10 Interesting the Transcontinental Railroad

Monday, December 5th 2016. | Transportation


The Transcontinental Railroad facts will tell you about the contiguous railroad line. It has the length of 3,077 kilometer or 1,912 miles. It is also called as The Overland Route or Pacific Railroad. In 1863 to 1869, the construction of First Transcontinental Railroad took place. It connected several railroad networks located at Oakland Long Wharf and at Omaha. Let us check other interesting facts about the First Transcontinental Railroad below:

The Transcontinental Railroad 1: who built the railroad?

Three private companies worked together to construct the railroad.  The United States land grants provided the public lands for the railroad site.

The Transcontinental Railroad 2: the track from Oakland to Sacramento

The track from Oakland to Sacramento had the length of 212 kilometer or 132 miles. It was constructed by Western Pacific Railroad Company.

the transcontinental railroad

the transcontinental railroad

The Transcontinental Railroad 3: the track from Sacramento to Promontory Summit

The track, which connected Sacramento to Promontory Summit, had the length of 1,110 kilometers or 690 miles. It was built by Central Pacific Railroad Company of California. Check facts about London Underground here.

The Transcontinental Railroad 4: another constructor

Another company involved in the project of Transcontinental Railroad is Union Pacific. The track was built at Council Bluffs, Omaha to Promontory Summit, which had the length of 1,746 kilometers.

the transcontinental railroad ads

the transcontinental railroad ads

The Transcontinental Railroad 5: the opening of railroad

On 10 May 1869, the railroad was opened. The ceremony was marked when CPRR President Leland Stanford drove the Golden Spike.

The Transcontinental Railroad 6: the importance of the railroad

The railroad played an important role to improve the economy of West America.

cprr chief engineer theodore d judah

cprr chief engineer theodore d judah

The Transcontinental Railroad 7: the benefits of railroad

The railroad gave a great deal of benefits. It was less costly and faster for the people to transport goods and passengers between the northern Union states and western states. Get facts about the Suez Canal here.

The Transcontinental Railroad 8: the idea of building the railroad

An idea to build transcontinental railroad from Lake Michigan to Oregon published in New York Courier & Enquirer was cited by Dr. Hartwell Carver in 1832.

the transcontinental railroad facts

the transcontinental railroad facts

The Transcontinental Railroad 9: the congress of United States

The idea for the construction was presented to the United States congress in 1847 where the congress agreed about the idea.

The Transcontinental Railroad 10: the survey

In 1853 until 1855, the surveys for the railroad construction were conducted under the direction of Department of War.

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