Significant Dates - Transcontinental Railroad Completions © 2014 CPRR.org. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of the User Agreement which permits personal use web viewing only; no copying; arbitration; no warranty. Significant Dates California State Railroad Museum Dec. 15, 1854 Union Wharf and Plank Walk Company incorporated. Built a horse-powered railroad from the town of Union (later called Arcata) to the end of a wharf in Humboldt Bay. Generally considered the first railroad in California. Converted to steam in 1875. Reorganized in 1881 as the Arcata & Mad River RR. Jan 1855 Panama Railroad completed. 1st railroad to connect the Atlantic (Caribbean) and the Pacific (Gulf of Panama). US built and owned. From the Atlantic port it traveled southeast to reach the Pacific port, just as the Panama Canal does today. Feb 1855 Grading of the Sacramento Valley RR started. Feb. 16, 1855 Panama Railroad officially opened. Feb 22, 1856 Sacramento Valley Railroad completed from Sacramento to Folsom.

June 28, 1861 Central Pacific organized , and formally incorporated in California July 1, 1861. To be the western link in the Transcontinental Railroad. Union Pacific chartered by the act of Congress authorizing land grants and support for the Transcontinental Railroad. July 1, 1862 Pacific Railroad Act signed by President Abraham Lincoln and becomes law. Officially recognized the Central Pacific as the Western part of the Transcontinental Railroad. Jan 9, 1863 Central Pacific broke ground at Front Street near K Street in Sacramento. Oct 26, 1863 First rail of the Central Pacific laid, without ceremony. June 6, 1864 San Francisco & San Jose completed between the two cities of those name. Sept 10, 1865 California Pacific incorporated. Initially conceived as a western link for the transcontinental railroad, connecting Sacramento with San Francisco via Vallejo, it later developed transcontinental aspirations of its own. 1867 Western Pacific acquired by CP owners from its owners. The WP was organized by the interests controlling the San Francisco & San Jose.

(Not to be confused with the 20th century Western Pacific, a completely different company.) March 1868 Control of San Francisco & San Jose acquired by the Southern Pacific, organized by the same owners as the SF&SJ. Control of SP acquired by the Big Four later that same year. May 10, 1869 Central Pacific and Union Pacific joined at Promontory, Utah, in Golden Spike ceremony . 1st transcontinental railroad in US. May 13, 1869 Regular service inaugurated between Sacramento and Omaha. Connecting railroads provided service from the Atlantic. Sept 6, 1869 Western Pacific completed and opened for service between Sacramento and Alameda. A branch line from Niles connected in San Jose with the Southern Pacific (SF&SJ). Nov 8, 1869 Central Pacific overland passenger terminus transferred from Alameda to Oakland, Cal . Nov 17, 1869 Opening of the Suez Canal diverted most of the Oriental traffic that had been expected to pass over the Central and Union Pacific line. High value, high speed tea and silk traffic continued to use the American transcontinental route to Europe into the 20th century.

May 31, 1870 Boston Board of Trade train arrived in San Francisco (running up the Southern Pacific - formerly the San Francisco & San Jose - into the City). 1st true transcontinental train to run from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast of the US. Apr 13, 1871 Peter Donahue sold the San Francisco & North Pacific to the California Pacific, who planed to move their terminal from Vallejo to Marin County, closer to San Francisco. Aug 1, 1871 Control of the California Pacific acquired by Big Four, eliminating potential transcontinental competitor. Transcontinental passenger traffic was diverted from the Western Pacific to this faster line to San Francisco via Vallejo and a long ferry ride. Mar 1872 Union Pacific opened the bridge between Council Bluffs and Omaha . Jan 1873 After considering and rejecting moving the terminal of the transcontinental railroad from Oakland to Marin County, the Big Four sold the San Francisco & North Pacific (acquired withthe California Pacific purchase) back to Peter Donahue. Sept 5, 1876 First through train from San Francisco reaches Los Angeles .

Nov 1879 Tripartite agreement in which the St Louis & San Francisco and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe agree to jointly build the Atlantic & Pacific. Dec 28, 1879 Train ferry Solano , largest in world, placed in service on the revised transcontinental route west of Sacramento, connecting the California Pacific line with Oakland ferry terminal. Finally replaced by a bridge on Oct 14, 1930. Oct 23, 1880 California Southern Railroad incorporated for the purpose of serving as the Pacific coast terminus for the Atlantic & Pacific and locating that terminus at San Diego. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe President Thomas Nickerson named treasurer of California Southern, representing the official tie between the companies. Actual terminus established at National City, where the terminal depot and general office building was constructed in 1882. Mar 1, 1881 Connection between Southern Pacific and Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe at Deming, N.M., forming second transcontinental route. Southern Pacific Southern Division trackage, in Southern California, Arizona and New Mexico, was leased to the Central Pacific for operation during this time period.

Dec 1, 1881 Central Pacific assumed operating control of Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio (GH&SA, known as the Sunset Route ). Control returned to GH&SA's own organization (CP owned) Feb 1, 1883, under new Texas state railroad laws. Jan 1, 1882 Texas and Pacific met Southern Pacific at Sierra Blanca, Texas, forming another transcontinental connection. Jan 1882 C.P. Huntington and Jay Gould together purchased a half interest in the St Louis & San Francisco (Frisco), which itself owned a half interest in the Atlantic & Pacific. Huntington envisioned a true transcontinental line connecting his Chesapeake & Ohio system with the Central and Southern Pacific system via the Frisco and the Atlantic & Pacific. In 1884 Huntington sold his interest in the Atlantic & Pacific to the Santa Fe as part of a larger settlement, and turned his attention to extending his Chesapeake & Ohio system to a Southern Pacific connection at New Orleans.

Oct 25, 1882 The Sonora Railway, built from the Arizona border to the port of Guaymas, Mexico, by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe to provide a Pacific Coast outlet, was officially opened on this day. It was less successful than hoped, leading the Santa Fe to place more emphasis on its Atlantic & Pacific line to California. In 1898 the Sonora Railway was leased to the Southern Pacific as part of a larger exchange of trackage between that company and the Santa Fe. About 1883 Central Pacific interests gained control of the Morgan Lines (Morgan's Louisiana & Texas and Louisiana Western), providing access across Texas to New Orleans. Jan 12, 1883 Last spike driven on Pecos River bridge, completing the Sunset Route, a through line from California to New Orleans, with associated steamer connections to New York. 1st US route from the Atlantic (Gulf of Mexico) to the Pacific controlled by a single company (Central Pacific), arguably the first US transcontinental railroad company. Feb 5, 1883 1st through passenger trains between Los Angeles and New Orleans leave their respective terminals.

May 21, 1883 Denver & Rio Grande and Denver & Rio Grande Western completed through narrow gauge line from Denver to a Central Pacific connection at Ogden, Utah. Line subsequently standard gauged. Aug 1883 Atlantic & Pacific connection across the Colorado River completed at the Needles, meeting the Southern Pacific at the California border and forming another US transcontinental line. Santa Fe subsequently purchased the Southern Pacific's Mojave to Needles branch on Aug 20, 1884. Aug 22, 1883 Northern Pacific completed with driving of gold spike at Gold Creek, Montana, forming, in conjunction with the Oregon Railway & Navigation Co., a transcontinental line from the Great Lakes to Portland, Oregon. Oct 21, 1883 1st through passenger service via the Atlantic & Pacific and Southern Pacific. Mar 17,1884 Southern Pacific Company incorporated in Kentucky as a holding company for Big Four interests. Southern Pacific Railroad leased on Mar 1, 1885; Central Pacific Railroad leased on April 1, 1885. Central Pacific name gradually disappeared over the next decades.

Nov 7, 1884 Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe purchased full control of the California Southern, securing its outlet to the coast. Dec 4, 1884 Oregon Railway & Navigation Co. (OR&N) and Oregon Short Line (Union Pacific controlled) joined at Huntington, Oregon, completing transcontinental link. Union Pacific subsequently acquired control of OR&N, lost it, then under Harriman reacquired permanent control. Nov 7, 1885 Canadian Pacific completed, 1st Canadian transcontinental rail line. Nov 14, 1885 First California Southern/Atlantic & Pacific/Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe through transcontinental train departed for the East from the California Southern depot at National City. The last spike actually connecting the California Southern to the Atlantic & Pacific was driven Nov 15. On Nov 16 the first through transcontinental train from the East arrived at the National City depot. Celebrations marking the completion were held in San Diego on Nov 18. These events mark the true end of Central Pacific/Southern Pacific monopoly of California transcontinental rail transportation, and the start of a rate war between the two rail networks.

July 4, 1886 First scheduled Canadian Pacific transcontinental train arrived at western terminus, Port Moody, British Columbia. May 12, 1887 Southern Pacific Company acquired control of Oregon & California, officially leased to SPCo on July 1, 1887. May 23, 1887 First official train arrived at new Canadian Pacific terminal over extension from Port Moody to Vancouver. Dec 17, 1887 Oregon & California last spike driven at Ashland, completing line between California and Portland, Oregon. April 13, 1888 Northern Pacific completed line through the Cascades to Tacoma, Washington, ending its reliance on the Oregon Railway & Navigation Co. for a Pacific Coast terminal. Jan 5, 1893 Great Northern completed line to Puget Sound, the first transcontinental line built without federal land grant support. 1900 Collis P. Huntington, last of the Big Four, died. 1901 E. H. Harriman of the Union Pacific acquired control of the Southern Pacific. The two railroads were operated together as the Associated Lines.

Union Pacific forced to divest its control of Southern Pacific in 1913 by government anti-trust action. March 8, 1904 Lucin Cutoff opened across Great Salt Lake. March 20, 1904 SP Coast Line completed. Jan 20, 1905 San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake (Union Pacific affiliated) drove last spike in their line between Los Angeles and Utah. May 14, 1909 Chicago, Milwaukee & St Paul completed to Seattle, the last US Pacific Northwest transcontinental line. Nov 1, 1909 Western Pacific line between Oakland and Salt Lake City completed, the last US transcontinental railroad to reach completion. Built by the Gould interests to secure a Pacific Coast outlet for the Rio Grande Western and other Gould lines, in response to the Harriman control of the Union Pacific, the Southern Pacific and the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake. April 9, 1914 Grand Trunk Pacific completed from Winnipeg to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, the 2nd Canadian transcontinental line.

Bankruptcy forced government takeover in May 1915 under the Canadian Government Railways, becoming the Canadian National in June 1919. 1915 Canadian Northern completed from Montreal to Vancouver, British Columbia, the 3rd Canadian transcontinental line. Bankruptcy forced government takeover in 1917, leading to formation of the Canadian National in June 1919. Jan 1, 1926 Oregon & California property deeded to Southern Pacific Company; O&C corporation dissolved Jan 25, 1929. Mar 1, 1927 All major Southern Pacific controlled lines in Texas and Louisiana leased to the Texas & New Orleans, and subsequently merged under T&NO on June 30, 1934. 1932 Southern Pacific Company acquired control of the St Louis & Southwestern (Cotton Belt). Sept 30, 1947 Southern Pacific Company reincorporated as a Delaware corporation after changes in the Kentucky corporation law. Sept 30, 1955 Southern Pacific Railroad merged with Southern Pacific Company. June 30, 1959 Central Pacific merged with Southern Pacific Company.

Nov 1, 1961 Texas & New Orleans merged with Southern Pacific Company. Nov 26, 1969 Southern Pacific Company reorganized as Southern Pacific Transportation Company, itself a subsidiary of the newly formed Southern Pacific Company. 1981 Union Pacific acquired the Western Pacific, and also the Missouri Pacific. Dec 31, 1983 Southern Pacific Company (parent of Southern Pacific Transportation Company) and Santa Fe Industries (parent of Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railway) merged to form Santa Fe Southern Pacific Corporation. Planned merger of the railroads denied by Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) on final appeal June 30, 1987. Oct 13, 1988 Rio Grande Industries, owners of the Denver & Rio Grande Western, took control of Southern Pacific Transportation Company following a Dec 28, 1987 purchase and subsequent ICC approval. May 1, 1989 Southern Pacific Transportation Co. and Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad combined their two operating departments under a single operation, known as Southern Pacific Lines May 4, 1993 Rio Grande Industries changed its name to Southern Pacific Rail Corporation (SPRC).

Sept 11, 1996 Union Pacific purchases the Southern Pacific, unifying the original transcontinental partners, and reassembling Harriman's Associated Lines on an even grander scale. This functionally combines the turn-of-the-century Harriman Lines (UP and SP) and Gould Lines (MP, D&RGW, and WP), plus more. Courtesy Kyle K. Wyatt, Curator of History & Technology. California State Railroad Museum . [Links added.] Copyright © 2005 CPRR.org. [Last Updated 1/29/2005] Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of the User Agreement ; Click any image or link to accept. Completing the Transcontinental Railroad, 1869 Completing the Transcontinental Railroad, 1869 Printer Friendly Version >>> A railroad linking America's east and west coasts had been a dream almost since the steam locomotive made its first appearance in the early 1830s. The need for such a link was dramatized by the discovery of gold in California in 1848 that brought thousands to the West Coast.

At that time only two routes to the West were available: by wagon across the plains or by ship around South America. Traveling either of these could take four months or more to complete. Although everyone thought a transcontinental railroad was a good idea, deep disagreement arose over its path. The Northern states Union Pacific workers laying rails October 1866 favored a northern route while the Southern states pushed for a southern route. This log jam was broken in 1861 with the secession of the Southern states from the Union that allowed Congress to select a route running through Nebraska to California. Construction of the railroad presented a daunting task requiring the laying of over 2000 miles of track that stretched through some the most forbidding landscape on the continent. Tunnels would have to be blasted out of the mountains, rivers bridged and wilderness tamed. Two railroad companies took up the challenge. The Union Pacific began laying track from Omaha to the west while the Central Pacific headed east from Sacramento. Progress was slow initially, but the pace quickened with the end of the Civil War. Finally the two sets of railroad tracks were joined and the continent united with elaborate ceremony at Promontory, Utah on May 10, 1869.

The impact was immediate and dramatic. Travel time between America's east and west coasts was reduced from months to less than a week. ADVERTISMENT "It was a very hilarious occasion; everybody had all they wanted to drink..." The ceremony at Promontory culminated with Governor Stanford of California (representing the Central Pacific Railroad) and Thomas Durant (president of the Union Pacific Railroad) taking turns pounding a Golden Spike into the final tie that united the railroad's east and west sections. As the spike was struck, telegraph signals simultaneously alerted San Francisco and New York City, igniting a celebratory cacophony of tolling bells and cannon fire in each city. Alexander Toponce witnessed the event: "I saw the Golden Spike driven at Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1869. I had a beef contract to furnish meat to the construction camps of Benson and West... On the last day, only about 100 feet were laid, and everybody tried to have a hand in the work. I took a shovel from an Irishman, and threw a shovel full of dirt on the ties just to tell about it afterward. A special train from the west brought Sidney Dillon, General Dodge, T. C.

Durant, John R. Duff, S. A. Seymour, a lot of newspaper men, and plenty of the best brands of champagne. Another train made up at Ogden carried the band from Fort Douglas, the leading men of Utah Territory, and a small but efficient supply of Valley Tan. It was a very hilarious occasion; everybody had all they wanted to drink all the time. Some of the participants got "sloppy," and these were not all Irish and Chinese by any means. California furnished the Golden Spike. Governor Tuttle of Nevada furnished one of silver. General Stanford [Governor Safford?] presented one of gold, silver, and iron from Arizona. The last tie was of California laurel. When they came to drive the last spike, Governor Stanford, president of the Central Pacific, took the sledge, and the first time he struck he missed the spike and hit the rail. Promontory, Utah May 10, 1869 What a howl went up! Irish, Chinese, Mexicans, and everybody yelled with delight. 'He missed it. Yee.' The engineers blew the whistles and rang their bells.

Then Stanford tried it again and tapped the spike and the telegraph operators had fixed their instruments so that the tap was reported in all the offices east and west, and set bells to tapping in hundreds of towns and cities... Then Vice President T. C. Durant of the Union Pacific took up the sledge and he missed the spike the first time. Then everybody slapped everybody else again and yelled, 'He missed it too, yow!' It was a great occasion, everyone carried off souvenirs and there are enough splinters of the last tie in museums to make a good bonfire. When the connection was finally made the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific engineers ran their engines up until their pilots touched. Then the engineers shook hands and had their pictures taken and each broke a bottle of champagne on the pilot of the other's engine and had their picture taken again. The Union Pacific engine, the, 'Jupiter,' was driven by my good friend, George Lashus, who still lives in Ogden. Both before and after the spike driving ceremony there were speeches, which were cheered heartily.

I do not remember what any of the speakers said now, but I do remember that there was a great abundance of champagne." References: Alexander Topence's account first appeared in Topence, Alexander, Alexander Topence, Pioneer (1923) republished in Botkin, B.A. and Alvin Harlow (eds.) A Treasury of Railroad Folklore (1953); Bain, David Harward, Empire Express, Building the First Transcontinental Railroad (1999). How To Cite This Article: "Completing the Transcontinental Railroad, 1869" EyeWitness to History, (2004). When the railroad opened, a First Class ticket from Omaha to Sacramento cost $111, a Second Class ticket $80 and Third Class $40. (Equivalent to approximately $1489, $1073, and $536 respectively in today's money.) In June 1876 the Transcontinental Express set a record of 83 hours and 39 minutes to make the trip from New York City to San Francisco. The First Transcontinental Railroad The First Transcontinental Railroad The coming of the Transcontinental Railroad, the first communication revolution in the USA.

The First Transcontinental Railroad in the United States was built in the 1860s, linking the well developed railway network of the Eastern coast with rapidly growing California. The main line was officially completed on May 10, 1869. The vast number of people who traveled the line, and the network that followed, set the USA on the path to economic abundance. It also ended the centuries old way of life of the Native Americans and greatly altered the environment. The rail line was an important goal of President Abraham Lincoln, fostered during the early portion of his term and completed four years after his death. The building of the railroad was motivated in part to bind California to the Union during the American Civil War. The railroad is considered by some to be the greatest technological feat of the 19th century. The transcontinental railroad replaced the slower and more dangerous wagon trains, Pony Express and stagecoach lines that crossed the country by land and the equally difficult sea journey around the southern tip of South America. The route followed the well established Oregon, Mormon and California Trails.

The new line began in Omaha, Nebraska, followed the Platte River, crossed the Rocky Mountains at South Pass in Wyoming and then through northern Utah and Nevada before crossing the Sierras to Sacramento, California. Additional track was laid to connect Denver, Colorado and Salt Lake City, Utah and other cities not directly on the route. The Central Pacific laid 690 miles (1,110 km) of track, starting in Sacramento, and the Union Pacific laid 1,087 miles (1,749 km) of track, starting in Omaha. The two lines connected at Promontory Summit, Utah. Early Discussions Talk of a transcontinental railroad started in 1830, shortly after railroads began large scale operation in the United States. At about the same time English-speaking settlers began settling in Mexican controlled California. Much of the early debate was not so much over whether it would be built, but what route it should follow: a "central" route, via the Platte River in Nebraska and the South Pass in Wyoming, or a "southern" route, avoiding the Rockies by going through Texas to Los Angeles.

(A "northern" option generally following the route explored by Lewis and Clark through Montana and Oregon was considered impractical because of snow.) In June 1845 Asa Whitney led a team along the proposed central route to assess its capabilities. Whitney travelled widely to solicit support for the rail line, printed maps and pamphlets, and submitted several proposals to Congress. Legislation to begin construction of the Pacific Railroad via the central route was introduced in Congress but not acted on. The Southern Route and the Gadsden Purchase California became a U.S. territory in 1848 with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo which ended the Mexican-American War. The very same year saw the beginnings of the California Gold Rush (better known in 1849) which brought great numbers of people west, many of whom stayed. California became increasingly an important part of the United States and the idea of a rail connection to it gained support. Concerns lingered that snow would make the central route impractical. A survey indicated that the best southern path ran through territory still held by Mexico.

Therefore in 1853, only five years after taking California by force, the United States made the Gadsden Purchase from Mexico, acquiring the southern portions of what is now New Mexico and Arizona. This placed the southern transcontinental route entirely within the U.S. However, despite approving the Purchase, Congress did not fund construction of a rail line at that time. The southern route was completed in 1881, giving it the dubious distinction of being America's second transcontinental railroad. The route is generally followed by Interstate 10 today. The Central Route In early 1861, Theodore Judah, a rail construction engineer and Daniel Strong, a local miner, surveyed what became the western portion of the route. They proposed a rail line through the Sierra Nevada mountains through Clipper Gap, Emigrant Gap, and Donner Pass, then south to Truckee. Collis Huntington was inspired by a Theodore Judah lecture on the possibilities of a railroad. Huntington found four partners who initially invested $1,500 each. The partners included Leland Stanford, a grocer, the future governor of California, and founder of the university that bears his name.

The investors became known as the Big Four and their venture was called the Central Pacific Railroad. The fabled Pony Express, which provided mail service from the East to California, only operated in 1860 and 1861. In that short time the riders learned that the central route was usable despite the winter snows. With the weather worries cleared away and Texas joining the Confederacy, the central route, always the more favorable economically, became the route of choice. The House of Representatives voted for the line on May 6, 1862, and the Senate on June 20. Lincoln signed it into law on July 1. Two companies were hired -- the Central Pacific would build from the west and the Union Pacific from the east. Besides land grants along the right-of-way, each railroad was paid $16,000 per mile ($9,940/km) built over an easy grade, $32,000 per mile ($19,880/km) in the high plains, and $48,000 per mile ($29,830/km) in the mountains.

These terms encouraged the companies to construct many extra miles of track, direct the line toward property they owned, and in many other ways exploit the poorly written law to their benefit. Route of the first Transcontinental Railroad. Original artwork by DanMS subject to the GNU Free Documentation License Once it was decided that the railroad would follow the central rather than the southern route, there was general agreement that the western terminus would be Sacramento. However, there was considerable competition for the eastern terminus. Abraham Lincoln selected Council Bluffs, near Omaha, although the closest rail line was 150 miles east. He had visited the site in 1859 while working for Thomas Durant as a private attorney. Durant was a central figure in the TCRR. Labor on the Transcontinental Railroad The majority of the Union Pacific track heading westward was built by Irish laborers, by Mormons who constructed much of the track in Utah, and after the war by veterans of the Union and Confederate armies. Chinese immigrants did most of the work on the Central Pacific track. Most White men received between one and three dollars per day, but workers from China received less and were supervised by Whites. Eventually, the Chinese went on strike and gained a small increase in salary.

Track laying employed a quarter of the labor force. The operation also required a great number of blacksmiths, carpenters, engineers, masons, surveyors, teamsters, and cooks. Telegraph lines were built following the tracks, bringing near-instant communication. Rail work in the 1860's was hand work. but see the guy on the left sitting in a chair The Central Pacific Railroad On January 8, 1863, Leland Stanford, now governor, officially broke ground in Sacramento to begin construction of the Central Pacific Railroad. The Central Pacific made quick progress along the Sacramento Valley. However construction soon slowed, first by the Sierra Nevada mountains and then by winter snowstorms. The mountains required tunneling, a slow, expensive and dangerous process. Holes about 3/4 inch (2 cm) diameter were pounded five feet into the rock face by hammer and chisel, a single hole was a day's work for two men. The holes were then filled with black powder explosive. The workers developed a method, perhaps based on Chinese technique, of placing explosives on the side of cliffs while working from large suspended baskets. The baskets were then rapidly pulled to safety after the fuses were lit.

The Central Pacific built 15 tunnels over the course of the construction, the longest was called the Summit with a length of 1659 feet. The Union Pacific Railroad The enabling legislation for the Union Pacific required that no partner was to own more than 10 percent of the company's stock. However, the major investor was Thomas Clark Durant, President Lincoln's former employer, who made his money smuggling Confederate cotton. Durant used proxies to control about half the stock of the railroad. The law provided payment by the mile, so Durant saw to it that the railroad built many miles of track rambling around the countryside, mostly on land Durant owned, never venturing further than 40 miles from Omaha. Durant played this game for 2 1/2 years. With the end of the Civil War came increased government supervision. The Union Pacific began laying track west. Construction was handed to another company controlled by Durant, Crï¿½dit Mobilier. Engraving by Vaningen Snyder It is supremely ironic that Abraham Lincoln, known for ending Black slavery, was also responsible for the railroad that destroyed much of Native American culture. Westward construction proceeded very quickly over the open terrain of the Great Plains.

Soon, however, they entered Indian-held lands. The Native Americans saw the railroad as a violation of their treaties with the United States. Some groups began to raid the labor camps along the line. Union Pacific responded by increasing security and by hiring marksmen to kill Bison (commonly known as American buffalo) which were both a physical threat to trains and the primary food source for the Plains Indians. The pointed wedge of iron bars at the front of early train engines was called a "cow catcher". It served the same purpose for bison, lifting and pushing the errant beast to the side, preventing derailment of the train but usually killing the animal. As tourists began streaming west, some amused themselves during the long journey by shooting bison from the windows of their rail cars. Most killing of bison, though, was for the fine leather of their skins, useful both for clothing and as belts for industrial machines. The rail line gave the hunters convenient access to markets, and soon there was a widening gap in the bison herd as the hunt progressed outward from the rails. Estimates put the population of bison at the beginning of the 19th century at 30 to 100 million over all of North America.

By the mid 1880's the population was down to a few hundred. From this tiny remnant a few conservationists were able to restore the species to stability. The Famous Golden Spike Six years after work began, laborers of the Central Pacific Railroad from the west and the Union Pacific Railroad from the east met at Promontory Summit, Utah. It was here on May 10, 1869 that Governor Stanford drove the Golden Spike (or the Last Spike), that symbolized the completion of the transcontinental railroad. Few were aware that the spike was merely gold plated, gold being much too soft for the purpose, and probably not billable. In perhaps the world's first live mass-media event, the hammer and spike were wired to the telegraph line so that each hammer stroke would be heard as a click at telegraph stations nationwide. Technical problems occurred, so clicks were actually sent by the telegraph operator, which makes this, most likely, the world's first fake mass media event. Indeed, there were four spikes driven that afternoon.

A message was then transmitted over the new telegraph lines that read: "DONE." Those spikes, along with the special polished California Laurel tie, were replaced with ordinary ones as soon as the celebrities went off to their gala parties. There was great celebration around the country, travel time from coast to coast had been reduced from six months to one week. It has been noted that no Chinese workers are present in this famous photograph of the Golden Spike ceremony, despite having done half the work. Such were the times. Each group had its' own party, but the white guys got to play with the locomotives. Photo by Andrew Russell, 1869. The First Transcontinental Railroad Journey Despite the publicity for the "last spike", the American rail network did not yet actually run to either coast. In August 1870 the final connection was made. The journey was not cheap - the fare from Omaha to San Francisco in a third class sleeping car was about $65. On June 4, 1876 a train named the Transcontinental Express arrived in San Francisco 83 hours and 39 minutes after it left New York City.

The Union Pacific RR was in bankruptcy less than three years after the completion of the line as details surfaced about overcharges by Credit Mobilier for the building of the railroad. The scandal was one of the biggest of the 19th century. Remnants of the Line and Information for Travelers Promontory Summit was bypassed by a shorter route in 1904, the rails there were pulled up in 1942 and recycled for the war effort. This began with a ceremonial "undriving" at the Golden Spike location. Today hundreds of miles of the historic TCRR line are still in service, especially through the Sierra Nevada Mountains and canyons in Utah and Wyoming. While the original rails and ties have long since been replaced, and the roadbed has been upgraded and repaired, the lines generally run on top of the original grade. Vista points on Interstate 80 through California's Truckee Canyon provide a panoramic view of many miles of the original Central Pacific grade. In many areas where the original line has been bypassed and abandoned, primarily in Utah, the former route is still obvious. Amtrak runs the California Zephyr rail service using the original Transcontinental Railroad route from Sacramento to Winnemucca, Nevada.

The Zephyr often uses the original route on the westbound runs from Winnemucca to Wells, Nevada. The eastbound runs between these towns usually use more recent tracks. Today the rail line moves through a far different countryside. Wheat fields fill the plains instead of buffalo, condos have replaced the Indian Tipi. But people still ride the train to visit their family and conductors still swing their lanterns as the train passes by. In another hundred years they probably still will. The Transcontinental Railroad Information extensively revised and edited from Wikipedia and other sources. Wikipedia material is subject to the terms of use of Wikipedia.org For Beautiful Jewelry of Nepal and Tibet Digital History Digital History Digital History ID 3147 Along with the development of the atomic bomb, the digging of the Panama Canal, and landing the first men on the moon, the construction of a transcontinental railroad was one of the United States' greatest technological achievements. Railroad track had to be laid over 2,000 miles of rugged terrain, including mountains of solid granite. Before the transcontinental railroad was completed, travel overland by stagecoach cost $1,000, took five or six months, and involved crossing rugged mountains and arid desert.

The alternatives were to travel by sea around the tip of South America, a distance of 18,000 miles; or to cross the Isthmus of Panama, then travel north by ship to California. Each route took months and was dangerous and expensive. The transcontinental railroad would make it possible to complete the trip in five days at a cost of $150 for a first-class sleeper. The first spikes were driven in 1863, in the midst of the Civil War. Two companies competed to lay as much track as possible. The Central Pacific built east from Sacramento, Calif., while the Union Pacific built west from Omaha, Neb. The government gave the companies rights of way of 200 feet on each side of the track and financial aid of $16,000 to $48,000 for each mile of track laid. At first, the Union Pacific, which had flat terrain, raced ahead. The Central Pacific had to run train track through the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Working three shifts around the clock, Chinese immigrants hand drilled holes into which they packed black powder and later nitroglycerine.

The progress in the tunnels through the mountains was agonizingly slow, an average of a foot a day. Stung by the Union Pacific's record of eight miles of track laid in a single day, the Central Pacific concocted a plan to lay 10 miles in a day. Eight Irish tracklayers put down 3,520 rails, while other workers laid 25,800 ties and drove 28,160 spikes in a single day. On May 10, 1869, at Promontory Summit, Utah, a golden spike was hammered into the final tie. The transcontinental railroad was built in six years almost entirely by hand. Workers drove spikes into mountains, filled the holes with black powder, and blasted through the rock inch by inch. Handcarts moved the drift from cuts to fills. Bridges, including one 700 feet long and 126 feet in the air, had to be constructed to ford streams. Thousands of workers, including Irish and German immigrants, former Union and Confederate soldiers, freed slaves, and especially Chinese immigrants played a part in the construction.

Chinese laborers first went to work for the Central Pacific as it began crossing California's Sierra Nevada Mountains in 1865. At one point, 8,000 of the 10,000 men toiling for the Central Pacific were Chinese. At one point, Chinese workers were lowered in hand-woven reed baskets to drill blasting holes in the rock. They placed explosives in each hole, lit the fuses, and were, hopefully, pulled up before the powder was detonated. Explosions, freezing temperatures, and avalanches in the High Sierras killed hundreds. When Chinese workers struck for higher pay, a Central Pacific executive withheld their food supplies until they agreed to go back to work. An English-Chinese phrase book from 1867 translated the following phrases into Chinese: Can you get me a good boy? He wants $8 a month? He ought to be satisfied with $6.... Come at 7 every morning. Go home at 8 every night. Light the fire. Sweep the rooms. Wash the clothes. Wash the windows. Sweep the stairs. Trim the lamps. I want to cut his wages.

Many of the railroad's builders viewed the Plains Indians as obstacles to be removed. General William Tecumseh Sherman wrote in 1867: "The more we can kill this year, the less will have to be killed the next year, for the more I see of these Indians the more convinced I am that they all have to be killed or be maintained as a species of paupers." Construction of the railroad provided many opportunities for financial chicanery, corruption, graft, and bribery. The greatest financial scandal of the 19th century grew out of the railroad's construction. The president of the Union Pacific helped found a construction company, called Credit Mobilier, which allowed investors, including several members of Congress, to grant lucrative construction contracts to themselves, while nearly bankrupting the railroad. The railroad had profound effects on American life. New phrases entered the American vocabulary such as "time's up," "time's a wasting," and "the train is leaving the station." It also led to the division of the nation into four standard time zones. In addition, the railroads founded many of the towns on the Great Plains on land grants they were awarded by the federal government, and then sold the land to settlers.

The completion of the transcontinental railroad changed the nation. Western agricultural products, coal, and minerals could move freely to the east coast. Just as the Civil War united North and South, the transcontinental railroad united East and West. Passengers and freight could reach the west coast in a matter of days instead of months at one-tenth the cost. Settlers rushed into what was previously considered a desert wasteland. The 1890 Census would declare that the American frontier had disappeared. The railroad was a major cause. Equally important, the success of the transcontinental railroad encouraged an American faith that with money, determination, and organization anything can be accomplished. The construction of railroad demonstrated the effectiveness of complex military-like organization and assembly-line processes.

Question: What date was the US Transcontinental Railroad completed?
Answer: May 10, 1869