Before revision: The U.S.'s first transcontinental railroad was built between 1863 and 1869 to join the eastern and western halves of the United States .
After revision: The U.S.'s first transcontinental railroad was built between 1863 and 1869 that connected the existing eastern U.S. rail network at Council Bluffs, Iowa, with the Pacific coast at the Oakland Long Wharf on San Francisco Bay .