Question: who came up with the idea of the transcontinental railroad?
Answer: Dr. Hartwell Carver

Building a railroad line that connected the United States coast - to - coast was advocated in 1832 when Dr. Hartwell Carver published an article in the New York Courier & Enquirer advocating building a transcontinental railroad from Lake Michigan to Oregon . In 1847 he submitted to the U.S. Congress a '' Proposal for a Charter to Build a Railroad from Lake Michigan to the Pacific Ocean '' , seeking a congressional charter to support his idea .