When was the transcontinental railroad finished

It was not until , though, that Congress appropriated funds to survey several routes for the transcontinental railroad. The actual building of the railroad would have to wait even longer, as North-South tensions prevented Congress from reaching an agreement on where the line would begin.

One year into the Civil War , a Republican-controlled Congress passed the Pacific Railroad Act , guaranteeing public land grants and loans to the two railroads it chose to build the transcontinental line, the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific. With these in hand, the railroads began work in from Omaha and Sacramento, forging a northern route across the country. In their eagerness for land, the two lines built right past each other, and the final meeting place had to be renegotiated.

Harsh winters, staggering summer heat and the lawless, rough-and-tumble conditions of newly settled western towns made conditions for the Union Pacific laborers—mainly Civil War veterans of Irish descent—miserable. The overwhelmingly immigrant Chinese work force of the Central Pacific also had its fair share of problems, including brutal hour work days laying tracks over the Sierra Nevada Mountains they also received lower wages than their white counterparts.

On more than one occasion, whole crews would be lost to avalanches, or mishaps with explosives would leave several dead. For all the adversity they suffered, the Union Pacific and Central Pacific workers were able to finish the railroad—laying nearly 2, miles of track—by , ahead of schedule and under budget. Journeys that had taken months by wagon train or weeks by boat now took only days.

Their work had an immediate impact: The years following the construction of the railway were years of rapid growth and expansion for the United States, due in large part to the speed and ease of travel that the railroad provided.

But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Louis Blues goaltender Glenn Hall. Pacific railroad and telegraph by United States Congress.

Call Number: HE I A3. A report by Congress on the necessity to connect the east and west coast with a railroad and telegraph lines as a way to maintain the US position on the Pacific coast, particularly in light of the discovery of gold. Library of Congress Digital Resources The following resources created or digitized by the Library of Congress can be used to find out more about the railroad as well as the events of the day. Digitized Image Collections Library of Congress If there's a specific image collection on the topic, use that.

Century of Lawmaking The project includes the Journals of the House of Representatives and the Senate , including the Senate Executive Journal ; the Journal of William Maclay ; the debates of Congress as published in the Annals of Congress , the Register of Debates , Congressional Globe , and Congressional Record ; the Statutes at Large ; the American State Papers ; and congressional bills and resolutions for selected sessions beginning with the 6th Congress in the House of Representatives and the 16th Congress in the Senate.

This is a good resource for what was going on in the United States at the the time the Transcontinental Railroad was built as well as articles looking at the bigger railroad industry. Railroad Maps, The Library of Congress has many railroad maps including those related to the Transcontinental Railroad. This is a cartographic perspective on the transcontinental railroad. It is part of the large collection of railroad maps held by the Library.

Railroads: Sources for Historical Research This is a guide from Business Reference staff with resources for those interested in researching the larger industry but does include a specific section related to the Transcontinental Railroad. Today in History May 10, : "Wedding of the Rails" A brief piece about the completion of the transcontinental railroad.

United States Statutes at Large These are links to the volumes where the related laws can be found. Pacific Railroad Act of 12 Stat. Internet Resources These freely available online resources provide additional information on the topic.

Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum External A collection of digitized and transcribed material related to the building of the transcontinental railroad and the Central Pacific Railroad. Included are: "Report of the Chief Engineer on the preliminary survey, cost of construction, and estimated revenue of the Central Pacific Railroad of California, across the Sierra Nevada Mountains, from Sacramento to the eastern boundary of California, October 22, History of Construction.

Electronic Resources Online Catalog Library of Congress The subscription resources marked with a padlock are available to researchers on-site at the Library of Congress. If you are unable to visit the Library, you may be able to access these resources through your local public or academic library. A search for articles in the following business and historical newspaper databases will produce relevant results.

In the immediate years after the railroad construction, their work was highly praised until anti-Chinese sentiment and fear of immigrants led to the Exclusionary Act of Another Stanford program associated with the th anniversary of the First Transcontinental Railroad is a film series , sponsored by the Stanford Historical Society, the Bill Lane Center for the American West and Stanford Continuing Studies, that explores the story through the eyes of Hollywood.

Historian David Kennedy will speak. On May 10, there will be a train and railroad open house at Special Collections in Green Library from 11 a. In addition, the David Rumsey Map Center presented a pop-up exhibition of the maps created by railroad engineer Theodore Judah.

The maps, on loan from the California State Archives, measure 2. The Stanford Libraries also is offering online an array of materials related to the anniversary and, in particular, to the Chinese railroad workers. Included in the collection are Alfred A.

Hart photographs commissioned by Leland Stanford, railroad maps from the David Rumsey Map Center and oral histories of Chinese railroad worker families. The performance will take place in Bing Concert Hall on Nov. Oriana Skylar Mastro has built two careers simultaneously: one as an academic, the other, as a service member in the U. Air Force. To commemorate Veterans Day, wreaths will be placed in Memorial Court and Memorial Auditorium, along with a letter from President Marc Tessier-Lavigne, to honor members of the university community who have served or are serving in the U.

Armed Forces. Stanford News is a publication of Stanford University Communications. Stanford , California Skip to content. Menu Search form Search term. May 8, First Transcontinental Railroad and Stanford forever linked One hundred and fifty years ago on May 10, , university founder Leland Stanford drove the last spike that marked the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad.

Facebook Twitter Email. By Kate Chesley Just about every California school kid knows the story of the First Transcontinental Railroad, which connected the Eastern Seaboard with the Pacific Coast and was completed years ago this week.

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