1869, completing the first rail connection across the continent.
Before the transcontinental railroad, the Eastern railroads had lines running.
only as far West as Omaha, Nebraska. The Western railroads had a few lines.
running North and South in California, far West of the wall of the Sierra Nevada.
Mountains. In between these two networks was a huge gap of about seventeen.
hundred miles of plains and mountain ranges. Closing this gap was a dream shared.
by many Americans. Businessmen thought of all the money they could make by.
having an entire continent full of customers and using the railroads to serve.
their needs. Romantics dreamed of the discoveries of wild Indians, scouts and.
hunters, and, of course, gold. Gold had been a desired find throughout the.
exploration of America. The California Gold Rush of 1849 again created much.
excitement about the search for gold.
The Pacific Railroads were founded when the Civil War was in progress. Until.
the war was over, the transcontinental railroad was a giant enterprise stalled.
by much bickering between a reluctant Congress and the Army, who had clamored.
for it (Cooke 254). If it had been left to the government, it would have taken.
another twenty years to complete the transcontinental railroad. However, it was.
a commercial venture, and it was fortunately fed by the adrenaline of.
competition. There were two railroad companies building the transcontinental.
railroad, the Union Pacific from the East, and the Central Pacific from the West.
The two companies struggled to beat each other in slamming down a record mileage.
of track. At first, Congress avidly pursued the project and they had stipulated.
that the Central Pacific should stop when it reached the California Border.
(Congress was full of Easterners). In 1865, after much argument about the aid.
the government was providing to the two companies, the actual construction of.
the transcontinental railroad was started. Then in 1866, Congress decided that.
