.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1374" data-file-height="478" /></a><figcaption>Profile of the Pacific Railroad from Council Bluffs/Omaha to San Francisco. Harper's Weekly December 7, 1867</figcaption></figure> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Construction_begun">Construction begun</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=19" title="Edit section: Construction begun">edit</a>]</div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:3c_Transcontinental_Railroad_75th_Anniversary_single,_1944.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/3c_Transcontinental_Railroad_75th_Anniversary_single%2C_1944.jpg/290px-3c_Transcontinental_Railroad_75th_Anniversary_single%2C_1944.jpg" decoding="async" width="290" height="186" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/3c_Transcontinental_Railroad_75th_Anniversary_single%2C_1944.jpg/435px-3c_Transcontinental_Railroad_75th_Anniversary_single%2C_1944.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/3c_Transcontinental_Railroad_75th_Anniversary_single%2C_1944.jpg/580px-3c_Transcontinental_Railroad_75th_Anniversary_single%2C_1944.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1282" data-file-height="824" /></a><figcaption>The U.S. Post Office issued a postage stamp in 1944 commemorating the 75th anniversary of the first transcontinental railroad in America. The engraving depicts the driving of the 'Golden Spike' at Promontory, Utah, where the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads came together in 1869.</figcaption></figure> The Central Pacific broke ground on January 8, 1863. Because of insufficient transportation alternatives from the manufacturing centers on the east coast, virtually all of their tools and machinery including rails, <a href="/wiki/Railroad_switch" title="Railroad switch">railroad switches</a>, <a href="/wiki/Railroad_turntable" class="mw-redirect" title="Railroad turntable">railroad turntables</a>, <a href="/wiki/Railroad_car" title="Railroad car">freight</a> and passenger cars, and <a href="/wiki/Steam_locomotive" title="Steam locomotive">steam locomotives</a> were transported first by train to east coast ports. They were then loaded on ships which either sailed around South America's <a href="/wiki/Cape_Horn" title="Cape Horn">Cape Horn</a>, or offloaded the cargo at the <a href="/wiki/Isthmus_of_Panama" title="Isthmus of Panama">Isthmus of Panama</a>, where it was sent across via <a href="/wiki/Paddle_steamer" title="Paddle steamer">paddle steamer</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Panama_Railroad" class="mw-redirect" title="Panama Railroad">Panama Railroad</a>. The Panama Railroad gauge was 5 feet (1,524 mm), which was incompatible with the <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1154941027">4-foot-8+1⁄2-inch (1,435 mm) gauge used by the CPRR equipment. The latter route was about twice as expensive per pound.[<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>] Once the machinery and tools reached the <a href="/wiki/San_Francisco_Bay" title="San Francisco Bay">San Francisco Bay</a> area, they were put aboard river paddle steamers which transported them up the final 130 miles (210 km) of the <a href="/wiki/Sacramento_River" title="Sacramento River">Sacramento River</a> to the new state capital in <a href="/wiki/Sacramento,_California" title="Sacramento, California">Sacramento</a>. Many of these steam engines, railroad cars, and other machinery were shipped dismantled and had to be reassembled.[<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>] Wooden timbers for railroad ties, trestles, bridges, firewood, and telegraph poles were harvested in California and transported to the project site. The Union Pacific Railroad did not start construction for another 18 months until July 1865. They were delayed by difficulties obtaining financial backing and the unavailability of workers and materials due to the Civil War. Their start point in the new city of <a href="/wiki/Omaha,_Nebraska" title="Omaha, Nebraska">Omaha, Nebraska</a>, was not yet connected via railroad to <a href="/wiki/Council_Bluffs,_Iowa" title="Council Bluffs, Iowa">Council Bluffs, Iowa</a>. Equipment needed to begin work was initially delivered to Omaha and Council Bluffs by paddle steamers on the <a href="/wiki/Missouri_River" title="Missouri River">Missouri River</a>. The Union Pacific was so slow in beginning construction during 1865 that they sold two of the four steam locomotives they had purchased.[<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>] After the <a href="/wiki/American_Civil_War" title="American Civil War">American Civil War</a> ended in 1865, the Union Pacific still competed for railroad supplies with companies who were building or repairing railroads in the south, and prices rose.[<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>] <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Rail_standards">Rail standards</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=20" title="Edit section: Rail standards">edit</a>]</div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:First_Day_Cover_Sc922_75th_Anniversary_First_Transcontinental_Railroad_May_10,_1944.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/First_Day_Cover_Sc922_75th_Anniversary_First_Transcontinental_Railroad_May_10%2C_1944.jpg/200px-First_Day_Cover_Sc922_75th_Anniversary_First_Transcontinental_Railroad_May_10%2C_1944.jpg" decoding="async" width="200" height="112" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/First_Day_Cover_Sc922_75th_Anniversary_First_Transcontinental_Railroad_May_10%2C_1944.jpg/300px-First_Day_Cover_Sc922_75th_Anniversary_First_Transcontinental_Railroad_May_10%2C_1944.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/First_Day_Cover_Sc922_75th_Anniversary_First_Transcontinental_Railroad_May_10%2C_1944.jpg/400px-First_Day_Cover_Sc922_75th_Anniversary_First_Transcontinental_Railroad_May_10%2C_1944.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1286" data-file-height="720" /></a><figcaption>First Day Cover for the 75th Anniversary of the Driving of the Last Spike (May 10, 1944)</figcaption></figure> At that time in the United States, there were two primary standards for track gauge, as defined by the distance between the two rails. In Britain, the gauge was <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1154941027">4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) <a href="/wiki/Standard_gauge" class="mw-redirect" title="Standard gauge">standard gauge</a>, and this had been adopted by the majority of northern railways. However, much of the south had adopted a <a href="/wiki/5_ft_and_1520_mm_gauge_railways" title="5 ft and 1520 mm gauge railways">5 ft</a> (1,524 mm) gauge. Transferring railway cars across a <a href="/wiki/Break_of_gauge" title="Break of gauge">break of gauge</a> required <a href="/wiki/Bogie_exchange" title="Bogie exchange">changing out</a> the <a href="/wiki/Bogie" title="Bogie">trucks</a>. Alternatively, cargo was <a href="/wiki/Transloading" title="Transloading">offloaded and reloaded</a>, a time-consuming effort that delayed cargo shipments. For the transcontinental railroad, the builders adopted what is now known as the <a href="/wiki/Standard_gauge" class="mw-redirect" title="Standard gauge">standard gauge</a>.<a href="#cite_note-daspit-101">[93]</a> The <a href="/wiki/Bessemer_process" title="Bessemer process">Bessemer process</a> and <a href="/wiki/Open_hearth_furnace" class="mw-redirect" title="Open hearth furnace">open hearth furnace</a> steel-making were in use by 1865, but the advantages of steel rails which lasted much longer than iron rails had not yet been demonstrated.[<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>] The <a href="/wiki/Rail_profile" title="Rail profile">rails</a> used initially in building the railway were nearly all made of an <a href="/wiki/Iron" title="Iron">iron</a> flat-bottomed modified <a href="/wiki/I-beam" title="I-beam">I-beam</a> profile weighing 56 or 66 pounds per yard (27.8 or 32.7 kg/m).[<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>] The railroad companies were intent on completing the project as rapidly as possible at a minimum cost. Within a few years, nearly all railroads converted to <a href="/wiki/Rail_profile" title="Rail profile">steel rails</a>.[<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>] <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Time_zones_and_telegraph_usage">Time zones and telegraph usage</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=21" title="Edit section: Time zones and telegraph usage">edit</a>]</div> Time was not standardized across the United States and Canada until November 18, 1883.<a href="#cite_note-102">[94]</a> In 1865, each railroad set its own time to minimize scheduling errors.[<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>] To communicate easily up and down the line, the railroads built telegraph lines alongside the tracks. These lines eventually superseded the original <a href="/wiki/First_Transcontinental_Telegraph" class="mw-redirect" title="First Transcontinental Telegraph">First Transcontinental Telegraph</a> which followed much of the <a href="/wiki/Mormon_Trail" title="Mormon Trail">Mormon Trail</a> up the <a href="/wiki/North_Platte_River" title="North Platte River">North Platte River</a> and across the very thinly populated <a href="/wiki/Central_Nevada_Route" class="mw-redirect" title="Central Nevada Route">Central Nevada Route</a> through central Utah and Nevada. The telegraph lines along the railroad were easier to protect and maintain. Many of the original telegraph lines were abandoned as the telegraph business was consolidated with the railroad telegraph lines.<a href="#cite_note-103">[95]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Union_Pacific_route">Union Pacific route</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=22" title="Edit section: Union Pacific route">edit</a>]</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1251242444">.mw-parser-output .ambox{border:1px solid #a2a9b1;border-left:10px solid #36c;background-color:#fbfbfb;box-sizing:border-box}.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+link+.ambox{margin-top:-1px}html body.mediawiki .mw-parser-output .ambox.mbox-small-left{margin:4px 1em 4px 0;overflow:hidden;width:238px;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em}.mw-parser-output .ambox-speedy{border-left:10px solid #b32424;background-color:#fee7e6}.mw-parser-output .ambox-delete{border-left:10px solid #b32424}.mw-parser-output .ambox-content{border-left:10px solid #f28500}.mw-parser-output .ambox-style{border-left:10px solid #fc3}.mw-parser-output .ambox-move{border-left:10px solid #9932cc}.mw-parser-output .ambox-protection{border-left:10px solid #a2a9b1}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-text{border:none;padding:0.25em 0.5em;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image{border:none;padding:2px 0 2px 0.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-imageright{border:none;padding:2px 0.5em 2px 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-empty-cell{border:none;padding:0;width:1px}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image-div{width:52px}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .ambox{margin:0 10%}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .ambox{display:none!important}}</style><table class="box-More_citations_needed_section plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Refimprove" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><a href="/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="39" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/75px-Question_book-new.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/100px-Question_book-new.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="399" /></a></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This section needs additional citations for <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">verification</a>. Please help <a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/First_transcontinental_railroad" title="Special:EditPage/First transcontinental railroad">improve this article</a> by <a href="/wiki/Help:Referencing_for_beginners" title="Help:Referencing for beginners">adding citations to reliable sources</a> in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2016) (<a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a>)</div></td></tr></tbody></table> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Transcontinental_railroad_route.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f6/Transcontinental_railroad_route.png/220px-Transcontinental_railroad_route.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="136" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f6/Transcontinental_railroad_route.png/330px-Transcontinental_railroad_route.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f6/Transcontinental_railroad_route.png/440px-Transcontinental_railroad_route.png 2x" data-file-width="1000" data-file-height="619" /></a><figcaption>Route of the first American transcontinental railroad from Sacramento, California, to Council Bluffs, Iowa. Other railroads connected at Council Bluffs to cities throughout the East and Midwest.</figcaption></figure> The Union Pacific's 1,087 miles (1,749 km) of track started at MP 0.0 in <a href="/wiki/Council_Bluffs,_Iowa" title="Council Bluffs, Iowa">Council Bluffs, Iowa</a>,<a href="#cite_note-ExecOrder-8">[7]</a> on the eastern side of the <a href="/wiki/Missouri_River" title="Missouri River">Missouri River</a>. Omaha was chosen by <a href="/wiki/President_of_the_United_States" title="President of the United States">President</a> <a href="/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln" title="Abraham Lincoln">Abraham Lincoln</a> as the location of its Transfer Depot where up to seven railroads could transfer mail and other goods to Union Pacific trains bound for the west. Trains were initially transported across the Missouri River by ferry before they could access the western tracks beginning in <a href="/wiki/Omaha,_Nebraska" title="Omaha, Nebraska">Omaha</a>, <a href="/wiki/Nebraska_Territory" title="Nebraska Territory">Nebraska Territory</a>. The river froze in the winter, and the ferries were replaced by sleighs. A bridge was not built until 1872, when the 2,750-foot-long (840 m) <a href="/wiki/Union_Pacific_Missouri_River_Bridge" title="Union Pacific Missouri River Bridge">Union Pacific Missouri River Bridge</a> was completed. After the rail line's initial climb through the Missouri River bluffs west of Omaha and out of the <a href="/wiki/Missouri_River" title="Missouri River">Missouri River</a> Valley, the route bridged the <a href="/wiki/Elkhorn_River" title="Elkhorn River">Elkhorn River</a> and then crossed over the new 1,500-foot (460 m) <a href="/wiki/Loup_River" title="Loup River">Loup River</a> bridge as it followed the north side of the <a href="/wiki/Platte_River" title="Platte River">Platte River</a> valley west through Nebraska along the general path of the <a href="/wiki/Oregon_Trail" title="Oregon Trail">Oregon</a>, <a href="/wiki/Mormon_Trail" title="Mormon Trail">Mormon</a> and <a href="/wiki/California_Trail" title="California Trail">California Trails</a>. By December 1865, the Union Pacific had only completed 40 miles (64 km) of track, reaching <a href="/wiki/Fremont,_Nebraska" title="Fremont, Nebraska">Fremont, Nebraska</a>, and a further 10 miles (16 km) of roadbed.<a href="#cite_note-104">[96]</a> At the end of 1865, Peter A. Dey, Chief Engineer of the Union Pacific, resigned over a routing dispute with <a href="/wiki/Thomas_C._Durant" title="Thomas C. Durant">Thomas C. Durant</a>, one of the chief financiers of the Union Pacific.<a href="#cite_note-105">[97]</a> With the end of the Civil War and increased government supervision in the offing, Durant hired his former M&M engineer <a href="/wiki/Grenville_M._Dodge" title="Grenville M. Dodge">Grenville M. Dodge</a> to build the railroad, and the Union Pacific began a mad dash west.<a href="#cite_note-106">[98]</a> Former Union General <a href="/wiki/John_S._Casement" title="John S. Casement">John "Jack" Casement</a> was hired as the new Chief Engineer of the Union Pacific. He equipped several railroad cars to serve as portable bunkhouses for the workers and gathered men and supplies to push the railroad rapidly west. Among the bunkhouses, Casement added a galley car to prepare meals, and he even provided for a herd of cows to be moved with the railhead and bunk cars to provide fresh meat. Hunters were hired to provide <a href="/wiki/American_bison" title="American bison">buffalo</a> meat from the large herds of American bison.[<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>] The small survey parties who scouted ahead to locate the roadbed were sometimes attacked and killed by raiding Native Americans. In response, the U.S. Army instituted active cavalry patrols that grew larger as the Native Americans grew more aggressive. Temporary, "<a href="/wiki/Hell_on_Wheels" title="Hell on Wheels">Hell on wheels</a>" towns, made mostly of canvas tents, accompanied the railroad as construction headed west.<a href="#cite_note-107">[99]</a><a href="#cite_note-108">[100]</a> The <a href="/wiki/Platte_River" title="Platte River">Platte River</a> was too shallow and meandering to provide river transport, but the Platte river valley headed west and sloped up gradually at about 6 feet per mile (1.1 m/km), often allowing to lay a mile (1.6 km) of track a day or more in 1866 as the Union Pacific finally started moving rapidly west. Building bridges to cross creeks and rivers was the main source of delays. Near where the <a href="/wiki/Platte_River" title="Platte River">Platte River</a> splits into the <a href="/wiki/North_Platte_River" title="North Platte River">North Platte River</a> and <a href="/wiki/South_Platte_River" title="South Platte River">South Platte River</a>, the railroad bridged the North Platte River over a 2,600-foot-long (790 m) bridge (nicknamed ½ mile bridge). It was built across the shallow but wide North Platte resting on piles driven by steam <a href="/wiki/Pile_driver" title="Pile driver">pile drivers</a>.<a href="#cite_note-109">[101]</a> Here they built the "railroad" town of <a href="/wiki/North_Platte,_Nebraska" title="North Platte, Nebraska">North Platte, Nebraska</a>, in December 1866 after completing about 240 miles (390 km) of track that year. In late 1866, former <a href="/wiki/Major_General" class="mw-redirect" title="Major General">Major General</a> <a href="/wiki/Grenville_M._Dodge" title="Grenville M. Dodge">Grenville M. Dodge</a> was appointed Chief Engineer on the Union Pacific, but hard-working General "Jack" Casement continued to work as chief construction "boss" and his brother Daniel Casement continued as a financial officer. The original emigrant route across Wyoming of the Oregon, Mormon and California Trails, after progressing up the <a href="/wiki/Platte_River" title="Platte River">Platte River</a> valley, went up the <a href="/wiki/North_Platte_River" title="North Platte River">North Platte River</a> valley through <a href="/wiki/Casper,_Wyoming" title="Casper, Wyoming">Casper, Wyoming</a>, along the <a href="/wiki/Sweetwater_River_(Wyoming)" title="Sweetwater River (Wyoming)">Sweetwater River</a> and over the <a href="/wiki/Continental_Divide" class="mw-redirect" title="Continental Divide">Continental Divide</a> at the 7,412-foot (2,259 m) <a href="/wiki/South_Pass_(Wyoming)" title="South Pass (Wyoming)">South Pass</a>. The original westward travelers in their ox and mule pulled wagons tried to stick to river valleys to avoid as much road building as possible—gradients and sharp corners were usually of little or no concern to them. The ox and mule pulled wagons were the original off-road vehicles in their day since nearly all of the <a href="/wiki/Emigrant_Trail" class="mw-redirect" title="Emigrant Trail">Emigrant Trails</a> went cross country over rough, unimproved trails. The route over South Pass's main advantage for wagons pulled by oxen or mules was a shorter elevation over an "easy" pass to cross and its "easy" connection to nearby river valleys on both sides of the continental divide for water and grass. The emigrant trails were closed in winter. The North Platte–South Pass route was far less beneficial for a railroad, as it was about 150 miles (240 km) longer and much more expensive to construct up the narrow, steep and rocky canyons of the North Platte. The route along the North Platte was also further from <a href="/wiki/Denver,_Colorado" class="mw-redirect" title="Denver, Colorado">Denver, Colorado</a>, and went across difficult terrain, while a railroad connection to that City was already being planned for and surveyed. Efforts to survey a new, shorter, "better" route had been underway since 1864. By 1867, a new route was found and surveyed that went along part of the <a href="/wiki/South_Platte_River" title="South Platte River">South Platte River</a> in western Nebraska and after entering what is now the state of <a href="/wiki/Wyoming" title="Wyoming">Wyoming</a>, ascended a gradual sloping ridge between <a href="/wiki/Lodgepole_Creek" title="Lodgepole Creek">Lodgepole Creek</a> and <a href="/wiki/Crow_Creek_(South_Platte_River)" class="mw-redirect" title="Crow Creek (South Platte River)">Crow Creek</a> to the 8,200-foot (2,500 m) <a href="/wiki/Sherman_Summit" class="mw-redirect" title="Sherman Summit">Evans pass</a> (also called Sherman's Pass) which was discovered by the Union Pacific employed English surveyor and engineer, James Evans, in about 1864.<a href="#cite_note-110">[102]</a> This pass now is marked by the <a href="/wiki/Ames_Monument" title="Ames Monument">Ames Monument</a> (<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1156832818">.mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct,.mw-parser-output .geo-inline-hidden{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}</style><a class="external text" href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=First_transcontinental_railroad&params=41.131281_N_105.398045_W_">41°07′53″N 105°23′53″W / 41.131281°N 105.398045°W / 41.131281; -105.398045</a>) marking its significance and commemorating two of the main backers of the Union Pacific Railroad. From North Platte, Nebraska (elevation 2,834 feet or 864 metres), the railroad proceeded westward and upward along a new path across the <a href="/wiki/Nebraska_Territory" title="Nebraska Territory">Nebraska Territory</a> and <a href="/wiki/Wyoming_Territory" title="Wyoming Territory">Wyoming Territory</a> (then part of the <a href="/wiki/Dakota_Territory" title="Dakota Territory">Dakota Territory</a>) along the north bank of the <a href="/wiki/South_Platte_River" title="South Platte River">South Platte River</a> and into what would become the state of Wyoming at Lone Pine, Wyoming. Evans Pass was located between what would become the new "railroad" towns of <a href="/wiki/Cheyenne,_Wyoming" title="Cheyenne, Wyoming">Cheyenne</a> and <a href="/wiki/Laramie,_Wyoming" title="Laramie, Wyoming">Laramie</a>. Connecting to this pass, about 15 miles (24 km) west of Cheyenne, was the one place across the <a href="/wiki/Laramie_Mountains" title="Laramie Mountains">Laramie Mountains</a> that had a narrow "guitar neck" of land that crossed the mountains without serious erosion at the so-called "gangplank" (<link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1156832818"><a class="external text" href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=First_transcontinental_railroad&params=41.099746_N_105.153205_W_">41°05′59″N 105°09′12″W / 41.099746°N 105.153205°W / 41.099746; -105.153205</a>) discovered by <a href="/wiki/Major_General" class="mw-redirect" title="Major General">Major General</a> <a href="/wiki/Grenville_Dodge" class="mw-redirect" title="Grenville Dodge">Grenville Dodge</a> in 1865 when he was in the U.S. Army.<a href="#cite_note-111">[103]</a> The new route surveyed across Wyoming was over 150 miles (240 km) shorter, had a flatter profile, allowing for cheaper and easier railroad construction, and also went closer by Denver and the known coalfields in the <a href="/wiki/Wasatch_Range" title="Wasatch Range">Wasatch</a> and <a href="/wiki/Laramie_Range" class="mw-redirect" title="Laramie Range">Laramie Ranges</a>. The railroad gained about 3,200 feet (980 m) in the 220 miles (350 km) climb to Cheyenne from North Platte, Nebraska—about 15 feet per mile (2.8 m/km)—a very gentle slope of less than one degree average. This "new" route had never become an emigrant route because it lacked the water and grass to feed the emigrants' oxen and mules. Steam locomotives did not need grass, and the railroad companies could drill wells for water if necessary. Coal had been discovered in Wyoming and reported on by <a href="/wiki/John_C._Fr%C3%A9mont" title="John C. Frémont">John C. Frémont</a> in his 1843 expedition across Wyoming, and was already being exploited by Utah residents from towns like <a href="/wiki/Coalville,_Utah" title="Coalville, Utah">Coalville, Utah</a>, and later <a href="/wiki/Kemmerer,_Wyoming" title="Kemmerer, Wyoming">Kemmerer, Wyoming</a>, by the time the Transcontinental railroad was built. Union Pacific needed coal to fuel its <a href="/wiki/Steam_locomotive" title="Steam locomotive">steam locomotives</a> on the almost treeless plains across Nebraska and Wyoming. Coal shipments by rail were also looked on as a potentially major source of income—this potential is still being realized. <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Dale_Creek_Bridge_Union_Pacific_Railroad_Company_by_Andrew_J_Russell.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Dale_Creek_Bridge_Union_Pacific_Railroad_Company_by_Andrew_J_Russell.jpg/220px-Dale_Creek_Bridge_Union_Pacific_Railroad_Company_by_Andrew_J_Russell.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="167" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Dale_Creek_Bridge_Union_Pacific_Railroad_Company_by_Andrew_J_Russell.jpg/330px-Dale_Creek_Bridge_Union_Pacific_Railroad_Company_by_Andrew_J_Russell.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Dale_Creek_Bridge_Union_Pacific_Railroad_Company_by_Andrew_J_Russell.jpg/440px-Dale_Creek_Bridge_Union_Pacific_Railroad_Company_by_Andrew_J_Russell.jpg 2x" data-file-width="4517" data-file-height="3431" /></a><figcaption>Dale Creek Bridge</figcaption></figure> The Union Pacific reached the new railroad town of Cheyenne in December 1867, having laid about 270 miles (430 km) that year. They paused over the winter, preparing to push the track over Evans (Sherman's) Pass. At 8,247 feet (2,514 m), Evans Pass was the highest point reached on the transcontinental railroad. About 4 miles (6.4 km) beyond Evans pass, the railroad had to build an extensive bridge over the Dale Creek canyon (<link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1156832818"><a class="external text" href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=First_transcontinental_railroad&params=41.103803_N_105.454797_W_">41°06′14″N 105°27′17″W / 41.103803°N 105.454797°W / 41.103803; -105.454797</a>). The <a href="/wiki/Dale_Creek_Crossing" title="Dale Creek Crossing">Dale Creek Crossing</a> was one of their more difficult railroad engineering challenges.<a href="#cite_note-112">[104]</a> Dale Creek Bridge was 650 feet (200 m) long and 125 feet (38 m) above Dale Creek.<a href="#cite_note-up-113">[105]</a> The bridge components were pre-built of timber in <a href="/wiki/Chicago,_Illinois" class="mw-redirect" title="Chicago, Illinois">Chicago, Illinois</a>, and then shipped on rail cars to Dale Creek for assembly. The eastern and western approaches to the bridge site, near the highest <a href="/wiki/Elevation" title="Elevation">elevation</a> on the transcontinental railroad, required cutting through granite for nearly a mile on each side.<a href="#cite_note-114">[106]</a> The initial Dale Creek bridge had a train speed limit of 4 miles (6.4 km) per hour across the bridge. Beyond Dale Creek, railroad construction paused at what became the town of <a href="/wiki/Laramie,_Wyoming" title="Laramie, Wyoming">Laramie, Wyoming</a>, to build a bridge across the <a href="/wiki/Laramie_River" title="Laramie River">Laramie River</a>. Located 35 miles (56 km) from Evans pass, Union Pacific connected the new "railroad" town of Cheyenne to Denver and its <a href="/wiki/Denver_Pacific_Railway_and_Telegraph_Company" title="Denver Pacific Railway and Telegraph Company">Denver Pacific Railway and Telegraph Company</a> railroad line in 1870. Elevated 6,070 feet (1,850 m) above sea level, and sitting on the new Union Pacific route with a connection to Denver, Cheyenne was chosen to become a major railroad center and was equipped with extensive railroad yards, maintenance facilities, and a Union Pacific presence. Its location made it a good base for <a href="/wiki/Bank_engine" title="Bank engine">helper locomotives</a> to couple to trains with <a href="/wiki/Snowplow" title="Snowplow">snowplows</a> to help clear the tracks of snow or help haul heavy freight over Evans pass. The Union Pacific's junction with the Denver Railroad with its connection to <a href="/wiki/Kansas_City,_Kansas" title="Kansas City, Kansas">Kansas City, Kansas</a>, <a href="/wiki/Kansas_City,_Missouri" title="Kansas City, Missouri">Kansas City, Missouri</a>, and the railroads east of the Missouri River again increased Cheyenne's importance as the junction of two major railroads. Cheyenne later became Wyoming's largest city and the capital of the new state of Wyoming. The railroad established many townships along the way: <a href="/wiki/Fremont,_Nebraska" title="Fremont, Nebraska">Fremont</a>, <a href="/wiki/Elkhorn,_Nebraska" class="mw-redirect" title="Elkhorn, Nebraska">Elkhorn</a>, <a href="/wiki/Grand_Island,_Nebraska" title="Grand Island, Nebraska">Grand Island</a>, <a href="/wiki/North_Platte,_Nebraska" title="North Platte, Nebraska">North Platte</a>, <a href="/wiki/Ogallala,_Nebraska" title="Ogallala, Nebraska">Ogallala</a> and <a href="/wiki/Sidney,_Nebraska" title="Sidney, Nebraska">Sidney</a> as the railroad followed the Platte River across Nebraska territory. The railroad even dipped into what would become the new state of <a href="/wiki/Colorado" title="Colorado">Colorado</a> after crossing the North Platte River as it followed the <a href="/wiki/South_Platte_River" title="South Platte River">South Platte River</a> west into what would become <a href="/wiki/Julesburg,_Colorado" title="Julesburg, Colorado">Julesburg</a> before turning northwest along Lodgepole Creek into Wyoming. In the <a href="/wiki/Dakota_Territory" title="Dakota Territory">Dakota Territory</a> (Wyoming) the new towns of <a href="/wiki/Cheyenne,_Wyoming" title="Cheyenne, Wyoming">Cheyenne</a>, <a href="/wiki/Laramie,_Wyoming" title="Laramie, Wyoming">Laramie</a>, <a href="/wiki/Rawlins,_Wyoming" title="Rawlins, Wyoming">Rawlins</a> (named for <a href="/wiki/Union_Army" class="mw-redirect" title="Union Army">Union</a> General <a href="/wiki/John_Aaron_Rawlins" title="John Aaron Rawlins">John Aaron Rawlins</a>, who camped in the locality in 1867<a href="#cite_note-115">[107]</a>), <a href="/wiki/Green_River,_Wyoming" title="Green River, Wyoming">Green River</a> and <a href="/wiki/Evanston,_Wyoming" title="Evanston, Wyoming">Evanston</a> (named after James Evans) were established, as well as much more fuel and water stops. The <a href="/wiki/Green_River_(Colorado_River)" class="mw-redirect" title="Green River (Colorado River)">Green River</a> was crossed with a new bridge, and the new "railroad" town of Green River constructed there after the tracks reached the Green River on October 1, 1868—the last big river to cross. On December 4, 1868, the Union Pacific reached Evanston, having laid almost 360 miles (580 km) of track over the Green River and the <a href="/wiki/Laramie_Plains" title="Laramie Plains">Laramie Plains</a> that year. By 1871, Evanston became a significant maintenance shop town equipped to carry out extensive repairs on the cars and steam locomotives. In the <a href="/wiki/Utah_Territory" title="Utah Territory">Utah Territory</a>, the railroad once again diverted from the main emigrant trails to cross the <a href="/wiki/Wasatch_Range" title="Wasatch Range">Wasatch Mountains</a> and went down the rugged Echo Canyon (Summit County, Utah) and <a href="/wiki/Weber_River" title="Weber River">Weber River</a> canyon. To speed up construction as much as possible, Union Pacific contracted several thousand Mormon workers to cut, fill, trestle, bridge, blast and tunnel its way down the rugged Weber River Canyon to <a href="/wiki/Ogden,_Utah" title="Ogden, Utah">Ogden, Utah</a>, ahead of the railroad construction. The Mormon and Union Pacific rail work was joined in the area of the present-day border between Utah and Wyoming.<a href="#cite_note-cprr.org-116">[108]</a> The longest of four tunnels built in Weber Canyon was 757-foot-long (231 m) Tunnel 2. Work on this tunnel started in October 1868 and was completed six months later. Temporary tracks were laid around it and Tunnels 3 (508 feet or 155 metres), 4 (297 feet or 91 metres) and 5 (579 feet or 176 metres) to continue work on the tracks west of the tunnels. The tunnels were all made with the new dangerous <a href="/wiki/Nitroglycerine" class="mw-redirect" title="Nitroglycerine">nitroglycerine</a> explosive, which expedited work but caused some fatal accidents.<a href="#cite_note-117">[109]</a> While building the railroad along the rugged Weber River Canyon, Mormon workers signed the <a href="/wiki/Thousand_Mile_Tree" title="Thousand Mile Tree">Thousand Mile Tree</a> which was a lone tree alongside the track 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from Omaha. A historic marker has been placed there.<a href="#cite_note-118">[110]</a> The tracks reached <a href="/wiki/Ogden,_Utah" title="Ogden, Utah">Ogden, Utah</a>, on March 8, 1869,<a href="#cite_note-119">[111]</a> although finishing work would continue on the tracks, tunnels and bridges in Weber Canyon for over a year. From Ogden, the railroad went north of the <a href="/wiki/Great_Salt_Lake" title="Great Salt Lake">Great Salt Lake</a> to <a href="/wiki/Brigham_City,_Utah" title="Brigham City, Utah">Brigham City</a> and <a href="/wiki/Corinne,_Utah" title="Corinne, Utah">Corinne</a> using Mormon workers, before finally connecting with the <a href="/wiki/Central_Pacific_Railroad" title="Central Pacific Railroad">Central Pacific Railroad</a> at Promontory Summit in Utah territory on May 10, 1869.<a href="#cite_note-UPmap-120">[112]</a><a href="#cite_note-121">[113]</a> Some Union Pacific officers declined to pay the Mormons all of the agreed upon construction costs of the work through Weber Canyon, and beyond, claiming Union Pacific poverty despite the millions they had extracted through the <a href="/wiki/Cr%C3%A9dit_Mobilier_of_America_scandal" class="mw-redirect" title="Crédit Mobilier of America scandal">Crédit Mobilier of America scandal</a>. Only partial payment was secured through court actions against Union Pacific.<a href="#cite_note-cprr.org-116">[108]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Central_Pacific_route">Central Pacific route</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=23" title="Edit section: Central Pacific route">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1251242444"><table class="box-More_citations_needed_section plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Refimprove" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><a href="/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="39" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/75px-Question_book-new.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/100px-Question_book-new.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="399" /></a></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This section needs additional citations for <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">verification</a>. Please help <a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/First_transcontinental_railroad" title="Special:EditPage/First transcontinental railroad">improve this article</a> by <a href="/wiki/Help:Referencing_for_beginners" title="Help:Referencing for beginners">adding citations to reliable sources</a> in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2016) (<a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a>)</div></td></tr></tbody></table> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:44._Cape_Horn,_C.P.R.R.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/44._Cape_Horn%2C_C.P.R.R.jpg/220px-44._Cape_Horn%2C_C.P.R.R.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="158" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/44._Cape_Horn%2C_C.P.R.R.jpg/330px-44._Cape_Horn%2C_C.P.R.R.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/44._Cape_Horn%2C_C.P.R.R.jpg/440px-44._Cape_Horn%2C_C.P.R.R.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1000" data-file-height="717" /></a><figcaption>Central Pacific Railroad at Cape Horn <abbr title="circa">c.</abbr> 1880</figcaption></figure> The Central Pacific laid 690 miles (1,110 km) of track, starting in Sacramento, California, in 1863 and continuing over the rugged 7,000-foot (2,100 m) <a href="/wiki/Sierra_Nevada" title="Sierra Nevada">Sierra Nevada</a> mountains at <a href="/wiki/Donner_Pass" title="Donner Pass">Donner Pass</a> into the new state of Nevada. The elevation change from Sacramento (elev. 40 ft or 12 m) to <a href="/wiki/Donner_Summit" class="mw-redirect" title="Donner Summit">Donner Summit</a> (elev. 7,000 ft or 2,100 m) had to be accomplished in about 90 miles (140 km) with an average elevation change of 76 feet per mile (14 meters per km), and there were only a few places in the Sierra where this type of "ramp" existed. The discovery and detailed map survey with profiles and elevations of this route over the Sierra Nevada is credited to <a href="/wiki/Theodore_Judah" title="Theodore Judah">Theodore Judah</a>, chief engineer of the Central Pacific Railroad until his death in 1863. This route is up a ridge between the North fork of the <a href="/wiki/American_River" title="American River">American River</a> on the south and <a href="/wiki/Bear_River_(Feather_River_tributary)" title="Bear River (Feather River tributary)">Bear</a> and <a href="/wiki/South_Yuba_River" title="South Yuba River">South Yuba Rivers</a> on the north. As the railroad climbed out of Sacramento up to Donner Summit, there was only one 3-mile (4.8 km) section near "Cape Horn CPRR"<a href="#cite_note-122">[114]</a> where the railroad grade slightly exceeded two percent. <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Dutch_Flat_Wagon_Road_1864.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/Dutch_Flat_Wagon_Road_1864.jpg/220px-Dutch_Flat_Wagon_Road_1864.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="267" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/Dutch_Flat_Wagon_Road_1864.jpg/330px-Dutch_Flat_Wagon_Road_1864.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/Dutch_Flat_Wagon_Road_1864.jpg/440px-Dutch_Flat_Wagon_Road_1864.jpg 2x" data-file-width="600" data-file-height="728" /></a><figcaption>1864 advertisement for the opening of the <a href="/wiki/Dutch_Flat_Wagon_Road" class="mw-redirect" title="Dutch Flat Wagon Road">Dutch Flat Wagon Road</a></figcaption></figure> In June 1864, the Central Pacific railroad entrepreneurs opened Dutch Flat and Donner Lake Wagon Road (DFDLWR).<a href="#cite_note-123">[115]</a> Costing about $300,000 and a years worth of work, this toll road wagon route was opened over much of the route the Central Pacific railroad (CPRR) would use over Donner Summit to carry freight and passengers needed by the CPRR and to carry other cargo over their toll road to and from the ever-advancing railhead and over the Sierra to the gold and silver mining towns of Nevada. As the railroad advanced, their freight rates with the combined rail and wagon shipments would become much more competitive. The volume of the toll road freight traffic to Nevada was estimated to be about $13,000,000 a year as the <a href="/wiki/Comstock_Lode" title="Comstock Lode">Comstock Lode</a> boomed, and getting even part of this freight traffic would help pay for the railroad construction. When the railroad reached Reno, it had the majority of all Nevada freight shipments, and the price of goods in Nevada dropped significantly as the freight charges to Nevada dropped significantly. The rail route over the Sierras followed the general route of the Truckee branch of the <a href="/wiki/California_Trail" title="California Trail">California Trail</a>, going east over Donner Pass and down the rugged <a href="/wiki/Truckee_River" title="Truckee River">Truckee River</a> valley. The route over the Sierra had been plotted out by Judah in preliminary surveys before his death in 1863. Judah's deputy, <a href="/wiki/Samuel_S._Montague" title="Samuel S. Montague">Samuel S. Montague</a> was appointed as Central Pacific's new Chief Engineer, with Lewis M. Clement as Assistant Chief Engineer and Charles Cadwalader as second assistant. To build the new railroad, detailed surveys had to be run that showed where the cuts, fills, trestles, bridges and tunnels would have to be built. Work that was identified as taking a long time was started as soon as its projected track location could be ascertained and work crews, supplies and road work equipment found to be sent ahead. Tunnels, trestles and bridges were nearly all built this way. The spread-out nature of the work resulted in the work being split into two divisions, with L. M. Clement taking the upper division from Blue Cañon to Truckee and Cadwalader taking the lower division from Truckee to the Nevada border. Other assistant engineers were assigned to specific tasks such as building a bridge, tunnel or trestle which was done by the workers under experienced supervisors.<a href="#cite_note-lmc-80">[72]</a> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:CPRR_Sierra_Grade_@_Donner_Summit_(1869;_2003).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/CPRR_Sierra_Grade_%40_Donner_Summit_%281869%3B_2003%29.jpg/220px-CPRR_Sierra_Grade_%40_Donner_Summit_%281869%3B_2003%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="311" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/CPRR_Sierra_Grade_%40_Donner_Summit_%281869%3B_2003%29.jpg/330px-CPRR_Sierra_Grade_%40_Donner_Summit_%281869%3B_2003%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/CPRR_Sierra_Grade_%40_Donner_Summit_%281869%3B_2003%29.jpg/440px-CPRR_Sierra_Grade_%40_Donner_Summit_%281869%3B_2003%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1020" data-file-height="1440" /></a><figcaption>The CPRR grade at Donner Summit as it appeared in 1869 and 2003</figcaption></figure> In total, the Central Pacific had eleven tunnel projects (Nos. 3 through 13) under construction in the Sierra from 1865 to 1868, with seven tunnels located in a 2-mile (3.2 km) stretch on the east side of Donner Summit. The tunnels were usually built by drilling a series of holes in the tunnel face, filling them with black powder and detonating it to break the rock free. The black powder was provided by the California Powder Works near <a href="/wiki/Santa_Cruz,_California" title="Santa Cruz, California">Santa Cruz, California</a>. These works had started production in 1864 after the <a href="/wiki/American_Civil_War" title="American Civil War">American Civil War</a> had cut off shipments of black powder from the East to the mining and railroad industry of California and Nevada. The Central Pacific was a prolific user of black powder, often using up to 500 kegs of 25 pounds (11 kg) per day.<a href="#cite_note-124">[116]</a> The summit tunnel (Number 6), 1,660 feet (510 m), was started in late 1865, well ahead of the railhead. Through solid granite, the summit tunnel progressed at a rate of only about 0.98 feet (0.30 m) per day per face as it was being worked by three eight-hour shifts of workers, hand drilling holes with a rock drill and hammer, filling them with black powder and trying to blast the granite loose.<a href="#cite_note-125">[117]</a> One crew worked drilling holes on the faces and another crew collected and removed the loosened rock after each explosion. The workers were pulled off the summit tunnel and the track grading east of Donner Pass in the winter of 1865–1866 as there was no way to supply them, nor quarters they could have lived in. The crews were transferred to work on bridges and track grading on the Truckee River canyon. <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:CPRR_Summit_Tunnel_Central_Shaft.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/CPRR_Summit_Tunnel_Central_Shaft.jpg/220px-CPRR_Summit_Tunnel_Central_Shaft.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="160" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/CPRR_Summit_Tunnel_Central_Shaft.jpg/330px-CPRR_Summit_Tunnel_Central_Shaft.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/CPRR_Summit_Tunnel_Central_Shaft.jpg/440px-CPRR_Summit_Tunnel_Central_Shaft.jpg 2x" data-file-width="699" data-file-height="508" /></a><figcaption>The vertical central shaft of the CPRR "Summit Tunnel" (Tunnel#6) at Donner Summit which allowed drilling and excavation to be carried out on four faces at once</figcaption></figure> In 1866, they put in a 125-foot (38 m) vertical shaft in the center of the summit tunnel and started work towards the east and west tunnel faces, giving four working faces on the summit tunnel to speed up progress. A steam engine off an old locomotive was brought up with much effort over the wagon road and used as a winch driver to help remove loosened rock from the vertical shaft and two working faces. By the winter of 1866–67, work had progressed sufficiently and a camp had been built for workers on the summit tunnel which allowed work to continue. The cross section of a tunnel face was a 16-foot-wide (4.9 m), 16-foot-high (4.9 m) oval with an 11-foot (3.4 m) vertical wall. Progress on the tunnel sped up to over 1.5 feet (0.46 m) per day per face when they started using the newly invented <a href="/wiki/Nitroglycerin" title="Nitroglycerin">nitroglycerin</a>—manufactured near the tunnel. They used nitroglycerin to deepen the summit tunnel to the required 16-foot (4.9 m) height after the four tunnel faces met, and made even faster progress. Nearly all other tunnels were worked on both tunnel faces and met in the middle. Depending on the material the tunnels penetrated, they were left unlined or lined with brick, rock walls or timber and post. Some tunnels were designed to bend in the middle to align with the track bed curvature. Despite this potential complication, nearly all the different tunnel center lines met within 2 inches (5 cm) or so. The detailed survey work that made these tunnel digs as precise as required was nearly all done by the Canadian-born and -trained Lewis Clement, the CPRR's Chief Assistant Engineer and Superintendent of Track, and his assistants.<a href="#cite_note-lmc-80">[72]</a> Hills or ridges in front of the railroad road bed would have to have a flat-bottomed, V-shaped "cut" made to get the railroad through the ridge or hill. The type of material determined the slope of the V and how much material would have to be removed. Ideally, these cuts would be matched with valley fills that could use the dug out material to bring the road bed up to grade—<a href="/wiki/Cut_and_fill" title="Cut and fill">cut and fill</a> construction. In the 1860s there was no heavy equipment that could be used to make these cuts or haul it away to make the fills. The options were to dig it out by pick and shovel, haul the hillside material by <a href="/wiki/Wheelbarrow" title="Wheelbarrow">wheelbarrow</a> and/or horse or mule cart or blast it loose. To blast a V-shaped cut out, they had to drill several holes up to 20 feet (6.1 m) deep in the material, fill them with black powder, and blast the material away. Since the Central Pacific was in a hurry, they were profligate users of black powder to blast their way through the hills. The only disadvantage came when a nearby valley needed fill to get across it. The explosive technique often blew most of the potential fill material down the hillside, making it unavailable for fill.<a href="#cite_note-126">[118]</a><a href="#cite_note-127">[119]</a> Initially, many valleys were bridged by "temporary" trestles that could be rapidly built and were later replaced by much lower maintenance and permanent solid fill. The existing railroad made transporting and putting material in valleys much easier—load it on railway dump cars, haul where needed and dump it over the side of the trestle. <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Donner_Pass_Summit_Tunnel_West_Portal.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/Donner_Pass_Summit_Tunnel_West_Portal.jpg/220px-Donner_Pass_Summit_Tunnel_West_Portal.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="272" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/Donner_Pass_Summit_Tunnel_West_Portal.jpg/330px-Donner_Pass_Summit_Tunnel_West_Portal.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/Donner_Pass_Summit_Tunnel_West_Portal.jpg/440px-Donner_Pass_Summit_Tunnel_West_Portal.jpg 2x" data-file-width="700" data-file-height="864" /></a><figcaption>The Summit Tunnel at Donner Summit, West Portal (Composite image with the tracks removed in 1993 digitally restored)</figcaption></figure> The route down the eastern Sierras was done on the south side of <a href="/wiki/Donner_Lake" title="Donner Lake">Donner Lake</a> with a series of switchbacks carved into the mountain. The Truckee River, which drains <a href="/wiki/Lake_Tahoe" title="Lake Tahoe">Lake Tahoe</a>, had already found and scoured out the best route across the <a href="/wiki/Carson_Range" title="Carson Range">Carson Range</a> of mountains east of the Sierras. The route down the rugged Truckee River Canyon, including required bridges, was done ahead of the main summit tunnel completion. To expedite the building of the railroad through the Truckee River canyon, the Central Pacific hauled two small locomotives, <a href="/wiki/Railcar" title="Railcar">railcars</a>, rails and other material on wagons and sleighs to what is now <a href="/wiki/Truckee,_California" title="Truckee, California">Truckee, California</a>, and worked the winter of 1867–68 on their way down Truckee canyon ahead of the tracks being completed to Truckee. In Truckee canyon, five <a href="/wiki/Howe_truss" title="Howe truss">Howe truss</a> bridges had to be built. This gave them a head start on getting to the "easy" miles across Nevada. In order to keep the higher portions of the Sierra grade open in the winter, 37 miles (60 km) of timber <a href="/wiki/Snow_shed" class="mw-redirect" title="Snow shed">snow sheds</a> were built between Blue Cañon and Truckee in addition to utilizing <a href="/wiki/Snowplow" title="Snowplow">snowplows</a> pushed by locomotives, as well as manual shovelling. With the advent of more efficient oil fired steam and later diesel electric power to drive plows, flangers, spreaders, and rotary snow plows, most of the wooden snowsheds have long since been removed as obsolete. Tunnels 1–5 and Tunnel 13 of the original 1860s tunnels on Track 1 of the Sierra grade remain in use today, while additional new tunnels were later driven when the grade was double tracked over the first quarter of the twentieth century. In 1993, the <a href="/wiki/Southern_Pacific_Railroad" title="Southern Pacific Railroad">Southern Pacific Railroad</a> (which operated the CPRR-built <a href="/wiki/Oakland,_California" title="Oakland, California">Oakland</a>–<a href="/wiki/Ogden,_Utah" title="Ogden, Utah">Ogden</a> line until its 1996 merger with the <a href="/wiki/Union_Pacific" class="mw-redirect" title="Union Pacific">Union Pacific</a>) closed and pulled up the 6.7-mile (10.8 km) section of Track #1 over the summit running between the Norden complex (Shed 26, MP 192.1)<a href="#cite_note-128">[120]</a> and the covered crossovers in Shed #47 (MP 198.8)<a href="#cite_note-129">[121]</a> about a mile east of the old <a href="/wiki/Flying_junction" title="Flying junction">flyover</a> at Eder, bypassing and abandoning the tunnel 6–8 complex, the concrete snowsheds just beyond them, and tunnels 9–12 ending at MP 195.7, all of which had been located on Track 1 within two miles of the summit.<a href="#cite_note-130">[122]</a> Since then all east- and westbound traffic has been run over the Track #2 grade crossing the summit about one mile (1.6 km) south of Donner Pass through the 10,322-foot-long (3,146 m) Tunnel #41 ("The Big Hole") running under Mt. Judah between Soda Springs and Eder, which was opened in 1925 when the summit section of the grade was double tracked. This routing change was made because the Track 2 and Tunnel 41 Summit crossing is far easier and less expensive to maintain and keep open in the harsh Sierra winters.<a href="#cite_note-131">[123]</a> On June 18, 1868, the Central Pacific reached <a href="/wiki/Reno,_Nevada" title="Reno, Nevada">Reno, Nevada</a>, after completing 132 miles (212 km) of railroad up and over the Sierras from <a href="/wiki/Sacramento,_California" title="Sacramento, California">Sacramento, California</a>. By then the railroad had already been prebuilt down the Truckee River on the much flatter land from Reno to <a href="/wiki/Wadsworth,_Nevada" title="Wadsworth, Nevada">Wadsworth, Nevada</a>, where they bridged the Truckee for the last time. From there, they struggled across a <a href="/wiki/Lahontan_Valley" title="Lahontan Valley">forty mile desert</a> to the end of the Humboldt river at the <a href="/wiki/Humboldt_Sink" title="Humboldt Sink">Humboldt Sink</a>. From the end of the Humboldt, they continued east over the <a href="/wiki/Great_Basin_Desert" title="Great Basin Desert">Great Basin Desert</a> bordering the <a href="/wiki/Humboldt_River" title="Humboldt River">Humboldt River</a> to <a href="/wiki/Wells,_Nevada" title="Wells, Nevada">Wells, Nevada</a>. One of the most troublesome problems found on this route along the Humboldt was at <a href="/wiki/Palisade_Canyon" title="Palisade Canyon">Palisade Canyon</a> (near <a href="/wiki/Carlin,_Nevada" title="Carlin, Nevada">Carlin, Nevada</a>), where for 12 miles (19 km) the line had to be built between the river and basalt cliffs. From Wells, Nevada, to <a href="/wiki/Promontory_Summit" class="mw-redirect" title="Promontory Summit">Promontory Summit</a>, the Railroad left the Humboldt and proceeded across the Nevada and Utah desert. Water for the <a href="/wiki/Steam_locomotive" title="Steam locomotive">steam locomotives</a> was provided by wells, springs, or pipelines to nearby water sources. Water was often pumped into the water tanks with <a href="/wiki/Windmill" title="Windmill">windmills</a>. Train fuel and <a href="/wiki/Water_crane" title="Water crane">water cranes</a> for the early trains with steam locomotives may have been as often as every 10 miles (16 km). On one memorable occasion, not far from Promontory, the Central Pacific crews organized an army of workers and five train loads of construction material, and <a href="/wiki/Tracklaying_race_of_1869" title="Tracklaying race of 1869">laid 10 miles (16 km) of track</a> on a prepared rail bed in one day—a record that still stands today. The Central Pacific and Union Pacific raced to get as much track laid as possible, and the Central Pacific laid about 560 miles (900 km) of track from Reno to Promontory Summit in the one year before the Last Spike was driven on May 10, 1869. Central Pacific had 1,694 freight cars available by May 1869, with more under construction in their Sacramento yard. Major repairs and maintenance on the Central Pacific rolling stock was done in their Sacramento maintenance yard. Near the end of 1869, Central Pacific had 162 locomotives, of which 2 had two drivers (drive wheels), 110 had four drivers, and 50 had six drivers. The <a href="/wiki/Steam_locomotive" title="Steam locomotive">steam locomotives</a> had been purchased in the eastern states and shipped to California by sea. Thirty-six additional locomotives were built and coming west, and twenty-eight more were under construction. There was a shortage of passenger cars and more had to be ordered. The first Central Pacific sleeper, the "Silver Palace Sleeping Car", arrived at Sacramento on June 8, 1868.<a href="#cite_note-132">[124]</a> The CPRR route passed through <a href="/wiki/Newcastle,_California" title="Newcastle, California">Newcastle</a> and <a href="/wiki/Truckee,_California" title="Truckee, California">Truckee</a> in California, Reno, Wadsworth, <a href="/wiki/Winnemucca,_Nevada" title="Winnemucca, Nevada">Winnemucca</a>, <a href="/wiki/Battle_Mountain,_Nevada" title="Battle Mountain, Nevada">Battle Mountain</a>, <a href="/wiki/Elko,_Nevada" title="Elko, Nevada">Elko</a> and Wells in Nevada (with many more fuel and water stops), before connecting with the Union Pacific line at Promontory Summit in the Utah Territory. When the eastern end of the CPRR was extended to Ogden by purchasing the <a href="/wiki/Union_Pacific_Railroad" title="Union Pacific Railroad">Union Pacific Railroad</a> line from Promontory for about $2.8 million in 1870, it ended the short period of a boom town for <a href="/wiki/Promontory,_Utah" title="Promontory, Utah">Promontory</a>, extended the Central Pacific tracks about 60 miles (97 km) and made Ogden a major terminus on the transcontinental railroad, as passengers and freight switched railroads there. <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Reno_to_Virginia_City_NV_CPRR-V%26TRR_Ticket_1878_.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Reno_to_Virginia_City_NV_CPRR-V%26TRR_Ticket_1878_.jpg/220px-Reno_to_Virginia_City_NV_CPRR-V%26TRR_Ticket_1878_.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="250" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Reno_to_Virginia_City_NV_CPRR-V%26TRR_Ticket_1878_.jpg/330px-Reno_to_Virginia_City_NV_CPRR-V%26TRR_Ticket_1878_.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Reno_to_Virginia_City_NV_CPRR-V%26TRR_Ticket_1878_.jpg/440px-Reno_to_Virginia_City_NV_CPRR-V%26TRR_Ticket_1878_.jpg 2x" data-file-width="466" data-file-height="530" /></a><figcaption>CPRR-issued ticket for passage from Reno to Virginia City, NV on the V&TRR, 1878</figcaption></figure> Subsequent to the railhead's meeting at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory, the San Joaquin River Bridge at Mossdale Crossing (near present-day <a href="/wiki/Lathrop,_California" title="Lathrop, California">Lathrop, California</a>) was completed on September 8, 1869, with the first through freight train carrying freight from the East Coast leaving Sacramento and crossing the bridge to arrive that evening at the Alameda Wharf on San Francisco Bay. As a result, the western part of the route was extended from Sacramento to the <a href="/wiki/Alameda_Terminal" title="Alameda Terminal">Alameda Terminal</a> in <a href="/wiki/Alameda,_California" title="Alameda, California">Alameda, California</a>, and shortly thereafter, to the <a href="/wiki/Oakland_Pier" class="mw-redirect" title="Oakland Pier">Oakland Long Wharf</a> at <a href="/wiki/Oakland_Point" class="mw-redirect" title="Oakland Point">Oakland Point</a> in <a href="/wiki/Oakland,_California" title="Oakland, California">Oakland, California</a>, and on to <a href="/wiki/San_Jose,_California" title="San Jose, California">San Jose, California</a>. Train ferries transferred some railroad cars to and from the Oakland wharves and tracks to wharves and tracks in <a href="/wiki/San_Francisco" title="San Francisco">San Francisco</a>. Before the CPRR was completed, developers were building other feeder railroads like the <a href="/wiki/Virginia_and_Truckee_Railroad" title="Virginia and Truckee Railroad">Virginia and Truckee Railroad</a> to the <a href="/wiki/Comstock_Lode" title="Comstock Lode">Comstock Lode</a> diggings in <a href="/wiki/Virginia_City,_Nevada" title="Virginia City, Nevada">Virginia City, Nevada</a>, and several different extensions in California and Nevada to reach other cities there. Some of their main cargo was the thousands of <a href="/wiki/Cord_(unit)" title="Cord (unit)">cords</a> (3.6 m3 each) of firewood needed for the many steam engines and pumps, cooking stoves, heating stoves etc. in Comstock Lode towns and the tons of ice needed by the miners as they worked ever deeper into the "hot" Comstock Lode ore body. In the mines, temperatures could get above 120 °F (49 °C) at the work face and a miner often used over 100 pounds (45 kg) of ice per shift. This new railroad connected to the Central Pacific near Reno, and went through <a href="/wiki/Carson_City,_Nevada" title="Carson City, Nevada">Carson City</a>, the new capital of Nevada.<a href="#cite_note-133">[125]</a> After the transcontinental railroads were completed, many other railroads were built to connect up to other population centers in Utah, Wyoming, Kansas, Colorado, Oregon, Washington territories, etc. In 1869, the <a href="/wiki/Kansas_Pacific_Railway" title="Kansas Pacific Railway">Kansas Pacific Railway</a> started building the <a href="/wiki/Hannibal_Bridge" title="Hannibal Bridge">Hannibal Bridge</a>, a <a href="/wiki/Swing_bridge" title="Swing bridge">swing bridge</a> across the <a href="/wiki/Missouri_River" title="Missouri River">Missouri River</a> between <a href="/wiki/Kansas_City,_Missouri" title="Kansas City, Missouri">Kansas City, Missouri</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Kansas_City,_Kansas" title="Kansas City, Kansas">Kansas City, Kansas</a>, which connected railroads on both sides of the Missouri while still allowing passage of <a href="/wiki/Paddle_steamer" title="Paddle steamer">paddle steamers</a> on the river. After completion, this became another major east–west railroad. To speed completion of the <a href="/wiki/Kansas_Pacific_Railroad" class="mw-redirect" title="Kansas Pacific Railroad">Kansas Pacific Railroad</a> to Denver, construction started east from Denver in March 1870 to meet the railroad coming west from Kansas city. The two crews met at a point called Comanche Crossing, Kansas Territory, on August 15, 1870. Denver was now firmly on track to becoming the largest city and the future capital of <a href="/wiki/Colorado" title="Colorado">Colorado</a>. The <a href="/wiki/Kansas_Pacific_Railroad" class="mw-redirect" title="Kansas Pacific Railroad">Kansas Pacific Railroad</a> linked with the <a href="/wiki/Denver_Pacific_Railway" class="mw-redirect" title="Denver Pacific Railway">Denver Pacific Railway</a> via Denver to Cheyenne in 1870. The original transcontinental railroad route did not pass through the two biggest cities in the so-called <a href="/wiki/Great_American_Desert" title="Great American Desert">Great American Desert</a>—<a href="/wiki/Denver,_Colorado" class="mw-redirect" title="Denver, Colorado">Denver, Colorado</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Salt_Lake_City,_Utah" class="mw-redirect" title="Salt Lake City, Utah">Salt Lake City, Utah</a>. Feeder railroad lines were soon built to service these two and other cities and states along the route. Modern-day <a href="/wiki/Interstate_80" title="Interstate 80">Interstate 80</a> roughly follows the path of the railroad from Sacramento across modern day California, Nevada, Wyoming and Nebraska, with a few exceptions. Most significantly, the two routes are different between Wells, Nevada, and <a href="/wiki/Echo,_Utah" title="Echo, Utah">Echo, Utah</a>. In this area the freeway passes along the south shore of the <a href="/wiki/Great_Salt_Lake" title="Great Salt Lake">Great Salt Lake</a> and passes through <a href="/wiki/Salt_Lake_City" title="Salt Lake City">Salt Lake City</a>, cresting the <a href="/wiki/Wasatch_Mountains" class="mw-redirect" title="Wasatch Mountains">Wasatch Mountains</a> at <a href="/wiki/Parley%27s_Summit" class="mw-redirect" title="Parley's Summit">Parley's Summit</a>. The railroad was originally routed along the north shore, and later with the <a href="/wiki/Lucin_Cutoff" title="Lucin Cutoff">Lucin Cutoff</a> directly across the center of the Great Salt Lake, passing through the city of <a href="/wiki/Ogden,_Utah" title="Ogden, Utah">Ogden</a> instead of Salt Lake City. The railroad crosses the Wasatch Mountains via a much gentler grade through <a href="/wiki/Weber_Canyon" title="Weber Canyon">Weber Canyon</a>. Most of the other deviations are in mountainous areas where <a href="/wiki/Interstate_Highway_standards" title="Interstate Highway standards">interstate highways</a> allow for grades up to six-percent grades, which allows them to go many places the railroads had to go around, since their goal was to hold their grades to less than two percent. <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Construction">Construction</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=24" title="Edit section: Construction">edit</a>]</div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:First_Transcontinental_Rail.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/First_Transcontinental_Rail.jpg/220px-First_Transcontinental_Rail.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="159" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/First_Transcontinental_Rail.jpg/330px-First_Transcontinental_Rail.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/First_Transcontinental_Rail.jpg/440px-First_Transcontinental_Rail.jpg 2x" data-file-width="871" data-file-height="628" /></a><figcaption>The Jupiter, which carried <a href="/wiki/Leland_Stanford" title="Leland Stanford">Leland Stanford</a> (one of the "Big Four" owners of the Central Pacific) and other railway officials to the Last Spike Ceremony</figcaption></figure> Most of the capital investment needed to build the railroad was generated by selling government-guaranteed bonds (granted per mile of completed track) to interested investors. The Federal donation of right-of-way saved money and time as it did not have to be purchased from others. The financial incentives and bonds would hopefully cover most of the initial capital investment needed to build the railroad. The bonds would be paid back by the sale of government-granted land, as well as prospective passenger and freight income. Most of the engineers and surveyors who figured out how and where to build the railroad on the Union Pacific were engineering college trained. Many of Union Pacific engineers and surveyors were <a href="/wiki/Union_Army" class="mw-redirect" title="Union Army">Union Army</a> veterans (including two generals) who had learned their railroad trade keeping the trains running and tracks maintained during the U.S. Civil War. After securing the finances and selecting the engineering team, the next step was to hire the key personnel and prospective supervisors. Nearly all key workers and supervisors were hired because they had previous railroad on-the-job training, knew what needed to be done and how to direct workers to get it done. After the key personnel were hired, the semi-skilled jobs could be filled if there was available labor. The engineering team's main job was to tell the workers where to go, what to do, how to do it, and provide the construction material they would need to get it done. Survey teams were put out to produce detailed contour maps of the options on the different routes. The engineering team looked at the available surveys and chose what was the "best" route. Survey teams under the direction of the engineers closely led the work crews and marked where and by how much hills would have to be cut and depressions filled or bridged. Coordinators made sure that construction and other supplies were provided when and where needed, and additional supplies were ordered as the railroad construction consumed the supplies. Specialized bridging, explosive and tunneling teams were assigned to their specialized jobs. Some jobs like explosive work, tunneling, bridging, heavy cuts or fills were known to take longer than others, so the specialized teams were sent out ahead by wagon trains with the supplies and men to get these jobs done by the time the regular track-laying crews arrived. Finance officers made sure the supplies were paid for and men paid for their work. An army of men had to be coordinated and a seemingly never-ending chain of supplies had to be provided. The Central Pacific road crew set a track-laying record by laying 10 mi (16 km) of track in a single day, commemorating the event with a signpost beside the track for passing trains to see.<a href="#cite_note-134">[126]</a> In addition to the track-laying crews, other crews were busy setting up stations with provisions for loading fuel, water and often also mail, passengers and freight. Personnel had to be hired to run these stations. Maintenance depots had to be built to keep all of the equipment repaired and operational. Telegraph operators had to be hired to man each station to keep track of where the trains were so that trains could run in each direction on the available single track without interference or accidents. Sidings had to be built to allow trains to pass. Provision had to be made to store and continually pay for coal or wood needed to run the <a href="/wiki/Steam_locomotive" title="Steam locomotive">steam locomotives</a>. Water towers had to be built for refilling the water tanks on the engines, and provision made to keep them full. <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Labor">Labor</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=25" title="Edit section: Labor">edit</a>]</div> The majority of the Union Pacific track across the Nebraska and Wyoming territories was built by veterans of the Union and <a href="/wiki/Confederate_States_of_America" title="Confederate States of America">Confederate</a> armies, as well as many recent immigrants. <a href="/wiki/Brigham_Young" title="Brigham Young">Brigham Young</a>, President of <a href="/wiki/The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints" title="The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints">the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints</a>, landed contracts with the Union Pacific that offered jobs for around 2,000 members of the church with the hope that the railroad would support commerce in Utah. Church members built most of the road through Utah.<a href="#cite_note-135">[127]</a> Construction superintendent Durant repeatedly failed to pay the wages agreed upon. The Union Pacific train carrying him to the final spike ceremony was held up by a strike by unpaid workers in <a href="/wiki/Piedmont,_Wyoming" title="Piedmont, Wyoming">Piedmont, Wyoming</a>, until he paid them for their work. Representatives of Brigham Young had less success, and failed in court to force him to honor the contract.<a href="#cite_note-136">[128]</a> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Chinese_railroad_workers_sierra_nevada.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/Chinese_railroad_workers_sierra_nevada.jpg/220px-Chinese_railroad_workers_sierra_nevada.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="149" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/Chinese_railroad_workers_sierra_nevada.jpg/330px-Chinese_railroad_workers_sierra_nevada.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/Chinese_railroad_workers_sierra_nevada.jpg/440px-Chinese_railroad_workers_sierra_nevada.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1284" data-file-height="868" /></a><figcaption>Chinese railroad workers greet a train on a snowy day.</figcaption></figure> The manual labor to build the Central Pacific's roadbed, bridges and tunnels was done primarily by many thousands of <a href="/wiki/19th-century_Chinese_immigration_to_America" title="19th-century Chinese immigration to America">emigrant workers from China</a> under the direction of skilled non-Chinese supervisors. The Chinese were commonly referred to at the time as "<a href="/wiki/Celestial_Empire" title="Celestial Empire">Celestials</a>" and China as the "Celestial Kingdom". Labor-saving devices in those days consisted primarily of <a href="/wiki/Wheelbarrow" title="Wheelbarrow">wheelbarrows</a>, horse or mule pulled carts, and a few railroad pulled gondolas. The construction work involved an immense amount of manual labor. Initially, Central Pacific had a hard time hiring and keeping unskilled workers on its line, as many would leave for the prospect of far more lucrative gold or silver mining options elsewhere. Despite the concerns expressed by <a href="/wiki/Charles_Crocker" title="Charles Crocker">Charles Crocker</a>, one of the "big four" and a general contractor, that the Chinese were too small in stature<a href="#cite_note-137">[129]</a> and lacking previous experience with railroad work, they decided to try them anyway.<a href="#cite_note-138">[130]</a> After the first few days of trial with a few workers, with noticeably positive results, Crocker decided to hire as many as he could, looking primarily at the California labor force, where the majority of Chinese worked as independent gold miners or in the service industries (e.g.: laundries and kitchens). Most of these Chinese workers were represented by a Chinese "boss" who translated, collected salaries for his crew, kept discipline and relayed orders from an American general supervisor. Most Chinese workers spoke only rudimentary or no English, and the supervisors typically only learned rudimentary Chinese. Many more workers were imported from the <a href="/wiki/Guangdong" title="Guangdong">Guangdong</a> Province of China, which at the time, beside great poverty, suffered from the violence of the <a href="/wiki/Taiping_Rebellion" title="Taiping Rebellion">Taiping Rebellion</a>. Most Chinese workers were planning on returning with their newfound "wealth" when the work was completed. Most of the men received between one and three dollars per day, the same as unskilled white workers; but the workers imported directly from China sometimes received less. A diligent worker could save over $20 per month after paying for food and lodging—a "fortune" by Chinese standards. A snapshot of workers in late 1865 showed about 3,000 Chinese and 1,700 white workers employed on the railroad. Nearly all of the white workers were in supervisory or skilled craft positions and made more money than the Chinese. Most of the early work on the Central Pacific consisted of constructing the railroad track bed, cutting and/or blasting through or around hills, filling in washes, building bridges or trestles, digging and blasting tunnels and then laying the rails over the Sierra Nevada mountains. Once the Central Pacific was out of the Sierras and the Carson Range, progress sped up considerably as the railroad bed could be built over nearly flat ground. In those days, the Central Pacific once did a section of 10 miles (16 km) of track in one day as a "demonstration" of what they could do on flat ground like most of the Union Pacific had in Wyoming and Nebraska. The track laying was divided up into various parts. In advance of the track layers, surveyors consulting with engineers determined where the track would go. Workers then built and prepared the roadbed, dug or blasted through hills, filled in washes, built trestles, bridges or culverts across streams or valleys, made tunnels if needed, and laid the ties. The actual track-laying gang would then lay rails on the previously laid ties positioned on the roadbed, drive the spikes, and bolt the <a href="/wiki/Fishplate" title="Fishplate">fishplate</a> bars to each rail. At the same time, another gang would distribute telegraph poles and wire along the grade, while the cooks prepared dinner and the clerks busied themselves with accounts, records, using the telegraph line to relay requests for more materials and supplies or communicate with supervisors. Usually the workers lived in camps built near their work site. Supplies were ordered by the engineers and hauled by rail, possibly then to be loaded on wagons if they were needed ahead of the railhead. Camps were moved when the railhead moved a significant distance. Later, as the railroad started moving long distances every few days, some railroad cars had <a href="/wiki/Bunkhouse" title="Bunkhouse">bunkhouses</a> built in them that moved with the workers—the Union Pacific had used this technique since 1866.<a href="#cite_note-nps.gov-139">[131]</a> Almost all of the roadbed work had to be done manually, using shovels, picks, axes, two-wheeled dump carts, wheelbarrows, ropes, scrapers, etc., with initially only black powder available for blasting. Carts pulled by mules, and horses were about the only labor-saving devices available then. Lumber and ties were usually provided by independent contractors who cut, hauled and sawed the timber as required. <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:CPRR_Tunnel_No._3_East_Portal_@_Cisco,_CA.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/CPRR_Tunnel_No._3_East_Portal_%40_Cisco%2C_CA.jpg/220px-CPRR_Tunnel_No._3_East_Portal_%40_Cisco%2C_CA.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="162" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/CPRR_Tunnel_No._3_East_Portal_%40_Cisco%2C_CA.jpg/330px-CPRR_Tunnel_No._3_East_Portal_%40_Cisco%2C_CA.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/CPRR_Tunnel_No._3_East_Portal_%40_Cisco%2C_CA.jpg/440px-CPRR_Tunnel_No._3_East_Portal_%40_Cisco%2C_CA.jpg 2x" data-file-width="594" data-file-height="438" /></a><figcaption>CPRR Tunnel#3 near <a href="/wiki/Cisco,_California" title="Cisco, California">Cisco, California</a> (MP 180.1) opened in 1866 and remains in daily use today.</figcaption></figure> Tunnels were blasted through hard rock by drilling holes in the rock face by hand and filling them with black powder. Sometimes cracks were found which could be filled with powder and blasted loose. The loosened rock would be collected and hauled out of the tunnel for use in a fill area or as roadbed, or else dumped over the side as waste. A foot or so advance on a tunnel face was a typical day's work. Some tunnels took almost a year to finish and the Summit Tunnel, the longest, took almost two years. In the final days of working in the Sierras, the recently invented <a href="/wiki/Nitroglycerin" title="Nitroglycerin">nitroglycerin</a> explosive was introduced and used on the last tunnels including Summit Tunnel.<a href="#cite_note-140">[132]</a><a href="#cite_note-141">[133]</a> Supply trains carried all the necessary material for the construction up to the railhead, with mule or horse-drawn wagons carrying it the rest of the ways if required. Ties were typically unloaded from horse-drawn or mule-drawn wagons and then placed on the <a href="/wiki/Track_ballast" title="Track ballast">track ballast</a> and leveled to get ready for the rails. Rails, which weighed the most, were often kicked off the flatcars and carried by gangs of men on each side of the rail to where needed. The rails just in front of the rail car would be placed first, measured for the correct gauge with gauge sticks and then nailed down on the ties with <a href="/wiki/Spike_maul" title="Spike maul">spike mauls</a>. The fishplates connecting the ends of the rails would be bolted on and then the car pushed by hand to the end of the rail and rail installation repeated. Track ballast was put between the ties as they progressed. Where a proper railbed had already been prepared, the work progressed rapidly. Constantly needed supplies included "food, water, ties, rails, spikes, fishplates, nuts and bolts, track ballast, telegraph poles, wire, firewood (or coal on the Union Pacific) and water for the steam train locomotives, etc."<a href="#cite_note-nps.gov-139">[131]</a> After a flatcar was unloaded, it would usually be hooked to a small locomotive and pulled back to a siding, so another flatcar with rails etc. could be advanced to the railhead. Since juggling railroad cars took time on flat ground, where wagon transport was easier, the rail cars would be brought to the end of the line by steam locomotive, unloaded, and the flat car returned immediately to a siding for another loaded car of either ballast or rails. Temporary sidings were often installed where it could be easily done to expedite getting needed supplies to the railhead. The railroad tracks, spikes, telegraph wire, locomotives, railroad cars, supplies etc. were imported from the east on sailing ships that sailed the nearly 18,000-mile (29,000 km), 200-day trip around <a href="/wiki/Cape_Horn" title="Cape Horn">Cape Horn</a>. Some freight was put on <a href="/wiki/Clipper_ship" class="mw-redirect" title="Clipper ship">Clipper ships</a> which could do the trip in about 120 days. Some passengers and high-priority freight were shipped over the newly completed (as of 1855) <a href="/wiki/Panama_Railroad" class="mw-redirect" title="Panama Railroad">Panama Railroad</a> across the <a href="/wiki/Isthmus_of_Panama" title="Isthmus of Panama">Isthmus of Panama</a>. Using <a href="/wiki/Paddle_steamer" title="Paddle steamer">paddle steamers</a> to and from Panama, this shortcut could be traveled in as little as 40 days. Supplies were normally offloaded at the <a href="/wiki/Sacramento,_California" title="Sacramento, California">Sacramento, California</a>, docks where the railroad started. <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Central_Pacific_construction">Central Pacific construction</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=26" title="Edit section: Central Pacific construction">edit</a>]</div> On January 8, 1863, Governor <a href="/wiki/Leland_Stanford" title="Leland Stanford">Leland Stanford</a> ceremonially broke ground in Sacramento, California, to begin construction of the Central Pacific Railroad. After great initial progress along the Sacramento Valley, construction was slowed, first by the foothills of the <a href="/wiki/Sierra_Nevada_(U.S.)" class="mw-redirect" title="Sierra Nevada (U.S.)">Sierra Nevada</a>, then by cutting a railroad bed up the mountains themselves. As they progressed higher in the mountains, winter snowstorms and a shortage of reliable labor compounded the problems. On January 7, 1865, a want ad for 5,000 laborers was placed in the Sacramento Union.<a href="#cite_note-dobie-142">[134]</a> Consequently, after a trial crew of <a href="/wiki/Chinese_Railroad_Workers" class="mw-redirect" title="Chinese Railroad Workers">Chinese</a> workers was hired and found to work successfully, the Central Pacific expanded its efforts to hire more emigrant laborers—mostly Chinese. Emigrants from poverty stricken regions of China, many of which suffered from the strife of the <a href="/wiki/Taiping_Rebellion" title="Taiping Rebellion">Taiping Rebellion</a>, seemed to be more willing to tolerate the living and working conditions on the railroad construction, and progress on the railroad continued. The increasing necessity for tunneling as they proceeded up the mountains then began to slow progress of the line yet again. <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:CPRR_Donner_Summit_Tunnel_Hand_Drilled_Granite_1868.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7b/CPRR_Donner_Summit_Tunnel_Hand_Drilled_Granite_1868.jpg/220px-CPRR_Donner_Summit_Tunnel_Hand_Drilled_Granite_1868.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="158" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7b/CPRR_Donner_Summit_Tunnel_Hand_Drilled_Granite_1868.jpg/330px-CPRR_Donner_Summit_Tunnel_Hand_Drilled_Granite_1868.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7b/CPRR_Donner_Summit_Tunnel_Hand_Drilled_Granite_1868.jpg/440px-CPRR_Donner_Summit_Tunnel_Hand_Drilled_Granite_1868.jpg 2x" data-file-width="810" data-file-height="583" /></a><figcaption>Example of hand-drilled granite from within Tunnel#6, the "Summit Tunnel"</figcaption></figure> The first step of construction was to survey the route and determine the locations where large excavations, tunnels and bridges would be needed. Crews could then start work in advance of the railroad reaching these locations. Supplies and workers were brought up to the work locations by wagon teams and work on several different sections proceeded simultaneously. One advantage of working on tunnels in winter was that tunnel work could often proceed since the work was nearly all "inside". Living quarters would have to be built outside and getting new supplies was difficult. Working and living in winter in the presence of snow slides and avalanches caused some deaths.<a href="#cite_note-143">[135]</a> To carve a tunnel, one worker held a rock drill on the granite face while one to two other workers swung eighteen-pound sledgehammers to sequentially hit the drill which slowly advanced into the rock. Once the hole was about 10 inches (25 cm) deep, it would be filled with black powder, a fuse set and then ignited from a safe distance. Nitroglycerin, which had been invented less than two decades before the construction of the first transcontinental railroad, was used in relatively large quantities during its construction. This was especially true on the Central Pacific Railroad, which owned its own nitroglycerin plant to ensure it had a steady supply of the volatile explosive.<a href="#cite_note-144">[136]</a> This plant was operated by Chinese laborers as they were willing workers even under the most trying and dangerous of conditions.<a href="#cite_note-145">[137]</a> Chinese laborers were also crucial in the construction of 15 tunnels along the railroad's line through the Sierra Nevada mountains. These were about 32 feet (9.8 m) high and 16 feet (4.9 m) wide.<a href="#cite_note-Tzu-Kuei_p._128-146">[138]</a> When tunnels with vertical shafts were dug to increase construction speed, tunneling began in the middle of the tunnel and at both ends simultaneously. At first hand-powered <a href="/wiki/Derrick" title="Derrick">derricks</a> were used to help remove loose rocks up the vertical shafts. These derricks were later replaced with steam hoists as work progressed. By using vertical shafts, four faces of the tunnel could be worked at the same time, two in the middle and one at each end. The average daily progress in some tunnels was only 0.85 feet (26 cm) a day per face, which was very slow,<a href="#cite_note-Tzu-Kuei_p._128-146">[138]</a> or 1.18 feet (36 cm) daily according to historian George Kraus.<a href="#cite_note-Kraus_Chinese_1969-95">[87]</a>: 49  J. O. Wilder, a Central Pacific-Southern Pacific employee, commented that "The Chinese were as steady, hard-working a set of men as could be found. With the exception of a few whites at the west end of Tunnel No. 6, the laboring force was entirely composed of Chinamen with white foremen and a "boss/translator". A single foreman (often Irish) with a gang of 30 to 40 Chinese men generally constituted the force at work at each end of a tunnel; of these, 12 to 15 men worked on the heading, and the rest on the bottom, removing blasted material. When a gang was small or the men were needed elsewhere, the bottoms were worked with fewer men or stopped so as to keep the headings going."<a href="#cite_note-Kraus_Chinese_1969-95">[87]</a>: 49  The laborers usually worked three shifts of 8 hours each per day, while the foremen worked in two shifts of 12 hours each, managing the laborers.<a href="#cite_note-147">[139]</a> Once out of the Sierra, construction was much easier and faster. Under the direction of construction superintendent James Harvey Strobridge,<a href="#cite_note-148">[140]</a> Central Pacific track-laying crews set a record with 10 miles 56 feet (16.111 km) of track laid in one day on April 28, 1869. Horace Hamilton Minkler, track foreman for the Central Pacific, laid the last rail and tie before the Last Spike was driven. <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:CPRR_Snow_Gallery_at_Crested_Peak_C.E._Watkins_No._252_1868.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/CPRR_Snow_Gallery_at_Crested_Peak_C.E._Watkins_No._252_1868.jpg/220px-CPRR_Snow_Gallery_at_Crested_Peak_C.E._Watkins_No._252_1868.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="224" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/CPRR_Snow_Gallery_at_Crested_Peak_C.E._Watkins_No._252_1868.jpg/330px-CPRR_Snow_Gallery_at_Crested_Peak_C.E._Watkins_No._252_1868.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/CPRR_Snow_Gallery_at_Crested_Peak_C.E._Watkins_No._252_1868.jpg/440px-CPRR_Snow_Gallery_at_Crested_Peak_C.E._Watkins_No._252_1868.jpg 2x" data-file-width="674" data-file-height="685" /></a><figcaption>CPRR snow galleries allowed construction to continue in heavy snow (1868).</figcaption></figure>In order to keep the CPRR's Sierra grade open during the winter months, beginning in 1867, 37 miles (60 km) of massive wooden <a href="/wiki/Snow_sheds" class="mw-redirect" title="Snow sheds">snow sheds</a> and galleries were built between Blue Cañon and Truckee, covering cuts and other points where there was danger of avalanches. 2,500 men and six material trains were employed in this work, which was completed in 1869. The sheds were built with two sides and a steep peaked roof, mostly of locally cut hewn timber and round logs. Snow galleries had one side and a roof that sloped upward until it met the mountainside, thus permitting avalanches to slide over the galleries, some of which extended up the mountainside as much as 200 feet (61 m). Masonry walls such as the "Chinese Walls" at Donner Summit were built across canyons to prevent avalanches from striking the side of the vulnerable wooden construction.<a href="#cite_note-149">[141]</a><a href="#cite_note-150">[142]</a><a href="#cite_note-151">[143]</a> A few concrete sheds (mostly at crossovers) are still in use today. <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Union_Pacific_construction">Union Pacific construction</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=27" title="Edit section: Union Pacific construction">edit</a>]</div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Grenville_Dodge.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Grenville_Dodge.jpg/170px-Grenville_Dodge.jpg" decoding="async" width="170" height="204" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Grenville_Dodge.jpg 1.5x" data-file-width="250" data-file-height="300" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Grenville_M._Dodge" title="Grenville M. Dodge">Grenville M. Dodge</a> wearing a <a href="/wiki/Major_general" title="Major general">major general</a>'s uniform</figcaption></figure> The major investor in the Union Pacific was Thomas Clark Durant,<a href="#cite_note-152">[144]</a> who had made his stake money by smuggling Confederate cotton with the aid of <a href="/wiki/Grenville_M._Dodge" title="Grenville M. Dodge">Grenville M. Dodge</a>. Durant chose routes that would favor places where he held land, and he announced connections to other lines at times that suited his share dealings. He paid an associate to submit the construction bid to another company he controlled, <a href="/wiki/Cr%C3%A9dit_Mobilier_of_America_scandal" class="mw-redirect" title="Crédit Mobilier of America scandal">Crédit Mobilier</a>, manipulating the finances and government subsidies and making himself another fortune. Durant hired Dodge as chief engineer and <a href="/wiki/John_S._Casement" title="John S. Casement">Jack Casement</a> as construction boss.[<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>] In the East, the progress started in Omaha, Nebraska, by the Union Pacific Railroad which initially proceeded very quickly because of the open terrain of the <a href="/wiki/Great_Plains" title="Great Plains">Great Plains</a>. This changed as the work entered Indian-held lands, because the railroad violated Native American treaties with the United States. War parties began to raid the moving labor camps that followed the progress of the line. Union Pacific responded by increasing security and hiring marksmen to kill <a href="/wiki/American_Bison" class="mw-redirect" title="American Bison">American Bison</a>, which were both a physical threat to trains and the primary food source for many of the Plains Indians. The Native Americans then began killing laborers when they realized that the so-called "Iron Horse" threatened their existence. Security measures were further strengthened, and progress on the railroad continued.[<a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed">citation needed</a>] Gen. <a href="/wiki/William_Tecumseh_Sherman" title="William Tecumseh Sherman">William Tecumseh Sherman</a>'s first postwar command (Military Division of the Mississippi) covered the territory west of the Mississippi and east of the Rocky Mountains, and his top priority was to protect the construction of the railroads. In 1867, he wrote to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, "we are not going to let thieving, ragged Indians check and stop the progress" of the railroads.<a href="#cite_note-:0-153">[145]</a> "On the ground in the West, Gen. Philip Henry Sheridan, assuming Sherman's command, took to his task much as he had done in the Shenandoah Valley during the Civil War, when he ordered the "scorched earth" tactics that presaged Sherman's March to the Sea."<a href="#cite_note-:0-153">[145]</a> "The devastation of the buffalo population signalled the end of the Indian Wars, and Native Americans were pushed into reservations. In 1869, the Comanche chief Tosawi was reported to have told Sheridan, "Me Tosawi. Me good Indian," and Sheridan allegedly replied, "The only good Indians I ever saw were dead." The phrase was later misquoted, with Sheridan supposedly stating, "The only good Indian is a dead Indian." Sheridan denied he had ever said such a thing."<a href="#cite_note-:0-153">[145]</a> "By the end of the 19th century, only 300 buffalo were left in the wild. Congress finally took action, outlawing the killing of any birds or animals in Yellowstone National Park, where the only surviving buffalo herd could be protected. Conservationists established more wildlife preserves, and the species slowly rebounded. Today, there are more than 200,000 bison in North America."<a href="#cite_note-:0-153">[145]</a> "Sheridan acknowledged the role of the railroad in changing the face of the American West, and in his Annual Report of the General of the U.S. Army in 1878, he acknowledged that the Native Americans were scuttled to reservations with no compensation beyond the promise of religious instruction and basic supplies of food and clothing—promises, he wrote, which were never fulfilled."<a href="#cite_note-:0-153">[145]</a> "We took away their country and their means of support, broke up their mode of living, their habits of life, introduced disease and decay among them, and it was for this and against this they made war. Could any one expect less? Then, why wonder at Indian difficulties?"<a href="#cite_note-:0-153">[145]</a><div style="clear:both;" class=""></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="The_"Last_Spike"_ceremony">The "Last Spike" ceremony</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=28" title="Edit section: The "Last Spike" ceremony">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Golden_spike" title="Golden spike">Golden spike</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:The_Last_Spike_1869.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/The_Last_Spike_1869.jpg/220px-The_Last_Spike_1869.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="134" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/The_Last_Spike_1869.jpg/330px-The_Last_Spike_1869.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f8/The_Last_Spike_1869.jpg/440px-The_Last_Spike_1869.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1043" data-file-height="637" /></a><figcaption>The Last Spike by Thomas Hill (1881) is on display at the <a href="/wiki/California_State_Railroad_Museum" title="California State Railroad Museum">California State Railroad Museum</a> in Sacramento, California.</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Az-gold-spike.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b2/Az-gold-spike.jpg/100px-Az-gold-spike.jpg" decoding="async" width="100" height="261" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b2/Az-gold-spike.jpg/150px-Az-gold-spike.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b2/Az-gold-spike.jpg/200px-Az-gold-spike.jpg 2x" data-file-width="675" data-file-height="1763" /></a><figcaption>Golden spike, one of four ceremonial spikes driven at the completion</figcaption></figure> Six years after the groundbreaking, laborers of the Central Pacific Railroad from the west and the Union Pacific Railroad from the east met at <a href="/wiki/Promontory_Summit" class="mw-redirect" title="Promontory Summit">Promontory Summit</a>, Utah Territory. On the Union Pacific side was Union Pacific No 119, an 1868 4-4-0 type. Thrusting westward, the last two rails were laid by Irishmen. On the Central Pacific side was their Central Pacific No 60 Jupiter, another 1868 4-4-0 type. Thrusting eastward, the last two rails were laid by the Chinese.<a href="#cite_note-dobie-142">[134]</a>: 85  <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:A111,_Golden_Spike_National_Historic_Site,_Utah,_USA,_2004.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/A111%2C_Golden_Spike_National_Historic_Site%2C_Utah%2C_USA%2C_2004.jpg/220px-A111%2C_Golden_Spike_National_Historic_Site%2C_Utah%2C_USA%2C_2004.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="110" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/A111%2C_Golden_Spike_National_Historic_Site%2C_Utah%2C_USA%2C_2004.jpg/330px-A111%2C_Golden_Spike_National_Historic_Site%2C_Utah%2C_USA%2C_2004.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/A111%2C_Golden_Spike_National_Historic_Site%2C_Utah%2C_USA%2C_2004.jpg/440px-A111%2C_Golden_Spike_National_Historic_Site%2C_Utah%2C_USA%2C_2004.jpg 2x" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="400" /></a><figcaption>Operating steam engines are in the <a href="/wiki/Golden_Spike_National_Historical_Park" title="Golden Spike National Historical Park">Golden Spike National Historic Park</a> at Promontory Summit, Utah.</figcaption></figure> It was at Promontory Summit on May 10, 1869, that the two engines met. Leland Stanford drove The Last Spike (or <a href="/wiki/Golden_spike" title="Golden spike">golden spike</a>) that joined the rails of the transcontinental railroad. The spike is now on display at the <a href="/wiki/Cantor_Arts_Center" title="Cantor Arts Center">Cantor Arts Center</a> at <a href="/wiki/Stanford_University" title="Stanford University">Stanford University</a>, while a second "Last" Golden Spike is also on display at the <a href="/wiki/California_State_Railroad_Museum" title="California State Railroad Museum">California State Railroad Museum</a> in Sacramento.<a href="#cite_note-154">[146]</a> In perhaps the world's first live <a href="/wiki/Mass-media" class="mw-redirect" title="Mass-media">mass-media</a> event, the hammers and spike were wired to the <a href="/wiki/Telegraphy" title="Telegraphy">telegraph</a> line so that each hammer stroke would be heard as a click at telegraph stations nationwide—the hammer strokes were missed, so the clicks were sent by the telegraph operator. As soon as the ceremonial "Last Spike" had been replaced by an ordinary iron spike, a message was transmitted to both the East Coast and West Coast that simply read, "DONE". Travel from coast to coast was reduced from six months or more to just one week. <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Aftermath">Aftermath</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=29" title="Edit section: Aftermath">edit</a>]</div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Railroad_developments">Railroad developments</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=30" title="Edit section: Railroad developments">edit</a>]</div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:CPRR_%26_UPRR_Display_Ads_May_1869.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/CPRR_%26_UPRR_Display_Ads_May_1869.jpg/220px-CPRR_%26_UPRR_Display_Ads_May_1869.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="358" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/CPRR_%26_UPRR_Display_Ads_May_1869.jpg/330px-CPRR_%26_UPRR_Display_Ads_May_1869.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/CPRR_%26_UPRR_Display_Ads_May_1869.jpg/440px-CPRR_%26_UPRR_Display_Ads_May_1869.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1449" data-file-height="2361" /></a><figcaption>Display ads for the CPRR and UPRR the week the rails were joined on May 10, 1869</figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Great_Overland_Route_Timetable_Cover_1881.JPG" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/Great_Overland_Route_Timetable_Cover_1881.JPG/220px-Great_Overland_Route_Timetable_Cover_1881.JPG" decoding="async" width="220" height="193" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/Great_Overland_Route_Timetable_Cover_1881.JPG/330px-Great_Overland_Route_Timetable_Cover_1881.JPG 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/Great_Overland_Route_Timetable_Cover_1881.JPG/440px-Great_Overland_Route_Timetable_Cover_1881.JPG 2x" data-file-width="633" data-file-height="555" /></a><figcaption>UPRR & CPRR "Great American Over-Land Route" Timetable cover 1881</figcaption></figure> When the last spike was driven, the rail network was not yet connected to the Atlantic or Pacific but merely connected Omaha to Sacramento. To get from Sacramento to the Pacific, the Central Pacific purchased in 1867 the struggling <a href="/wiki/Western_Pacific_Railroad_(1862-1870)" class="mw-redirect" title="Western Pacific Railroad (1862-1870)">Western Pacific Railroad</a> (unrelated to the <a href="/wiki/Western_Pacific_Railroad" title="Western Pacific Railroad">railroad of the same name</a> that would later parallel its route) and in February 1868 resumed construction on it, which had halted in October 1866 because of funding troubles. On September 6, 1869, the first transcontinental rail passengers arrived at the Pacific Railroad's original western terminus on the <a href="/wiki/East_Bay_(San_Francisco_Bay_Area)" class="mw-redirect" title="East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)">east side of San Francisco Bay</a> at the <a href="/wiki/Alameda_Terminal" title="Alameda Terminal">Alameda Terminal</a>, where they transferred to the steamer Alameda for transport across the Bay to San Francisco. On November 8, 1869, the Central Pacific finally completed the rail connection to its western terminus at <a href="/wiki/Oakland,_California" title="Oakland, California">Oakland, California</a>, also on the <a href="/wiki/East_Bay_(San_Francisco_Bay_Area)" class="mw-redirect" title="East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)">East Bay</a>, where <a href="/wiki/Port_of_San_Francisco" title="Port of San Francisco">freight</a> and <a href="/wiki/San_Francisco_Ferry_Building" title="San Francisco Ferry Building">passengers</a> completed their transcontinental link to San Francisco by <a href="/wiki/Ferries_of_San_Francisco_Bay" title="Ferries of San Francisco Bay">ferry</a>. The original route from the <a href="/wiki/Central_Valley_(California)" title="Central Valley (California)">Central Valley</a> to the <a href="/wiki/San_Francisco_Bay" title="San Francisco Bay">Bay</a> skirted the <a href="/wiki/Sacramento%E2%80%93San_Joaquin_River_Delta" title="Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta">Delta</a> by heading south out of Sacramento through <a href="/wiki/Stockton,_California" title="Stockton, California">Stockton</a> and crossing the <a href="/wiki/San_Joaquin_River" title="San Joaquin River">San Joaquin River</a> at <a href="/wiki/Lathrop,_California" title="Lathrop, California">Mossdale</a>, then climbed over the <a href="/wiki/Altamont_Pass" title="Altamont Pass">Altamont Pass</a> and reached the east side of the San Francisco Bay through <a href="/wiki/Niles_Canyon" title="Niles Canyon">Niles Canyon</a>. The Western Pacific was originally chartered to go to <a href="/wiki/San_Jose,_California" title="San Jose, California">San Jose</a>, but the Central Pacific decided to build along the East Bay instead, as going from San Jose up the <a href="/wiki/San_Francisco_Peninsula" title="San Francisco Peninsula">Peninsula</a> to <a href="/wiki/San_Francisco" title="San Francisco">San Francisco</a> itself would have brought it into conflict with <a href="/wiki/San_Francisco_and_San_Jose_Railroad" title="San Francisco and San Jose Railroad">competing interests</a>. The railroad entered <a href="/wiki/Alameda_Terminal" title="Alameda Terminal">Alameda</a> and <a href="/wiki/Oakland_Point,_Oakland,_California" title="Oakland Point, Oakland, California">Oakland</a> from the south, roughly paralleling what would later become <a href="/wiki/U.S._Route_50_in_California" title="U.S. Route 50 in California">U.S. Route 50</a> and later still Interstates <a href="/wiki/Interstate_5_in_California" title="Interstate 5 in California">5</a>, <a href="/wiki/Interstate_205_(California)" title="Interstate 205 (California)">205</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Interstate_580_(California)" title="Interstate 580 (California)">580</a>. A <a href="/wiki/Capitol_Corridor" title="Capitol Corridor">more direct route</a> was obtained with the purchase of the <a href="/wiki/California_Pacific_Railroad" title="California Pacific Railroad">California Pacific Railroad</a>, crossing the <a href="/wiki/Sacramento_River" title="Sacramento River">Sacramento River</a> and proceeding southwest through <a href="/wiki/Davis,_California" title="Davis, California">Davis</a> to <a href="/wiki/Benicia,_California" title="Benicia, California">Benicia</a>, where it crossed the <a href="/wiki/Carquinez_Strait" title="Carquinez Strait">Carquinez Strait</a> by means of the enormous <a href="/wiki/Solano_(ferry)" title="Solano (ferry)">Solano train ferry</a>, then followed the shores of the <a href="/wiki/San_Pablo_Bay" title="San Pablo Bay">San Pablo</a> and <a href="/wiki/San_Francisco_Bay" title="San Francisco Bay">San Francisco</a> bays to <a href="/wiki/Richmond,_California" title="Richmond, California">Richmond</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Port_of_Oakland" title="Port of Oakland">Port of Oakland</a> (paralleling <a href="/wiki/U.S._Route_40_in_California" class="mw-redirect" title="U.S. Route 40 in California">U.S. Route 40</a> which ultimately became <a href="/wiki/Interstate_80_(California)" class="mw-redirect" title="Interstate 80 (California)">Interstate 80</a>). In 1930, a <a href="/wiki/Benicia%E2%80%93Martinez_Bridge" title="Benicia–Martinez Bridge">rail bridge</a> across the Carquinez replaced the Benicia ferries. Very early on, the Central Pacific learned that it would have trouble maintaining an open track in winter across the <a href="/wiki/Sierra_Nevada_(U.S.)" class="mw-redirect" title="Sierra Nevada (U.S.)">Sierras</a>. At first they tried plowing the road with special snowplows mounted on their steam engines. When this was only partially successful, an extensive process of building <a href="/wiki/Snow_shed" class="mw-redirect" title="Snow shed">snow sheds</a> over some of the track was instituted to protect it from deep snows and avalanches. These eventually succeeded at keeping the tracks clear for all but a few days of the year.<a href="#cite_note-155">[147]</a> Both railroads soon instituted extensive upgrade projects to build better bridges, viaducts and dugways as well as install heavier duty rails, stronger ties, better road beds etc. The original track had often been laid as fast as possible with only secondary attention to maintenance and durability. The primary incentive had been getting the subsidies, which meant that upgrades of all kinds were routinely required in the following years. The cost of making these upgrades was relatively small once the railroad was operating. Once the railroad was complete supplies could be moved from distant factories directly to the construction site by rail. <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Crofutt%27s_Trans-Continental_Tourist%27s_Guide_Frontispiece_1870.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/Crofutt%27s_Trans-Continental_Tourist%27s_Guide_Frontispiece_1870.jpg/220px-Crofutt%27s_Trans-Continental_Tourist%27s_Guide_Frontispiece_1870.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="301" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/Crofutt%27s_Trans-Continental_Tourist%27s_Guide_Frontispiece_1870.jpg/330px-Crofutt%27s_Trans-Continental_Tourist%27s_Guide_Frontispiece_1870.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/Crofutt%27s_Trans-Continental_Tourist%27s_Guide_Frontispiece_1870.jpg/440px-Crofutt%27s_Trans-Continental_Tourist%27s_Guide_Frontispiece_1870.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2956" data-file-height="4040" /></a><figcaption>Frontispiece of Crofutt's Great Trans-Continental Tourist's Guide, 1870</figcaption></figure> The Union Pacific would not connect Omaha to Council Bluffs until completing the <a href="/wiki/Union_Pacific_Missouri_River_Bridge" title="Union Pacific Missouri River Bridge">Union Pacific Missouri River Bridge</a> in 1872.<a href="#cite_note-156">[148]</a> Several years after the end of the Civil War, the competing railroads coming from Missouri finally realized their initial strategic advantage and a building boom ensued. In July 1869, the <a href="/wiki/Hannibal_and_St._Joseph_Railroad" title="Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad">Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad</a> finished the <a href="/wiki/Hannibal_Bridge" title="Hannibal Bridge">Hannibal Bridge</a> in Kansas City which was the first bridge to cross the Missouri River. This in turn connected to <a href="/wiki/Kansas_Pacific" class="mw-redirect" title="Kansas Pacific">Kansas Pacific</a> trains going from Kansas City to Denver, which in turn had built the <a href="/wiki/Denver_Pacific_Railway" class="mw-redirect" title="Denver Pacific Railway">Denver Pacific Railway</a> connecting to the Union Pacific. In August 1870, the Kansas Pacific drove the last spike connecting to the Denver Pacific line at <a href="/wiki/Strasburg,_Colorado" title="Strasburg, Colorado">Strasburg, Colorado</a>, and the first true Atlantic to Pacific United States railroad was completed. Kansas City's head start in connecting to a true transcontinental railroad contributed to it rather than Omaha becoming the dominant rail center west of Chicago. The Kansas Pacific became part of the Union Pacific in 1880. On June 4, 1876, an express train called the <a href="/wiki/Transcontinental_Express" title="Transcontinental Express">Transcontinental Express</a> arrived in San Francisco via the first transcontinental railroad only 83 hours and 39 minutes after it had left <a href="/wiki/New_York_City" title="New York City">New York City</a>. Only ten years before, the same journey would have taken months over land or weeks on ship, possibly all the way around South America. The Central Pacific got a direct route to San Francisco when it was merged with the <a href="/wiki/Southern_Pacific_Railroad" title="Southern Pacific Railroad">Southern Pacific Railroad</a> to create the Southern Pacific Company in 1885. The Union Pacific initially took over the Southern Pacific in 1901 but was forced by the <a href="/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States" title="Supreme Court of the United States">U.S. Supreme Court</a> to divest it because of monopoly concerns. The two railroads would once again unite in 1996 when the Southern Pacific was sold to the Union Pacific. Having been bypassed with the completion of the <a href="/wiki/Lucin_Cutoff" title="Lucin Cutoff">Lucin Cutoff</a> in 1904, the Promontory Summit rails were pulled up in 1942 to be recycled for the <a href="/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">World War II</a> effort. This process began with a ceremonial "undriving" at the Last Spike location.<a href="#cite_note-157">[149]</a><a href="#cite_note-158">[150]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Crédit_Mobilier">Crédit Mobilier</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=31" title="Edit section: Crédit Mobilier">edit</a>]</div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Oakes_Ames_-_Brady-Handy.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/Oakes_Ames_-_Brady-Handy.jpg/170px-Oakes_Ames_-_Brady-Handy.jpg" decoding="async" width="170" height="201" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/Oakes_Ames_-_Brady-Handy.jpg/255px-Oakes_Ames_-_Brady-Handy.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/Oakes_Ames_-_Brady-Handy.jpg/340px-Oakes_Ames_-_Brady-Handy.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3296" data-file-height="3896" /></a><figcaption>Oakes Ames</figcaption></figure> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Cr%C3%A9dit_Mobilier_scandal" title="Crédit Mobilier scandal">Crédit Mobilier scandal</a></div> Despite the transcontinental success and millions in government subsidies, the Union Pacific faced bankruptcy less than three years after the Last Spike as details surfaced about overcharges that Crédit Mobilier had billed Union Pacific for the formal building of the railroad. The scandal hit epic proportions in the <a href="/wiki/1872_United_States_presidential_election" title="1872 United States presidential election">1872 United States presidential election</a>, which saw the re-election of <a href="/wiki/Ulysses_S._Grant" title="Ulysses S. Grant">Ulysses S. Grant</a> and became the biggest scandal of the <a href="/wiki/Gilded_Age" title="Gilded Age">Gilded Age</a>. It would not be resolved until the death of the congressman who was supposed to have reined in its excesses but instead wound up profiting from it. Durant had initially come up with the scheme to have Crédit Mobilier subcontract to do the actual track work. Durant gained control of the company after buying out employee Herbert Hoxie for $10,000. Under Durant's guidance, Crédit Mobilier was charging Union Pacific often twice or more the customary cost for track work. The process mired down Union Pacific work. Lincoln asked Massachusetts Congressman <a href="/wiki/Oakes_Ames" title="Oakes Ames">Oakes Ames</a>, who was on the railroad committee, to clean things up and get the railroad moving. Ames got his brother <a href="/wiki/Oliver_Ames_Jr." title="Oliver Ames Jr.">Oliver Ames Jr.</a> named president of the Union Pacific, while he became president of Crédit Mobilier.<a href="#cite_note-159">[151]</a> Ames then in turn gave stock options to other politicians while at the same time continuing the lucrative overcharges. The scandal was to implicate Vice President <a href="/wiki/Schuyler_Colfax" title="Schuyler Colfax">Schuyler Colfax</a> (who was cleared) and future President <a href="/wiki/James_Garfield" class="mw-redirect" title="James Garfield">James Garfield</a> among others. The scandal broke in 1872 when the <a href="/wiki/The_New_York_Sun_(historical)" class="mw-redirect" title="The New York Sun (historical)">New York Sun</a> published correspondence detailing the scheme between Henry S. McComb and Ames. In the ensuing Congressional investigation, it was recommended that Ames be expelled from Congress, but this was reduced to a censure and Ames died within three months. Durant later left the Union Pacific and a new rail baron, <a href="/wiki/Jay_Gould" title="Jay Gould">Jay Gould</a>, became the dominant stockholder. As a result of the <a href="/wiki/Panic_of_1873" title="Panic of 1873">Panic of 1873</a>, Gould was able to pick up bargains, among them the control of the Union Pacific Railroad and <a href="/wiki/Western_Union" title="Western Union">Western Union</a>.<a href="#cite_note-160">[152]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Visible_remains">Visible remains</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=32" title="Edit section: Visible remains">edit</a>]</div> Visible remains of the historic line are still easily located—hundreds of miles are still in service today, especially through the Sierra Nevada Mountains and canyons in Utah and Wyoming. While the original rail has long since been replaced because of age and wear, and the roadbed upgraded and repaired, the lines generally run on top of the original, handmade grade. Vista points on <a href="/wiki/Interstate_80" title="Interstate 80">Interstate 80</a> through California's Truckee Canyon provide a panoramic view of many miles of the original Central Pacific line and of the <a href="/wiki/Snow_shed" class="mw-redirect" title="Snow shed">snow sheds</a> which made winter train travel safe and practical. In areas where the original line has been bypassed and abandoned, primarily because of the <a href="/wiki/Lucin_Cutoff" title="Lucin Cutoff">Lucin Cutoff</a> re-route in Utah, the original road grade is still obvious, as are numerous cuts and fills, especially the <a href="/wiki/Big_Fill" title="Big Fill">Big Fill</a> a few miles east of Promontory. The sweeping curve which connected to the east end of the Big Fill now passes a <a href="/wiki/Thiokol" title="Thiokol">Thiokol</a> rocket research and development facility. In 1957, Congress authorized the Golden Spike National Historic Site, which was redesignated the <a href="/wiki/Golden_Spike_National_Historical_Park" title="Golden Spike National Historical Park">Golden Spike National Historical Park</a> in 2019.<a href="#cite_note-161">[153]</a> Today the site features replica engines of <a href="/wiki/Union_Pacific_No._119" title="Union Pacific No. 119">Union Pacific No. 119</a> and Central Pacific <a href="/wiki/Jupiter_(locomotive)" title="Jupiter (locomotive)">Jupiter</a>. The engines are fired up periodically by the National Park Service for the public.<a href="#cite_note-162">[154]</a> On May 10, 2006, on the anniversary of the driving of the spike, Utah announced that its <a href="/wiki/50_state_quarters" class="mw-redirect" title="50 state quarters">state quarter</a> design would be a representation of the driving of the Last Spike. <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Current_passenger_service">Current passenger service</h3>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=33" title="Edit section: Current passenger service">edit</a>]</div> <a href="/wiki/Amtrak" title="Amtrak">Amtrak</a>'s <a href="/wiki/California_Zephyr" title="California Zephyr">California Zephyr</a>, a daily passenger service from <a href="/wiki/Emeryville,_California" title="Emeryville, California">Emeryville, California</a> (in the <a href="/wiki/San_Francisco_Bay_Area" title="San Francisco Bay Area">San Francisco Bay Area</a>) to <a href="/wiki/Chicago" title="Chicago">Chicago</a>, uses the first transcontinental railroad from Sacramento to central Nevada. Because this rail line currently operates in a <a href="/wiki/Directional_running" class="mw-redirect" title="Directional running">directional running</a> setup across most of Nevada, the California Zephyr will switch to the <a href="/wiki/Central_Corridor_(Union_Pacific_Railroad)" title="Central Corridor (Union Pacific Railroad)">Central Corridor</a> at either <a href="/wiki/Winnemucca,_Nevada" title="Winnemucca, Nevada">Winnemucca</a> or <a href="/wiki/Wells,_Nevada" title="Wells, Nevada">Wells</a>.<a href="#cite_note-yuccamountain-163">[155]</a> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="In_popular_culture">In popular culture</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=34" title="Edit section: In popular culture">edit</a>]</div> The joining of the Union Pacific line with the Central Pacific line in May 1869 at <a href="/wiki/Promontory_Summit,_Utah" class="mw-redirect" title="Promontory Summit, Utah">Promontory Summit, Utah</a>, was one of the major inspirations for French writer <a href="/wiki/Jules_Verne" title="Jules Verne">Jules Verne</a>'s book entitled <a href="/wiki/Around_the_World_in_Eighty_Days" title="Around the World in Eighty Days">Around the World in Eighty Days</a>, published in 1873.<a href="#cite_note-164">[156]</a> While not exactly accurate, John Ford's 1924 silent movie <a href="/wiki/The_Iron_Horse_(film)" title="The Iron Horse (film)">The Iron Horse</a> captures the fervent nationalism that drove public support for the project. Among the cooks serving the film's cast and crew between shots were some of the Chinese laborers who worked on the Central Pacific section of the railroad. <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Unionpacific_movie_postcard.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/Unionpacific_movie_postcard.jpg/170px-Unionpacific_movie_postcard.jpg" decoding="async" width="170" height="257" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/Unionpacific_movie_postcard.jpg/255px-Unionpacific_movie_postcard.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/Unionpacific_movie_postcard.jpg/340px-Unionpacific_movie_postcard.jpg 2x" data-file-width="758" data-file-height="1144" /></a><figcaption>Postcard for the film <a href="/wiki/Union_Pacific_(film)" title="Union Pacific (film)">Union Pacific</a>, released in May 1939</figcaption></figure> The feat is depicted in various movies, including the 1939 film <a href="/wiki/Union_Pacific_(film)" title="Union Pacific (film)">Union Pacific</a>, starring <a href="/wiki/Joel_McCrea" title="Joel McCrea">Joel McCrea</a> and <a href="/wiki/Barbara_Stanwyck" title="Barbara Stanwyck">Barbara Stanwyck</a> and directed by <a href="/wiki/Cecil_B._DeMille" title="Cecil B. DeMille">Cecil B. DeMille</a>, which depicts the fictional Central Pacific investor Asa Barrows obstructing attempts of the Union Pacific to reach Ogden, Utah. The 1939 movie is said to have inspired the <a href="/wiki/Union_Pacific_(TV_series)" title="Union Pacific (TV series)">Union Pacific</a> Western television series starring <a href="/wiki/Jeff_Morrow" title="Jeff Morrow">Jeff Morrow</a>, <a href="/wiki/Judson_Pratt" title="Judson Pratt">Judson Pratt</a> and <a href="/wiki/Susan_Cummings_(actress)" title="Susan Cummings (actress)">Susan Cummings</a> which aired in syndication from 1958 until 1959. The 1962 film <a href="/wiki/How_the_West_Was_Won_(film)" title="How the West Was Won (film)">How the West Was Won</a> has a whole segment devoted to the construction; one of the movie's most famous scenes, filmed in <a href="/wiki/Cinerama" title="Cinerama">Cinerama</a>, is of a buffalo stampede over the railroad. The construction of what presumably is—or is suggested to be—the transcontinental railroad provides the backdrop of the 1968 epic <a href="/wiki/Spaghetti_Western" title="Spaghetti Western">Spaghetti Western</a> <a href="/wiki/Once_Upon_a_Time_in_the_West" title="Once Upon a Time in the West">Once Upon a Time in the West</a>, directed by Italian director <a href="/wiki/Sergio_Leone" title="Sergio Leone">Sergio Leone</a>. <a href="/wiki/Graham_Masterton" title="Graham Masterton">Graham Masterton</a>'s 1981 novel A Man of Destiny (published in the UK as Railroad) is a fictionalized account of the line's construction. The 1993 children's book Ten Mile Day by Mary Ann Fraser tells the story of the record setting push by the Central Pacific in which they set a record by laying 10 miles (16 km) of track in a single day on April 28, 1869, to settle a $10,000 bet. <a href="/wiki/Kristiana_Gregory" title="Kristiana Gregory">Kristiana Gregory</a>'s 1999 book The Great Railroad Race (part of the "Dear America" series) is written as the fictional diary of Libby West, who chronicles the end of the railroad construction and the excitement that engulfed the country at the time. In the 1999 <a href="/wiki/Will_Smith" title="Will Smith">Will Smith</a> film <a href="/wiki/Wild_Wild_West" title="Wild Wild West">Wild Wild West</a>, the joining ceremony is the setting of an assassination attempt on then U.S. President <a href="/wiki/Ulysses_S._Grant" title="Ulysses S. Grant">Ulysses S. Grant</a> by the film's antagonist <a href="/wiki/Dr._Loveless#Other_versions" title="Dr. Loveless">Dr. Arliss Loveless</a>. The main character in <a href="/wiki/The_Claim_(2000_film)" title="The Claim (2000 film)">The Claim</a> (2000) is a surveyor for the <a href="/wiki/Central_Pacific_Railroad" title="Central Pacific Railroad">Central Pacific Railroad</a>, and the film is partially about the efforts of a frontier mayor to have the railroad routed through his town. In the 2002 <a href="/wiki/DreamWorks_Animation" title="DreamWorks Animation">DreamWorks Animation</a> movie <a href="/wiki/Spirit:_Stallion_of_the_Cimarron" title="Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron">Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron</a>, the title character, a horse named Spirit, is delivered with other horses to pull a steam locomotive at a work site for the transcontinental railroad. The <a href="/wiki/American_Experience" title="American Experience">American Experience</a> series' <a href="/wiki/American_Experience_(season_15)" class="mw-redirect" title="American Experience (season 15)">2002–2003 season</a> documents the railway in the episode titled "Transcontinental Railroad". The building of the railway is covered by the 2004 BBC documentary series <a href="/wiki/Seven_Wonders_of_the_Industrial_World" title="Seven Wonders of the Industrial World">Seven Wonders of the Industrial World</a> in episode 6, "The Line". The popular sci-fi television show <a href="/wiki/Doctor_Who" title="Doctor Who">Doctor Who</a> featured the transcontinental railroad in a 2010 BBC audiobook entitled <a href="/wiki/The_Runaway_Train" class="mw-redirect" title="The Runaway Train">The Runaway Train</a>, read by <a href="/wiki/Matt_Smith_(actor)" class="mw-redirect" title="Matt Smith (actor)">Matt Smith</a> and written for audio by Oli Smith. The construction of the transcontinental railroad provides the setting for the AMC television series <a href="/wiki/Hell_on_Wheels_(TV_Series)" class="mw-redirect" title="Hell on Wheels (TV Series)">Hell on Wheels</a>. Thomas Durant is a regular character in the series and is portrayed by actor <a href="/wiki/Colm_Meaney" title="Colm Meaney">Colm Meaney</a>. The campaign mode of <a href="/wiki/Kalypso_Media" title="Kalypso Media">Kalypso Media</a>'s 2018 video game <a href="/wiki/Railway_Empire" title="Railway Empire">Railway Empire</a> covers the construction of the transcontinental railroad and features key figures such as Thomas Durant and Collis Huntington. <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=35" title="Edit section: See also">edit</a>]</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1266661725">.mw-parser-output .portalbox{padding:0;margin:0.5em 0;display:table;box-sizing:border-box;max-width:175px;list-style:none}.mw-parser-output .portalborder{border:1px solid var(--border-color-base,#a2a9b1);padding:0.1em;background:var(--background-color-neutral-subtle,#f8f9fa)}.mw-parser-output .portalbox-entry{display:table-row;font-size:85%;line-height:110%;height:1.9em;font-style:italic;font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .portalbox-image{display:table-cell;padding:0.2em;vertical-align:middle;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .portalbox-link{display:table-cell;padding:0.2em 0.2em 0.2em 0.3em;vertical-align:middle}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .portalleft{margin:0.5em 1em 0.5em 0}.mw-parser-output .portalright{clear:right;float:right;margin:0.5em 0 0.5em 1em}}</style><ul role="navigation" aria-label="Portals" class="noprint portalbox portalborder portalright"> <li class="portalbox-entry"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/P_history.svg/31px-P_history.svg.png" decoding="async" width="31" height="28" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/P_history.svg/47px-P_history.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/P_history.svg/62px-P_history.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="400" data-file-height="360" /><a href="/wiki/Portal:History" title="Portal:History">History portal</a></li><li class="portalbox-entry"><a href="/wiki/File:P_train.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="icon" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e3/P_train.svg/31px-P_train.svg.png" decoding="async" width="31" height="28" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e3/P_train.svg/47px-P_train.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e3/P_train.svg/62px-P_train.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="400" data-file-height="360" /></a><a href="/wiki/Portal:Trains" title="Portal:Trains">Trains portal</a></li><li class="portalbox-entry"><img alt="flag" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/32px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png" decoding="async" width="32" height="17" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/48px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/64px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1235" data-file-height="650" /><a href="/wiki/Portal:United_States" title="Portal:United States">United States portal</a></li></ul> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1184024115">.mw-parser-output .div-col{margin-top:0.3em;column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .div-col-small{font-size:90%}.mw-parser-output .div-col-rules{column-rule:1px solid #aaa}.mw-parser-output .div-col dl,.mw-parser-output .div-col ol,.mw-parser-output .div-col ul{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .div-col li,.mw-parser-output .div-col dd{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}</style><div class="div-col" style="column-width: 23em;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Chin_Lin_Sou" title="Chin Lin Sou">Chin Lin Sou</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/California_and_the_railroads" class="mw-redirect" title="California and the railroads">History of rail transportation in California</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Interstate_80" title="Interstate 80">Interstate 80</a> – present-day New York-to-San Francisco transport link (highway)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_heritage_railroads_in_the_United_States" title="List of heritage railroads in the United States">List of heritage railroads in the United States</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Overland_Route_(Union_Pacific_Railroad)" title="Overland Route (Union Pacific Railroad)">Overland Route (Union Pacific Railroad)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Transcontinental_railroad" title="Transcontinental railroad">Transcontinental railroad</a></li></ul> </div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Notes">Notes</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=36" title="Edit section: Notes">edit</a>]</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width" style="column-width: 40em;"> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-7"><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a> The total value of the thirty year 6% US Government subsidy bonds issued to the three companies was $55,092,192 and the amount of federal lands specified by Pacific Railroad Acts of 1862 and 1864 to which the UPRR, CPRR and WPRR were entitled was 21,100,000 acres (8,500,000 hectares) of which 2,391,009 acres (967,607 hectares) had been patented as of March 1876.<a href="#cite_note-6">[6]</a> </li> <li id="cite_note-13"><a href="#cite_ref-13">^</a> <a href="/wiki/Paddle_steamer" title="Paddle steamer">Paddle steamers</a> linked Sacramento to the cities and their harbor facilities in the San Francisco Bay until late 1869, when the CPRR completed and opened the Western Pacific portion (which the CPRR had acquired control of in 1867–68 to Alameda first and then to Oakland.) </li> <li id="cite_note-14"><a href="#cite_ref-14">^</a> "The charter of the last-named Company [Western Pacific Railroad] contemplated a line from Sacramento toward San Francisco, making the circuit of the Bay of that name [to San José]. Their franchise has recently [late 1867] been assigned to parties in the interest of the Central Pacific Railroad Company; and it is probable that this line will be formally incorporated with the Central Pacific Railroad, and the road extended from Sacramento to San Francisco by the "best, most direct and practicable route" so soon as the overland connection is completed. In the meantime the travel is abundantly accommodated by first-class steamers." – Central Pacific Railroad Company of California "Railroad Across the Continent, with an account of the Central Pacific Railroad of California", pp. 9–10, New York: Brown & Hewitt, Printers. September 1868. </li> <li id="cite_note-18"><a href="#cite_ref-18">^</a> The legal "date of completion" of the WPRR grade was subsequently designated to be January 22, 1870.<a href="#cite_note-15">[12]</a> The formal consolidation of the Central Pacific Railroad of California with the Western Pacific Railroad Co., San Joaquin Valley Railroad Co., and San Francisco, Oakland & Alameda Railroad Co. under the name of the Central Pacific Railroad Company became effective on June 22, 1870, with the filing of Articles of Consolidation drawn under the laws of California with the California Secretary of State.<a href="#cite_note-16">[13]</a><a href="#cite_note-17">[14]</a> </li> <li id="cite_note-23"><a href="#cite_ref-23">^</a> The new terminus opened on November 8, later deemed to be two days after the official "completion date" of the Pacific Railroad. Section 6 of the <a href="/wiki/Pacific_Railroad_Act" class="mw-redirect" title="Pacific Railroad Act">Pacific Railroad Act of 1862, et seq.</a> required that an official date of completion be determined for the purpose of determining how other provisions of the Acts would be carried out. November 6, 1869, was confirmed as being that date by the <a href="/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States" title="Supreme Court of the United States">US Supreme Court</a> in Part I of the Court's Opinion and Order dated January 27, 1879, in re Union Pacific Railroad vs. United States (99 U.S. 402).<a href="#cite_note-21">[17]</a><a href="#cite_note-22">[18]</a> </li> <li id="cite_note-45"><a href="#cite_ref-45">^</a> Carver's 1847 proposal records himself as having written a newspaper article on the subject in 1837. Some sources say that he wrote such an article in 1832. </li> <li id="cite_note-50"><a href="#cite_ref-50">^</a> Later, the <a href="/wiki/Northern_Pacific_Railway" title="Northern Pacific Railway">Northern Pacific Railway</a> (NP) found and built a better route across the northern tier of the western United States from Minnesota to the Pacific Coast. It was approved by Congress in 1864 and given nearly 40 million acres (160,000 km2) of land grants, which it used to raise money in Europe. Construction began in 1870 and the main line opened all the way from the <a href="/wiki/Great_Lakes" title="Great Lakes">Great Lakes</a> to the <a href="/wiki/Pacific_Ocean" title="Pacific Ocean">Pacific Ocean</a> on September 8, 1883. </li> <li id="cite_note-52"><a href="#cite_ref-52">^</a> The southern route was constructed in 1880 when the Southern Pacific Railroad crossed Arizona territory. </li> </ol></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=37" title="Edit section: References">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239543626"><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width" style="column-width: 30em;"> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a> Vernon, Edward (Ed) "Travelers' Official Railway Guide of the United States and Canada" Philadelphia: The National General Ticket Agents' Association. June, 1870, Tables 215, 216 </li> <li id="cite_note-Pacific_Railroad_Act;1-2"><a href="#cite_ref-Pacific_Railroad_Act;1_2-0">^</a> Pacific Railroad Act of 1862, §2 & §3 </li> <li id="cite_note-Pacific_Railroad_Act;2-3"><a href="#cite_ref-Pacific_Railroad_Act;2_3-0">^</a> Pacific Railroad Act of 1862, §5 & §6 </li> <li id="cite_note-First_Mortgage_Bonds-4"><a href="#cite_ref-First_Mortgage_Bonds_4-0">^</a> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.cprr.org/Museum/Bond_Adv_CPRR_1867.html">"First Mortgage Bonds of the Central Pacific Railroad, 1867"</a>. www.cprr.org. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190126044548/http://cprr.org/Museum/Bond_Adv_CPRR_1867.html">Archived</a> from the original on January 26, 2019. Retrieved January 26, 2019.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=www.cprr.org&rft.atitle=First+Mortgage+Bonds+of+the+Central+Pacific+Railroad%2C+1867.&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cprr.org%2FMuseum%2FBond_Adv_CPRR_1867.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-$1,000_Pacific_Railroad_Bond-5"><a href="#cite_ref-$1,000_Pacific_Railroad_Bond_5-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.cprr.org/Museum/Ephemera/Pacific_RR_Bond_SF.html">"CPRR Ephemera and Collectibles – $1,000 Pacific Railroad Bond, City and County of San Francisco, June 24, 1864"</a>. www.cprr.org. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190126045008/http://www.cprr.org/Museum/Ephemera/Pacific_RR_Bond_SF.html">Archived</a> from the original on January 26, 2019. Retrieved January 26, 2019.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=www.cprr.org&rft.atitle=CPRR+Ephemera+and+Collectibles+%E2%80%93+%241%2C000+Pacific+Railroad+Bond%2C+City+and+County+of+San+Francisco%2C+June+24%2C+1864&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cprr.org%2FMuseum%2FEphemera%2FPacific_RR_Bond_SF.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a> "Report on the Pacific Railroads", US House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, House Ex. Doc. #440, 44th Congress, First Session, April 25, 1876, pp. 3, 6 </li> <li id="cite_note-ExecOrder-8">^ <a href="#cite_ref-ExecOrder_8-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-ExecOrder_8-1">b</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://cprr.org/Museum/Lincoln_1864.html">Executive Order of Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, Fixing the Point of Commencement of the Union Pacific Railroad at Council Bluffs, Iowa, dated March 7, 1864</a> (38th Congress, 1st Session SENATE Ex. Doc. No. 27). </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><a href="#cite_ref-9">^</a> Cooper, Bruce C., <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://cprr.org/Museum/Riding_the_Rails_Intro.html">"Riding the Transcontinental Rails: Overland Travel on the Pacific Railroad 1865–1881"</a> (2005), Polyglot Press, Philadelphia, <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/1411599934" title="Special:BookSources/1411599934">1411599934</a>. p. 11. </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a> "Appleton's Railway and Steam Navigation Guide". New York: D. Appleton & Co., December 1870. p. 236. </li> <li id="cite_note-11"><a href="#cite_ref-11">^</a> Bowman, J. N. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://cprr.org/Museum/Bowman_Last_Spike_CHS.html">"Driving the Last Spike at Promontory, 1869</a> California Historical Society Quarterly, Vol. XXXVI, No. 2, June 1957, pp. 96–106, and Vol. XXXVI, No. 3, September 1957, pp. 263–274. </li> <li id="cite_note-12"><a href="#cite_ref-12">^</a> Hill, Thomas <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://cprr.org/Museum/Last_Spike.html">"The Last Spike"</a> San Francisco: Thomas Hill (privately published). January 1881. </li> <li id="cite_note-15"><a href="#cite_ref-15">^</a> Letter from Charles F. Conant, Assistant Secretary, US Department of the Treasury, to US Rep. William Lawrence (R-OH8), March 9, 1876 </li> <li id="cite_note-16"><a href="#cite_ref-16">^</a> Letter from Z.B. Sturgus, Chief, Lands and Railroad Division, Office of the Secretary, US Department of the Interior, to US Rep. William Lawrence (R-OH8), April 28, 1876 </li> <li id="cite_note-17"><a href="#cite_ref-17">^</a> Speech by Rep. William A. Piper (D-CA1) in the US House of Representatives, April 8, 1876 </li> <li id="cite_note-19"><a href="#cite_ref-19">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFWorks_Progress_Administration2001" class="citation book cs1">Works Progress Administration (2001). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=yYenlclVvzYC&q=%22steamer+alameda%22">San Francisco in the 1930s: The WPA Guide to the City by the Bay</a>. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 32. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0520948877" title="Special:BookSources/978-0520948877"><bdi>978-0520948877</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=San+Francisco+in+the+1930s%3A+The+WPA+Guide+to+the+City+by+the+Bay&rft.place=Berkeley&rft.pages=32&rft.pub=University+of+California+Press&rft.date=2001&rft.isbn=978-0520948877&rft.au=Works+Progress+Administration&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DyYenlclVvzYC%26q%3D%2522steamer%2Balameda%2522&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-20"><a href="#cite_ref-20">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFScott1985" class="citation book cs1">Scott, Mel (1985). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=xlE4hwWVqqwC&q=%22destination+alameda+wharf%22">The San Francisco Bay Area: A Metropolis in Perspective</a> (2nd ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 50. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0520055124" title="Special:BookSources/978-0520055124"><bdi>978-0520055124</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+San+Francisco+Bay+Area%3A+A+Metropolis+in+Perspective&rft.place=Berkeley&rft.pages=50&rft.edition=2nd&rft.pub=University+of+California+Press&rft.date=1985&rft.isbn=978-0520055124&rft.aulast=Scott&rft.aufirst=Mel&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DxlE4hwWVqqwC%26q%3D%2522destination%2Balameda%2Bwharf%2522&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-21"><a href="#cite_ref-21">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://cprr.org/Museum/RR_Completed_US_Sup_Ct.html">"Pacific Railroad Officially Completed on November 6, 1869"</a>. cprr.org.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=cprr.org&rft.atitle=Pacific+Railroad+Officially+Completed+on+November+6%2C+1869&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fcprr.org%2FMuseum%2FRR_Completed_US_Sup_Ct.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-22"><a href="#cite_ref-22">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/89962/union-pacific-r-co-v-united-states/">"Union Pacific R. 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Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1855–61 </li> <li id="cite_note-47"><a href="#cite_ref-47">^</a> Woodward, C. Vann "Reunion and Reaction: The Compromise of 1877 and the End of Reconstruction". Oxford: Oxford University Press (1991) p. 92 </li> <li id="cite_note-48"><a href="#cite_ref-48">^</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://cprr.org/Museum/HR_Report_358_1856.html">"Report of the Select Committee on the Pacific Railroad and Telegraph"</a> US House of Representatives, 34th Congress, 1st Session, No. 358. August 16, 1856. </li> <li id="cite_note-49"><a href="#cite_ref-49">^</a> Zelizer, Julian E. (Ed) "The American Congress: The Building of Democracy". Kerr, K. Austin, Chapter 17: Railroad Policy (pp. 286–297). New York: Houghton Mifflin Co. (2004). p. 288 </li> <li id="cite_note-51"><a href="#cite_ref-51">^</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://history.state.gov/milestones/1830-1860/gadsden-purchase">Gadsden Purchase, 1853–1854</a> U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian. </li> <li id="cite_note-53"><a href="#cite_ref-53">^</a> Whitney, Asa "A project for a railroad to the Pacific". New York: George W. Wood (1849) p. 55 </li> <li id="cite_note-54"><a href="#cite_ref-54">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20191206210032/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/tcrr-asa-whitney-1791-1874-and-early-plans-transcontinental-railroad/">"PBS American Experience – Transcontinental Railroad – Whitney Biography"</a>. WGBH. 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ISBN 979-8-218-13147-0 (hardcover), 979-8-218-13148-7 (ebook). </li> <li id="cite_note-56"><a href="#cite_ref-56">^</a> “Railroad Route Discovered,” The Nevada Journal, November 9, 1860, p. 2, Nevada City, California. </li> <li id="cite_note-57"><a href="#cite_ref-57">^</a> Gorman, Richard. “An Early Nevada City Odd Fellow,” October, 2017. <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://www.nevadacityoddfellows.com/history/charlesmarsh/">https://www.nevadacityoddfellows.com/history/charlesmarsh/</a>. 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Manuscript, The Ditches of Nevada City, Chapter 24, Stories of Fire and Ice, anticipated publication date: Spring 2023. </li> <li id="cite_note-64"><a href="#cite_ref-64">^</a> "Railroad Route Discovered," The Nevada Journal, November 9, 1860, p. 2, Nevada City, California. </li> <li id="cite_note-65"><a href="#cite_ref-65">^</a> Gorman, Richard. "An Early Nevada City Odd Fellow," October, 2017. <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://www.nevadacityoddfellows.com/history/charlesmarsh/">https://www.nevadacityoddfellows.com/history/charlesmarsh/</a>. Retrieved September 13, 2022. </li> <li id="cite_note-66"><a href="#cite_ref-66">^</a> Comstock, David Allan. 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Judah," California Historical Society Quarterly, p. 250, Volume IV, No. 3, September 1925. </li> <li id="cite_note-71"><a href="#cite_ref-71">^</a> Central Pacific Railroad, Articles of Association, California State Archives, Sacramento, California. </li> <li id="cite_note-PBS-TCRR-Durant-72"><a href="#cite_ref-PBS-TCRR-Durant_72-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190827042037/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/tcrr-durant/">"Thomas Clark Durant – American Experience"</a>. PBS.org. PBS – Official Site. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/tcrr-durant/">the original</a> on August 27, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2020. <q>Thomas Durant was a born manipulator.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=PBS.org&rft.atitle=Thomas+Clark+Durant+%E2%80%93+American+Experience&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pbs.org%2Fwgbh%2Famericanexperience%2Ffeatures%2Ftcrr-durant%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-73"><a href="#cite_ref-73">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nrrhof.org/major-general-grenville-mellen-dodge">"Major General Grenville Mellen Dodge"</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Major+General+Grenville+Mellen+Dodge&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nrrhof.org%2Fmajor-general-grenville-mellen-dodge&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-74"><a href="#cite_ref-74">^</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.cprr.org/Museum/Pacific_Railroad_Acts.html">"An Act to aid in the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri river to the Pacific Ocean, and to secure to the government the use of the same for postal, military, and other purposes</a> 12 Stat. 489, July 1, 1862. </li> <li id="cite_note-75"><a href="#cite_ref-75">^</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.cprr.org/Museum/Pacific_Railroad_Acts.html#1862-03">Pacific Railroad Acts</a> accessed March 25, 2013. </li> <li id="cite_note-klein-76">^ <a href="#cite_ref-klein_76-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-klein_76-1">b</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFKlein" class="citation web cs1">Klein, Maury. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/development-west/essays/financing-transcontinental-railroad">"Financing the Transcontinental Railroad"</a>. 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(1969). </li> <li id="cite_note-78"><a href="#cite_ref-78">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/tcrr/peopleevents/p_durant.html">"PBS American Experience – Transcontinental Railroad – Durant Biography"</a>. <a href="/wiki/PBS" title="PBS">PBS</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=PBS&rft.atitle=PBS+American+Experience+%E2%80%93+Transcontinental+Railroad+%E2%80%93+Durant+Biography&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pbs.org%2Fwgbh%2Famex%2Ftcrr%2Fpeopleevents%2Fp_durant.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-79"><a href="#cite_ref-79">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://cprr.org/Museum/Ephemera/Judah%20Memoriam%20BCC.html">"In Memoriam, Theodore D. Judah, Died November 2, 1863"</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=In+Memoriam%2C+Theodore+D.+Judah%2C+Died+November+2%2C+1863&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fcprr.org%2FMuseum%2FEphemera%2FJudah%2520Memoriam%2520BCC.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-lmc-80">^ <a href="#cite_ref-lmc_80-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-lmc_80-1">b</a> <a href="#cite_ref-lmc_80-2">c</a> Cooper, Bruce C. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://cprr.org/Museum/Lewis_Metzler_Clement.html">Lewis Metzler Clement: A Pioneer of the Central Pacific Railroad</a> The Central Pacific Photographic History Museum. </li> <li id="cite_note-walton-81"><a href="#cite_ref-walton_81-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFWaltonRockoff,_Hugh2005" class="citation book cs1">Walton, Gary M.; Rockoff, Hugh (2005). "Railroads and Economic Change". History of the American Economy (10th ed.). United States: South-Western. pp. 313–314. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0324226365" title="Special:BookSources/0324226365"><bdi>0324226365</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Railroads+and+Economic+Change&rft.btitle=History+of+the+American+Economy&rft.place=United+States&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E313-%3C%2Fspan%3E314&rft.edition=10th&rft.pub=South-Western&rft.date=2005&rft.isbn=0324226365&rft.aulast=Walton&rft.aufirst=Gary+M.&rft.au=Rockoff%2C+Hugh&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-82"><a href="#cite_ref-82">^</a> Ambrose, Stephen, 2000, p. 376. </li> <li id="cite_note-83"><a href="#cite_ref-83">^</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20050228222737/http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/displayPhoto.pl?path=/award/mhsdalad/120000/&topImages=120033r.jpg&topLinks=120033v.jpg&displayProfile=1">Map of Land Grants to Railroads</a> linked to archived version, page not available as of February 2023. Originally accessed 2009 </li> <li id="cite_note-84"><a href="#cite_ref-84">^</a> The Silent Spikes: Chinese Laborers and the Construction of North American Railroads, comp. and ed. Huang Annian, trans. Zhang Juguo (n.p.: China Intercontinental Press, 2006), p. 36. </li> <li id="cite_note-85"><a href="#cite_ref-85">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/homestead-act">"Homestead Act: 1862 Date & Definition"</a>. HISTORY. September 13, 2022. 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Economics of Transportation, pp. 134, 136-7, Richard D. Irwin, Inc., Homewood, Illinois, 1972. </li> <li id="cite_note-90"><a href="#cite_ref-90">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMiller2018" class="citation book cs1">Miller, Daegan (2018). This Radical Land: A Natural History of American Dissent. The University of Chicago Press.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=This+Radical+Land%3A+A+Natural+History+of+American+Dissent&rft.pub=The+University+of+Chicago+Press&rft.date=2018&rft.aulast=Miller&rft.aufirst=Daegan&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-91"><a href="#cite_ref-91">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFHaupt1864" class="citation book cs1">Haupt, Herman (1864). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=vKZBAAAAIAAJ&pg=PP9">Military Bridges: With Suggestions for New Expedients and Constructions for Crossing Streams and Chasms; Including, Also, Designs for Trestle and Truss Bridges for Military Railroads, Adapted Especially to the Wants of the Service in the United States</a>. Retrieved August 1, 2013 – via <a href="/wiki/Google_Books" title="Google Books">Google Books</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Military+Bridges%3A+With+Suggestions+for+New+Expedients+and+Constructions+for+Crossing+Streams+and+Chasms%3B+Including%2C+Also%2C+Designs+for+Trestle+and+Truss+Bridges+for+Military+Railroads%2C+Adapted+Especially+to+the+Wants+of+the+Service+in+the+United+States&rft.date=1864&rft.aulast=Haupt&rft.aufirst=Herman&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DvKZBAAAAIAAJ%26pg%3DPP9&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-92"><a href="#cite_ref-92">^</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/tcrr-uprr/">Workers of the Union Pacific Railroad</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170323071331/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/tcrr-uprr/">Archived</a> March 23, 2017, at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a> accessed March 28, 2013. </li> <li id="cite_note-Chang_Fishkin_2019-93"><a href="#cite_ref-Chang_Fishkin_2019_93-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFChangFishkin2019" class="citation book cs1">Chang, Gordon H; Fishkin, Shelley Fisher (2019). The Chinese and the iron road: Building the transcontinental railroad. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1503608290" title="Special:BookSources/978-1503608290"><bdi>978-1503608290</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Chinese+and+the+iron+road%3A+Building+the+transcontinental+railroad&rft.place=Stanford%2C+CA&rft.pub=Stanford+University+Press&rft.date=2019&rft.isbn=978-1503608290&rft.aulast=Chang&rft.aufirst=Gordon+H&rft.au=Fishkin%2C+Shelley+Fisher&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-chang-94"><a href="#cite_ref-chang_94-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFChang2019" class="citation book cs1">Chang, Gordon H (2019). 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Utah Historical Quarterly. 37 (1): 41–57. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.2307%2F45058853">10.2307/45058853</a>. <a href="/wiki/JSTOR_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="JSTOR (identifier)">JSTOR</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/45058853">45058853</a>. <a href="/wiki/S2CID_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="S2CID (identifier)">S2CID</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:254449682">254449682</a>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://cprr.org/Museum/Last_Spike_is_Driven.pdf">Archived</a> (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Utah+Historical+Quarterly&rft.atitle=Chinese+Laborers+and+the+Construction+of+the+Central+Pacific&rft.volume=37&rft.issue=1&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E41-%3C%2Fspan%3E57&rft.date=1969&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.semanticscholar.org%2FCorpusID%3A254449682%23id-name%3DS2CID&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jstor.org%2Fstable%2F45058853%23id-name%3DJSTOR&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.2307%2F45058853&rft.aulast=Kraus&rft.aufirst=George&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fcprr.org%2FMuseum%2FLast_Spike_is_Driven.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-96"><a href="#cite_ref-96">^</a> Reef, Catherine "Working in America", p. 79. 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U of Minnesota Press. pp. 100–101. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/1452908737" title="Special:BookSources/1452908737"><bdi>1452908737</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Union+Pacific%3A+Volume+I%2C+1862%E2%80%931893&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E100-%3C%2Fspan%3E101&rft.pub=U+of+Minnesota+Press&rft.date=2006&rft.isbn=1452908737&rft.aulast=Klein&rft.aufirst=Maury&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-108"><a href="#cite_ref-108">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFAmbrose2000" class="citation book cs1">Ambrose, Stephen E. 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Boston Globe. January 10, 2000. A book review: <a href="/wiki/Empire_Express:_Building_the_First_Transcontinental_Railroad" class="mw-redirect" title="Empire Express: Building the First Transcontinental Railroad">Empire Express: Building the First Transcontinental Railroad</a>, by David Haward Bain. </li> <li id="cite_note-up-113"><a href="#cite_ref-up_113-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120408220256/http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/history/hist-ov/hist-ov4.shtml">"UP construction"</a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/history/hist-ov/hist-ov4.shtml">the original</a> on April 8, 2012. 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November 9, 1868.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Alta+California+%28San+Francisco%29&rft.date=1868-11-09&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nps.gov%2Farchive%2Fgosp%2Fresearch%2Ftrack_laying.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-140"><a href="#cite_ref-140">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFKraus" class="citation book cs1">Kraus. High Road to Promontory. p. 110.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=High+Road+to+Promontory&rft.pages=110&rft.au=Kraus&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-141"><a href="#cite_ref-141">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFHoward1962" class="citation book cs1">Howard, Robert West (1962). The Great Iron Trail: The Story of the First Transcontinental Railroad. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. p. 231.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Great+Iron+Trail%3A+The+Story+of+the+First+Transcontinental+Railroad&rft.place=New+York&rft.pages=231&rft.pub=G.+P.+Putnam%27s+Sons&rft.date=1962&rft.aulast=Howard&rft.aufirst=Robert+West&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-dobie-142">^ <a href="#cite_ref-dobie_142-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-dobie_142-1">b</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFDobie1936" class="citation book cs1">Dobie, Charles Caldwell (1936). San Francisco's Chinatown; Chapter IV: Railroad Building. New York: Appleton-Century Co. pp. 71–72.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=San+Francisco%27s+Chinatown%3B+Chapter+IV%3A+Railroad+Building&rft.place=New+York&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E71-%3C%2Fspan%3E72&rft.pub=Appleton-Century+Co&rft.date=1936&rft.aulast=Dobie&rft.aufirst=Charles+Caldwell&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-143"><a href="#cite_ref-143">^</a> Ambrose, Nothing Like It in the World, pp. 160, 201. </li> <li id="cite_note-144"><a href="#cite_ref-144">^</a> Howard, Robert The Great Iron Trail. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1962. pg. 222 </li> <li id="cite_note-145"><a href="#cite_ref-145">^</a> Howard, Robert The Great Iron Trail. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1962. pg.222 </li> <li id="cite_note-Tzu-Kuei_p._128-146">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Tzu-Kuei_p._128_146-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-Tzu-Kuei_p._128_146-1">b</a> Tzu-Kuei, "Chinese Workers and the First Transcontinental Railroad of the United States of America", p. 128. </li> <li id="cite_note-147"><a href="#cite_ref-147">^</a> John R. Gillis, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://cprr.org/Museum/Tunnels.html">"Tunnels of the Pacific Railroad."</a> Van Nostrand's Eclectic Engineering Magazine, January 5, 1870, pp. 418–423. </li> <li id="cite_note-148"><a href="#cite_ref-148">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~npmelton/genealogy/alam-str.htm">"James Harvey Strobridge"</a>. freepages.rootsweb.com. Retrieved February 28, 2021.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=freepages.rootsweb.com&rft.atitle=James+Harvey+Strobridge&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Ffreepages.rootsweb.com%2F~npmelton%2Fgenealogy%2Falam-str.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-149"><a href="#cite_ref-149">^</a> Galloway, C.E., John Debo The First Transcontinental Railroad. New York: Simmons-Boardman, (1950). Ch. 7. </li> <li id="cite_note-150"><a href="#cite_ref-150">^</a> Cooper, Bruce C. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://cprr.org/Museum/Sierra_Grade_8-2003/Donner_Pass-Summit_Tunnel/index.html">"CPRR Summit Tunnel (#6), Tunnels #7 & #8, Snowsheds, "Chinese" Walls, Donner Trail, and Dutch Flat Donner – Lake Wagon Road at Donner Pass"</a> CPRR.org </li> <li id="cite_note-151"><a href="#cite_ref-151">^</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://cprr.org/Museum/Sierra_Grade_8-2003/Period_Views/index.html#Cisco">"Period construction images of snowsheds at Cisco and Donner Summit"</a> CPRR.org </li> <li id="cite_note-152"><a href="#cite_ref-152">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/tcrr/peopleevents/p_durant.html">"People & Events: Thomas Clark Durant (1820–1885)"</a>. American Experience: Transcontinental Railroad. PBS. 2003. Retrieved May 10, 2007.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=American+Experience%3A+Transcontinental+Railroad&rft.atitle=People+%26+Events%3A+Thomas+Clark+Durant+%281820%E2%80%931885%29&rft.date=2003&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pbs.org%2Fwgbh%2Famex%2Ftcrr%2Fpeopleevents%2Fp_durant.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-:0-153">^ <a href="#cite_ref-:0_153-0">a</a> <a href="#cite_ref-:0_153-1">b</a> <a href="#cite_ref-:0_153-2">c</a> <a href="#cite_ref-:0_153-3">d</a> <a href="#cite_ref-:0_153-4">e</a> <a href="#cite_ref-:0_153-5">f</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFKing2012" class="citation web cs1">King, Gilbert (July 17, 2012). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/where-the-buffalo-no-longer-roamed-3067904/">"Where the Buffalo No Longer Roamed: The Transcontinental Railroad connected East and West – and accelerated the destruction of what had been in the center of North America"</a>. Smithsonian.com. Retrieved April 10, 2012.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Smithsonian.com&rft.atitle=Where+the+Buffalo+No+Longer+Roamed%3A+The+Transcontinental+Railroad+connected+East+and+West+%E2%80%93+and+accelerated+the+destruction+of+what+had+been+in+the+center+of+North+America&rft.date=2012-07-17&rft.aulast=King&rft.aufirst=Gilbert&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.smithsonianmag.com%2Fhistory%2Fwhere-the-buffalo-no-longer-roamed-3067904%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-154"><a href="#cite_ref-154">^</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.csrmf.org/events-exhibits/whats-new/see-the-golden-lost-spike-at-the-museum">"See the "Lost" Golden Spike at the Museum"</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.today/20120724003437/http://www.csrmf.org/events-exhibits/whats-new/see-the-golden-lost-spike-at-the-museum">Archived</a> July 24, 2012, at <a href="/wiki/Archive.today" title="Archive.today">archive.today</a> California State Railroad Museum. </li> <li id="cite_note-155"><a href="#cite_ref-155">^</a> Central Pacific snow sheds <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="http://www.cprr.org/Museum/Summit_Tunnel_1999/index.html">[10]</a> accessed January 28, 2009. </li> <li id="cite_note-156"><a href="#cite_ref-156">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation news cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026844/1872-03-26/ed-1/seq-1/">"Omaha"</a>. The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer. Wheeling, West Virginia. March 26, 1872. p. 1. Retrieved January 5, 2017.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+Wheeling+Daily+Intelligencer&rft.atitle=Omaha&rft.pages=1&rft.date=1872-03-26&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fchroniclingamerica.loc.gov%2Flccn%2Fsn84026844%2F1872-03-26%2Fed-1%2Fseq-1%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-157"><a href="#cite_ref-157">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFUnited_States_National_Park_Service2002" class="citation web cs1">United States National Park Service (September 28, 2002). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070610072243/http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/hh/40/hh40r.htm">"Promontory After May 10, 1869"</a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/hh/40/hh40r.htm">the original</a> on June 10, 2007. Retrieved May 10, 2007.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Promontory+After+May+10%2C+1869&rft.date=2002-09-28&rft.au=United+States+National+Park+Service&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cr.nps.gov%2Fhistory%2Fonline_books%2Fhh%2F40%2Fhh40r.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-158"><a href="#cite_ref-158">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.trains.com/trn/railroads/history/the-transcontinental-railroads-impact-on-world-war-ii/">"The Transcontinental Railroad's Impact on World War II | Trains Magazine"</a>. Trains. March 5, 2019. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210518014815/https://www.trains.com/trn/railroads/history/the-transcontinental-railroads-impact-on-world-war-ii/">Archived</a> from the original on May 18, 2021.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Trains&rft.atitle=The+Transcontinental+Railroad%27s+Impact+on+World+War+II+%7C+Trains+Magazine&rft.date=2019-03-05&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.trains.com%2Ftrn%2Frailroads%2Fhistory%2Fthe-transcontinental-railroads-impact-on-world-war-ii%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-159"><a href="#cite_ref-159">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/tcrr/peopleevents/p_ames.html">"People & Events: Oakes Ames (1804–1873) – American Experience Transcontinental Railroad"</a>. <a href="/wiki/PBS" title="PBS">PBS</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=PBS&rft.atitle=People+%26+Events%3A+Oakes+Ames+%281804%E2%80%931873%29+%E2%80%93+American+Experience+Transcontinental+Railroad&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pbs.org%2Fwgbh%2Famex%2Ftcrr%2Fpeopleevents%2Fp_ames.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-160"><a href="#cite_ref-160">^</a> Panic on Wall Street: A History of America's Financial Disasters, p. 193, <a href="/wiki/Robert_Sobel" title="Robert Sobel">Robert Sobel</a>, Beard Books, 1999, <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1893122468" title="Special:BookSources/978-1893122468">978-1893122468</a>. </li> <li id="cite_note-161"><a href="#cite_ref-161">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFWilliams2019" class="citation news cs1">Williams, Carter (March 19, 2019). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.ksl.com/article/46512103/golden-spike-becomes-utahs-first-national-historic-park-heres-what-that-means">"Golden Spike becomes Utah's first national historic park. Here's what that means"</a>. KSL TV. Salt Lake City. Retrieved January 31, 2021.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=KSL+TV&rft.atitle=Golden+Spike+becomes+Utah%27s+first+national+historic+park.+Here%27s+what+that+means.&rft.date=2019-03-19&rft.aulast=Williams&rft.aufirst=Carter&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ksl.com%2Farticle%2F46512103%2Fgolden-spike-becomes-utahs-first-national-historic-park-heres-what-that-means&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-162"><a href="#cite_ref-162">^</a> Sources: <ul><li>Pentrex, 1997.</li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFGolden_Spike" class="citation web cs1">Golden Spike. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150405161138/https://www.nps.gov/gosp/learn/historyculture/upload/jupiter%202.pdf">"Everlasting Steam: The Story of Jupiter and No. 119"</a> (PDF). nps.gov. Brigham City, Utah: National Park Service. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nps.gov/gosp/learn/historyculture/upload/jupiter%202.pdf">the original</a> (PDF) on April 5, 2015.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=nps.gov&rft.atitle=Everlasting+Steam%3A+The+Story+of+Jupiter+and+No.+119&rft.au=Golden+Spike&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nps.gov%2Fgosp%2Flearn%2Fhistoryculture%2Fupload%2Fjupiter%25202.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110930204844/http://users.tns.net/~path/GS119.html">"Golden Spike Pictures"</a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://users.tns.net/~path/GS119.html">the original</a> on September 30, 2011.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Golden+Spike+Pictures&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fusers.tns.net%2F~path%2FGS119.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBest1980" class="citation book cs1">Best, Gerald M (1980). Promontory's Locomotives. Golden West Books. pp. 12–43. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0870950827" title="Special:BookSources/978-0870950827"><bdi>978-0870950827</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Promontory%27s+Locomotives&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E12-%3C%2Fspan%3E43&rft.pub=Golden+West+Books&rft.date=1980&rft.isbn=978-0870950827&rft.aulast=Best&rft.aufirst=Gerald+M&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv54hDAvJwk">"Central Pacific Jupiter and Union Pacific 119 at Promontory, Utah, June 8, 2009"</a>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/Yv54hDAvJwk">Archived</a> from the original on December 11, 2021 – via <a href="/wiki/YouTube" title="YouTube">YouTube</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Central+Pacific+Jupiter+and+Union+Pacific+119+at+Promontory%2C+Utah%2C+June+8%2C+2009&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DYv54hDAvJwk&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFDowty1994" class="citation book cs1">Dowty, Robert R. (1994). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=e66u9nqAu24C">Rebirth of the Jupiter and the 119: Building the Replica Locomotives at Golden Spike</a>. Western National Parks Association. pp. 5–46. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1877856433" title="Special:BookSources/978-1877856433"><bdi>978-1877856433</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Rebirth+of+the+Jupiter+and+the+119%3A+Building+the+Replica+Locomotives+at+Golden+Spike&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E5-%3C%2Fspan%3E46&rft.pub=Western+National+Parks+Association&rft.date=1994&rft.isbn=978-1877856433&rft.aulast=Dowty&rft.aufirst=Robert+R.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3De66u9nqAu24C&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFGoran2016" class="citation web cs1">Goran, David (September 27, 2016). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/09/27/steam-locomotives-jupiter-union-pacific-no-119-striking-symbols-one-important-periods-american-history/">"Steam locomotives Jupiter and Union Pacific No. 119: Striking symbols of one of the most important periods in American history"</a>. The Vintage News. <q>They were painted and lettered by Disney employees and are incredibly accurate replicas of the originals. (numerous photographs of engines)</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Steam+locomotives+Jupiter+and+Union+Pacific+No.+119%3A+Striking+symbols+of+one+of+the+most+important+periods+in+American+history&rft.pub=The+Vintage+News&rft.date=2016-09-27&rft.aulast=Goran&rft.aufirst=David&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thevintagenews.com%2F2016%2F09%2F27%2Fsteam-locomotives-jupiter-union-pacific-no-119-striking-symbols-one-important-periods-american-history%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"></li></ul> </li> <li id="cite_note-yuccamountain-163"><a href="#cite_ref-yuccamountain_163-0">^</a> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.yuccamountain.org/impact_report/section3.htm">"Eureka County, Yucca Mountain Existing Transportation Corridor Study"</a>. Eureka County – Yucca Mountain Project. 2005. Retrieved May 8, 2010.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Eureka+County%2C+Yucca+Mountain+Existing+Transportation+Corridor+Study&rft.pub=Eureka+County+%E2%80%93+Yucca+Mountain+Project&rft.date=2005&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yuccamountain.org%2Fimpact_report%2Fsection3.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"> </li> <li id="cite_note-164"><a href="#cite_ref-164">^</a> <a href="/wiki/William_Butcher" title="William Butcher">William Butcher</a> (translation and introduction). Around the World in Eighty Days, <a href="/wiki/Oxford_Worlds_Classics" class="mw-redirect" title="Oxford Worlds Classics">Oxford Worlds Classics</a>, 1995, Introduction. </li> </ol></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Further_reading">Further reading</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=38" title="Edit section: Further reading">edit</a>]</div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1257001546"><table class="infobox" style="width: 210px; clear: right; float:right;margin:0 0 1.5em 1.5em"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above" style="font-size:115%">External videos</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data" style="text-align: left"><img alt="video icon" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Nuvola_apps_kaboodle.svg/16px-Nuvola_apps_kaboodle.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Nuvola_apps_kaboodle.svg/24px-Nuvola_apps_kaboodle.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Nuvola_apps_kaboodle.svg/32px-Nuvola_apps_kaboodle.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?155004-1/empire-express">Booknotes interview with David Haward Bain on Empire Express: Building the First Transcontinental Railroad, March 5, 2000</a>, <a href="/wiki/C-SPAN" title="C-SPAN">C-SPAN</a></td></tr></tbody></table> <ul><li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFAllenGlen_M._Leonard1976" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/James_B._Allen_(historian)" title="James B. Allen (historian)">Allen, James B.</a>; <a href="/wiki/Glen_M._Leonard" title="Glen M. Leonard">Glen M. Leonard</a> (1976). <a href="/wiki/The_Story_of_the_Latter-day_Saints" title="The Story of the Latter-day Saints">The Story of the Latter-day Saints</a>. Salt Lake City, Utah: <a href="/wiki/Deseret_Book_Company" title="Deseret Book Company">Deseret Book Company</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Story+of+the+Latter-day+Saints&rft.place=Salt+Lake+City%2C+Utah&rft.pub=Deseret+Book+Company&rft.date=1976&rft.aulast=Allen&rft.aufirst=James+B.&rft.au=Glen+M.+Leonard&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFAmbrose,_Stephen_E.2000" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Stephen_E._Ambrose" title="Stephen E. Ambrose">Ambrose, Stephen E.</a> (2000). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/nothinglikeitinw00ambr">Nothing Like It In The World; The men who built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863–1869</a>. Simon & Schuster. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0684846098" title="Special:BookSources/0684846098"><bdi>0684846098</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Nothing+Like+It+In+The+World%3B+The+men+who+built+the+Transcontinental+Railroad+1863%E2%80%931869&rft.pub=Simon+%26+Schuster&rft.date=2000&rft.isbn=0684846098&rft.au=Ambrose%2C+Stephen+E.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fnothinglikeitinw00ambr&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBain,_David_Haward1999" class="citation book cs1">Bain, David Haward (1999). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/empireexpressbui00bain">Empire Express; Building the first Transcontinental Railroad</a>. Viking Penguin. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/067080889X" title="Special:BookSources/067080889X"><bdi>067080889X</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Empire+Express%3B+Building+the+first+Transcontinental+Railroad&rft.pub=Viking+Penguin&rft.date=1999&rft.isbn=067080889X&rft.au=Bain%2C+David+Haward&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fempireexpressbui00bain&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBeebe,_Lucius1969" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Lucius_Beebe" title="Lucius Beebe">Beebe, Lucius</a> (1969). The Central Pacific & The Southern Pacific Railroads: Centennial Edition. Howell-North. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/083107034X" title="Special:BookSources/083107034X"><bdi>083107034X</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Central+Pacific+%26+The+Southern+Pacific+Railroads%3A+Centennial+Edition&rft.pub=Howell-North&rft.date=1969&rft.isbn=083107034X&rft.au=Beebe%2C+Lucius&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"></li> <li>Chang, Gordon H. (2019). Ghosts of Gold Mountain: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.</li> <li>Cooper, Bruce C., <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://cprr.org/Museum/Riding_the_Rails_Intro.html">"Riding the Transcontinental Rails: Overland Travel on the Pacific Railroad 1865–1881"</a> (2005), Polyglot Press, Philadelphia <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/1411599934" title="Special:BookSources/1411599934">1411599934</a></li> <li>Cooper, Bruce Clement (Ed), "The Classic Western American Railroad Routes". New York: Chartwell Books/Worth Press, 2010. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0785825739" title="Special:BookSources/978-0785825739">978-0785825739</a>; BINC: 3099794.</li> <li>Duran, Xavier, "The First U.S. Transcontinental Railroad: Expected Profits and Government Intervention," Journal of Economic History, 73 (March 2013), 177–200.</li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFLee,_Willis_T.Ralph_W._StoneHoyt_S._Gale1916" class="citation book cs1">Lee, Willis T.; Ralph W. Stone & Hoyt S. Gale (1916). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120505042503/http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/geology/publications/bul/612/index.htm">Guidebook of the Western United States, Part B. The Overland Route</a>. USGS Bulletin 612. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/geology/publications/bul/612/index.htm">the original</a> on May 5, 2012.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Guidebook+of+the+Western+United+States%2C+Part+B.+The+Overland+Route&rft.pub=USGS+Bulletin+612&rft.date=1916&rft.au=Lee%2C+Willis+T.&rft.au=Ralph+W.+Stone&rft.au=Hoyt+S.+Gale&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cr.nps.gov%2Fhistory%2Fonline_books%2Fgeology%2Fpublications%2Fbul%2F612%2Findex.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFSandler2015" class="citation book cs1">Sandler, Martin W. (2015). Iron Rails, Iron Men, and the race to link the nation: The story of the transcontinental railroad. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0763665272" title="Special:BookSources/978-0763665272"><bdi>978-0763665272</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Iron+Rails%2C+Iron+Men%2C+and+the+race+to+link+the+nation%3A+The+story+of+the+transcontinental+railroad&rft.place=Somerville%2C+MA&rft.pub=Candlewick+Press&rft.date=2015&rft.isbn=978-0763665272&rft.aulast=Sandler&rft.aufirst=Martin+W.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AFirst+transcontinental+railroad" class="Z3988"></li> <li>White, Richard. Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America (2010)</li> <li>Willumson, Glenn. Iron Muse: Photographing the Transcontinental Railroad (University of California Press; 2013) 242 pages; studies the production, distribution, and publication of images of the railroad in the 19th and early 20th centuries.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2>[<a href="/w/index.php?title=First_transcontinental_railroad&action=edit&section=39" title="Edit section: External links">edit</a>]</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1235681985">.mw-parser-output .side-box{margin:4px 0;box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #aaa;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em;background-color:var(--background-color-interactive-subtle,#f8f9fa);display:flow-root}.mw-parser-output .side-box-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{padding:0.25em 0.9em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-image{padding:2px 0 2px 0.9em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-imageright{padding:2px 0.9em 2px 0;text-align:center}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .side-box-flex{display:flex;align-items:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{flex:1;min-width:0}}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .side-box{width:238px}.mw-parser-output .side-box-right{clear:right;float:right;margin-left:1em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-left{margin-right:1em}}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1250146164">.mw-parser-output .sister-box .side-box-abovebelow{padding:0.75em 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .sister-box .side-box-abovebelow>b{display:block}.mw-parser-output .sister-box .side-box-text>ul{border-top:1px solid #aaa;padding:0.75em 0;width:217px;margin:0 auto}.mw-parser-output .sister-box .side-box-text>ul>li{min-height:31px}.mw-parser-output .sister-logo{display:inline-block;width:31px;line-height:31px;vertical-align:middle;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .sister-link{display:inline-block;margin-left:4px;width:182px;vertical-align:middle}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox{display:none!important}}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox img[src*="Wiktionary-logo-v2.svg"]{background-color:white}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox img[src*="Wiktionary-logo-v2.svg"]{background-color:white}}</style><div role="navigation" class="side-box side-box-right plainlinks sistersitebox"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"> <div class="side-box-flex"> <div class="side-box-image"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png" decoding="async" width="30" height="40" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/45px-Commons-logo.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/59px-Commons-logo.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1024" data-file-height="1376" /></div> <div class="side-box-text plainlist">Wikimedia Commons has media related to <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:First_Transcontinental_Railroad" class="extiw" title="c:Category:First Transcontinental Railroad">First transcontinental railroad</a>.</div></div> </div> For maps and railroad pictures of this era shortly after the advent of <a href="/wiki/History_of_photography" title="History of photography">photography</a> see: <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://cprr.org/">Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.cprr.org/Museum/Maps/_cprr_map.html">1871 CPRR & UPRR Overland Railroad Map</a> "Map of the Central Pacific Railroad and its Connections" published in the California Mail Bag San Francisco News Letter and California Advertiser, Vol. 1, No. 4, Oct–Nov. 1871. accessed May 1, 2013.</li> <li>Union Pacific Railroad picture Museum <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170812212711/http://www.up.com/aboutup/history/photos/railroad_construction/index.htm">Excursion to the 100th Meridian – 1866</a> accessed March 1, 2013.</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/pacifictourist1881willuoft">The Pacific Tourist</a> Williams, Henry T.; published by Adams & Bishop, New York, 1881 ed. Gives insights to travel in the late 1880s on the transcontinental railroad.</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/i-hear-locomotives-impact-transcontinental-railroad">"I Hear the Locomotives: The Impact of the Transcontinental Railroad"</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nps.gov/gosp/index.htm">Golden Spike National Historical Park</a> in Utah</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.up.com/aboutup/history/index.htm">Union Pacific Railroad History</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070628203843/http://bushong.net/dawn/about/college/ids100/">The Transcontinental Railroad</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/PacificRail.html">Pacific Railway Act and related resources at the Library of Congress</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://cprr.org/Museum/Chinese.html">Chinese-American Contribution to transcontinental railroad</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://railroad.lindahall.org">Linda Hall Library's Transcontinental Railroad educational site with free, full-text access to 19th century American railroad periodicals</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.newspapers.com/topics/industrial-gilded-ages/transcontinental-railroad/">Newspaper articles and clippings about the Transcontinental Railroad at Newspapers.com</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.american-rails.com/trnscntl.html">"Transcontinental Railroad", article by Adam Burns in "Railroads In America" site</a></li></ul> <dl><dt>Maps</dt></dl> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.loc.gov/collection/railroad-maps-1828-to-1900/?q=continental%20railway&fi=subject">Route map at the Library of Congress</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.up.com/cs/groups/public/documents/up_pdf_nativedocs/pdf_eot_historical_up_maps.pdf">Map of Union Pacific Railroad with Dates</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.abandonedrails.com/first-transcontinental-railroad">Abandoned route of the transcontinental railroad in Utah (with map)</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.stanford.edu/group/chineserailroad/cgi-bin/website/virtual/">Geography of Chinese Workers Building the Transcontinental Railroad</a>; "A virtual reconstruction of the key historic sites" – Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project; Center for Spatial and Textual Analysis (CESTA) at <a href="/wiki/Stanford_University" title="Stanford University">Stanford University</a></li></ul> <div style="clear:both;" class=""></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output 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.hlist td ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ul,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ul{padding:0.125em 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbar{display:block;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title .navbar{float:left;text-align:left;margin-right:0.5em}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .navbox-image img{max-width:none!important}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .navbox{display:none!important}}</style></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Rail_transport_in_North_America166" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible mw-collapsed navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output 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abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:North_America_topic" title="Template:North America topic"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:North_America_topic" title="Template talk:North America topic"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:North_America_topic" title="Special:EditPage/Template:North America topic"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Rail_transport_in_North_America166" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em">Rail transport in North America</div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Sovereign states</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Antigua_and_Barbuda" class="mw-redirect" title="Rail transport in Antigua and Barbuda">Antigua and Barbuda</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_the_Bahamas" class="mw-redirect" title="Rail transport in the Bahamas">Bahamas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Barbados" class="mw-redirect" title="Rail transport in Barbados">Barbados</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Belize" title="Rail transport in Belize">Belize</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Canada" title="Rail transport in Canada">Canada</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Costa_Rica" title="Rail transport in Costa Rica">Costa Rica</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Cuba" class="mw-redirect" title="Rail transport in Cuba">Cuba</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_Dominica&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in Dominica (page does not exist)">Dominica</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_the_Dominican_Republic" title="Rail transport in the Dominican Republic">Dominican Republic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_El_Salvador" title="Rail transport in El Salvador">El Salvador</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_Grenada&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in Grenada (page does not exist)">Grenada</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Guatemala" title="Rail transport in Guatemala">Guatemala</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Haiti" class="mw-redirect" title="Rail transport in Haiti">Haiti</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Honduras" title="Rail transport in Honduras">Honduras</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Jamaica" title="Rail transport in Jamaica">Jamaica</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Mexico" title="Rail transport in Mexico">Mexico</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Nicaragua" title="Rail transport in Nicaragua">Nicaragua</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Panama" title="Rail transport in Panama">Panama</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Saint_Kitts_and_Nevis" class="mw-redirect" title="Rail transport in Saint Kitts and Nevis">Saint Kitts and Nevis</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_Saint_Lucia&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in Saint Lucia (page does not exist)">Saint Lucia</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_Saint_Vincent_and_the_Grenadines&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (page does not exist)">Saint Vincent and the Grenadines</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Trinidad_and_Tobago" class="mw-redirect" title="Rail transport in Trinidad and Tobago">Trinidad and Tobago</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_the_United_States" class="mw-redirect" title="Rail transport in the United States">United States</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><div style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.2em; padding: .1em 0;">Dependencies and other territories</div></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_Anguilla&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in Anguilla (page does not exist)">Anguilla</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Aruba" class="mw-redirect" title="Rail transport in Aruba">Aruba</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Bermuda" class="mw-redirect" title="Rail transport in Bermuda">Bermuda</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_Bonaire&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in Bonaire (page does not exist)">Bonaire</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_the_British_Virgin_Islands&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in the British Virgin Islands (page does not exist)">British Virgin Islands</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_the_Cayman_Islands&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in the Cayman Islands (page does not exist)">Cayman Islands</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_Cura%C3%A7ao&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in Curaçao (page does not exist)">Curaçao</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Greenland" class="mw-redirect" title="Rail transport in Greenland">Greenland</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_Guadeloupe&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in Guadeloupe (page does not exist)">Guadeloupe</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_Martinique&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in Martinique (page does not exist)">Martinique</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_Montserrat&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in Montserrat (page does not exist)">Montserrat</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Puerto_Rico" title="Rail transport in Puerto Rico">Puerto Rico</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_Saint_Barth%C3%A9lemy&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in Saint Barthélemy (page does not exist)">Saint Barthélemy</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_the_Collectivity_of_Saint_Martin&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in the Collectivity of Saint Martin (page does not exist)">Saint Martin</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_Saint_Pierre_and_Miquelon&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in Saint Pierre and Miquelon (page does not exist)">Saint Pierre and Miquelon</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_Saba_(island)&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in Saba (island) (page does not exist)">Saba</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_Sint_Eustatius&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in Sint Eustatius (page does not exist)">Sint Eustatius</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_Sint_Maarten&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in Sint Maarten (page does not exist)">Sint Maarten</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_the_Turks_and_Caicos_Islands&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in the Turks and Caicos Islands (page does not exist)">Turks and Caicos Islands</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Rail_transport_in_the_United_States_Virgin_Islands&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Rail transport in the United States Virgin Islands (page does not exist)">United States Virgin Islands</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235"></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="List_of_United_States_railroads_by_political_division119" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:US_railroad_lists" title="Template:US railroad lists"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:US_railroad_lists" title="Template talk:US railroad lists"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:US_railroad_lists" title="Special:EditPage/Template:US railroad lists"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="List_of_United_States_railroads_by_political_division119" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/List_of_common_carrier_freight_railroads_in_the_United_States" title="List of common carrier freight railroads in the United States">List of United States railroads</a> by political division</div></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Alabama_railroads" title="List of Alabama railroads">Alabama</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Alaska_railroads" title="List of Alaska railroads">Alaska</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Arizona_railroads" title="List of Arizona railroads">Arizona</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Arkansas_railroads" title="List of Arkansas railroads">Arkansas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_California_railroads" title="List of California railroads">California</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Colorado_railroads" title="List of Colorado railroads">Colorado</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Connecticut_railroads" title="List of Connecticut railroads">Connecticut</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Delaware_railroads" title="List of Delaware railroads">Delaware</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Florida_railroads" title="List of Florida railroads">Florida</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_railroads_in_Georgia_(U.S._state)" class="mw-redirect" title="List of railroads in Georgia (U.S. state)">Georgia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Hawaii_railroads" title="List of Hawaii railroads">Hawaii</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Idaho_railroads" title="List of Idaho railroads">Idaho</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Illinois_railroads" title="List of Illinois railroads">Illinois</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Indiana_railroads" title="List of Indiana railroads">Indiana</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Iowa_railroads" title="List of Iowa railroads">Iowa</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Kansas_railroads" title="List of Kansas railroads">Kansas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Kentucky_railroads" title="List of Kentucky railroads">Kentucky</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Louisiana_railroads" title="List of Louisiana railroads">Louisiana</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Maine_railroads" title="List of Maine railroads">Maine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Maryland_railroads" title="List of Maryland railroads">Maryland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Massachusetts_railroads" title="List of Massachusetts railroads">Massachusetts</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Michigan_railroads" title="List of Michigan railroads">Michigan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Minnesota_railroads" title="List of Minnesota railroads">Minnesota</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Mississippi_railroads" title="List of Mississippi railroads">Mississippi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Missouri_railroads" title="List of Missouri railroads">Missouri</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Montana_railroads" title="List of Montana railroads">Montana</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Nebraska_railroads" title="List of Nebraska railroads">Nebraska</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Nevada_railroads" title="List of Nevada railroads">Nevada</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_New_Hampshire_railroads" title="List of New Hampshire railroads">New Hampshire</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_New_Jersey_railroads" title="List of New Jersey railroads">New Jersey</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_New_Mexico_railroads" title="List of New Mexico railroads">New Mexico</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_New_York_railroads" title="List of New York railroads">New York</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_North_Carolina_railroads" title="List of North Carolina railroads">North Carolina</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_North_Dakota_railroads" title="List of North Dakota railroads">North Dakota</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Ohio_railroads" title="List of Ohio railroads">Ohio</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Oklahoma_railroads" title="List of Oklahoma railroads">Oklahoma</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Oregon_railroads" title="List of Oregon railroads">Oregon</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Pennsylvania_railroads" title="List of Pennsylvania railroads">Pennsylvania</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Rhode_Island_railroads" title="List of Rhode Island railroads">Rhode Island</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_South_Carolina_railroads" title="List of South Carolina railroads">South Carolina</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_South_Dakota_railroads" title="List of South Dakota railroads">South Dakota</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Tennessee_railroads" title="List of Tennessee railroads">Tennessee</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Texas_railroads" title="List of Texas railroads">Texas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Utah_railroads" title="List of Utah railroads">Utah</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Vermont_railroads" title="List of Vermont railroads">Vermont</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Virginia_railroads" title="List of Virginia railroads">Virginia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Washington_(state)_railroads" title="List of Washington (state) railroads">Washington</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_West_Virginia_railroads" title="List of West Virginia railroads">West Virginia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Wisconsin_railroads" title="List of Wisconsin railroads">Wisconsin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Wyoming_railroads" title="List of Wyoming railroads">Wyoming</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_railroads_in_Washington,_D.C." title="List of railroads in Washington, D.C.">Washington, D.C.</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Puerto_Rico_railroads" title="List of Puerto Rico railroads">Puerto Rico</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Railroads_in_Omaha477" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist mw-collapsible mw-collapsed navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Omaha_railroads" title="Template:Omaha railroads"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Omaha_railroads" title="Template talk:Omaha railroads"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Omaha_railroads" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Omaha railroads"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Railroads_in_Omaha477" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Railroads_in_Omaha" title="Railroads in Omaha">Railroads in Omaha</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Depots</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/w/index.php?title=34th_Street_Station&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="34th Street Station (page does not exist)">34th Street Station</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Omaha_(Amtrak_station)" class="mw-redirect" title="Omaha (Amtrak station)">Amtrak Station</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Burlington_Station_(Omaha,_Nebraska)" class="mw-redirect" title="Burlington Station (Omaha, Nebraska)">Burlington Station</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Florence_Depot" title="Florence Depot">Florence Depot</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Gibson_Station&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Gibson Station (page does not exist)">Gibson Station</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ralston_Station&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Ralston Station (page does not exist)">Ralston Station</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Union_Station_(Omaha)" class="mw-redirect" title="Union Station (Omaha)">Union Station</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Webster_Street_Station" class="mw-redirect" title="Webster Street Station">Webster Street Station</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Major carriers</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Union_Pacific" class="mw-redirect" title="Union Pacific">Union Pacific</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chicago,_Burlington_%26_Quincy_Railroad" class="mw-redirect" title="Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad">Burlington</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Burlington_Northern" class="mw-redirect" title="Burlington Northern">Burlington Northern</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Canadian_National" class="mw-redirect" title="Canadian National">Canadian National</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chicago_%26_North_Western" class="mw-redirect" title="Chicago & North Western">North Western</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Missouri_Pacific" class="mw-redirect" title="Missouri Pacific">Missouri Pacific</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Norfolk_%26_Western" class="mw-redirect" title="Norfolk & Western">Norfolk & Western</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rock_Island_Railroad" class="mw-redirect" title="Rock Island Railroad">Rock Island</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Milwaukee_Road" title="Milwaukee Road">Milwaukee Road</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Illinois_Central" class="mw-redirect" title="Illinois Central">Illinois Central</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chicago_Great_Western_Railway" title="Chicago Great Western Railway">Chicago Great Western</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Soo_Line_Railroad" title="Soo Line Railroad">Soo Line</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wabash_Railroad" title="Wabash Railroad">Wabash</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Minor carriers</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Brandon_Railroad" title="Brandon Railroad">Brandon Railroad</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Amtrak" title="Amtrak">Amtrak</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Omaha_Traction_Company" title="Omaha Traction Company">Omaha Traction Company</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Omaha_Belt_Line" title="Omaha Belt Line">Omaha Belt Line</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Omaha_Zoo_Railroad" title="Omaha Zoo Railroad">Omaha Zoo Railroad</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chicago,_St._Paul,_Minneapolis_and_Omaha_Railway" title="Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway">Omaha Road</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Omaha_and_Republican_Valley_Railway" title="Omaha and Republican Valley Railway">Omaha and Republican Valley Railway</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/South_Omaha_Terminal_Railway" title="South Omaha Terminal Railway">South Omaha Terminal Railway</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Omaha_Southern_Railway" title="Omaha Southern Railway">Omaha Southern Railway</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Omaha,_Lincoln_and_Beatrice_Railway" title="Omaha, Lincoln and Beatrice Railway">Omaha, Lincoln and Beatrice Railway</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Burlington_and_Missouri_River_Railroad" title="Burlington and Missouri River Railroad">Burlington and Missouri River Railroad</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Facilities</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">First transcontinental railroad</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Original_Union_Pacific_Headquarters" class="mw-redirect" title="Original Union Pacific Headquarters">Original Union Pacific Headquarters</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Union_Pacific_Center" title="Union Pacific Center">Union Pacific Center</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Union_Pacific_Harriman_Dispatch_Center" title="Union Pacific Harriman Dispatch Center">Union Pacific Harriman Dispatch Center</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Union_Pacific_Railroad_Omaha_Shops_Facility" title="Union Pacific Railroad Omaha Shops Facility">Union Pacific Shops</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Omaha_Rail_and_Commerce_Historic_District" title="Omaha Rail and Commerce Historic District">Omaha Rail and Commerce Historic District</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kenefick_Park" title="Kenefick Park">Kenefick Park</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Burlington_Headquarters_Building" title="Burlington Headquarters Building">Burlington Headquarters Building</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Public transportation</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Omaha_and_Council_Bluffs_Railway_and_Bridge_Company" title="Omaha and Council Bluffs Railway and Bridge Company">Omaha and Council Bluffs Street Railway</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Omaha_and_Southern_Interurban_Railway" title="Omaha and Southern Interurban Railway">Omaha and Southern Interurban Railway</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Omaha_Cable_Tramway" class="mw-redirect" title="Omaha Cable Tramway">Omaha Cable Tramway</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Omaha_Horse_Railway" title="Omaha Horse Railway">Omaha Horse Railway</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Omaha_Traction_Company" title="Omaha Traction Company">Omaha Traction Company</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Bridges</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Union_Pacific_Missouri_River_Bridge" title="Union Pacific Missouri River Bridge">Union Pacific Missouri River Bridge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Illinois_Central_Missouri_River_Bridge" title="Illinois Central Missouri River Bridge">East Omaha Bridge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/O_Street_Viaduct" title="O Street Viaduct">O Street Viaduct</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Manufacturing</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/McKeen_Motor_Car_Company" title="McKeen Motor Car Company">McKeen Motor Car Company</a></li> <li><a href="/w/index.php?title=Nebraska_Rail_Car&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Nebraska Rail Car (page does not exist)">Nebraska Rail Car</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2"><div><div class="hlist" style="font-size:smaller"> <dl><dt>Related templates</dt> <dd><a href="/wiki/Template:Omaha_transport" title="Template:Omaha transport">Transportation</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Template:Omaha_boulevards" title="Template:Omaha boulevards">Boulevards</a></dd> <dd></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Template:Omaha_bridges" title="Template:Omaha bridges">Bridges</a></dd> <dd><a 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