The Central Pacific made quick progress along the Sacramento Valley. The SP originally operated from California to Utah (and various other places in the West; including a brief period in Wyoming, though t… Later in the series, we see elements of how the Central Pacific overcame nature, among other difficulties, to finally join up with the Union Pacific at Promontory Summit on May 10, 1869. The transcontinental railroad crossed western plains and mountains and linked the West Coast with the rail networks of the eastern United States. This law authorized the Central Pacific to begin building the transcontinental railroad eastward from Sacramento, California, and the Union Pacific to begin building westward from Omaha, Nebraska. In 1869 the Union Pacific Railroad out of Omaha, Nebraska, and the Central Pacific Railroad out of Sacramento, California linked tracks in the Golden Spike ceremony at Promontory Summit, Utah to form the first transcontinental railroad service in the United States. The line began in Sacramento, the railroad's western terminus. The railroad ended in Promontory, Utah. To end the struggle of traveling in bad conditions and to get products across the country. Although the Central Pacific had a two-year head start over the Union Pacific, the rough terrain of the Sierra Nevadas limited their construction to only 100 miles by the end … The original Western Pacific Railroad (1862–1870) was established in 1862 to build the westernmost portion of the First Transcontinental Railroad, between Sacramento and San Jose, California (later Oakland, California).After completing the last link from Sacramento to Oakland, this company was absorbed into the Central Pacific Railroad in 1870. Although the railroad got off to a good start, a team of magnates, so-called the Big Four¹, were eyeing the growing company. Central Pacific Railroad began operating freight and passenger trains over the first 31 miles of track to Newcastle in June 1864. The Union Pacific Railroad started in Omaha, Neb., and worked west, while the Central Pacific Railroad started in Sacramento, Calif., and worked east. On July 1, 1862, President Lincoln signed the Railroad Act of 1862, which authorized the Union Pacific to build a railroad from the Missouri River to California, or until it met the Central Pacific. The Southern Pacific Railroad was founded in 1865 by a group of businessmen led by Timothy Phelps. This famous photo was taken moments after the completion of North America's first transcontinental rail line. In order to construct the railway andencourage future settlement, the government consider… We see a group of railroad men and women make their way west on the Union Pacific side of construction. The Southern Pacific was first officially established under the actual SP name during 1870, and was once the largest Western-based US Class 1 railroad which eventually grew by the 1960's and 1970's due to the purchase and absorption of the St. Louis Southwestern "Cotton Belt" Railroad (SSW). Constructed from the west by the Central Pacific and from the east by the Union Pacific, the two roads were linked in Utah in 1869 to great national fanfare. History. No railroad was ever built from the East coast to the West coast. Transcontinental Railroad Fact 4: January 8, 1863: California Governor Leland Stanford conducts the Groundbreaking Groundbreaking ceremony for the Central Pacific in Sacramento, California. On May 10, 1869, Leland Stanford, president of the Central Pacific Railroad Company and Thomas Clark Durant, Union Pacific Railroad Company vice president, drove the last spike at Promontory, Utah, linking the eastern railroad system to California. The Central Pacific used black power during most of the construction phase of the railroad, but the Summit Tunnel through the highest point of the Sierra Nevada range proved a formidable obstacle that necessitated the use of nitroglycerin. The vaunted Southern Pacific name carries a complex history although its immediate heritage can be traced back to the Transcontinental Railroad's completion. The Big Four incorporated the Central Pacific Railroad Company of California, on June 28, 1861. The first transcontinental railroad is officially completed, as the Union Pacific and Central Pacific lines join some 1,700 miles of track connecting to the eastern networks. In 1870, the newly created nation of Canadaacquired Rupert’s Land from the Hudson’s Bay Company, an enormous tract of land stretching north and west; one yearlater, British Columbia entered Confederationbased in part on the promise that a transcontinental railwaywould connect it to the rest of Canada within 10 years (see Railway History). The Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) was a rail company chartered by U.S. Congress in 1862 to build a railroad eastwards from Sacramento, California, to complete the western part of the First Transcontinental Railroad in North America. By April 1864 the jubilance of groundbreaking had long ago faded into the ether. The Bill charters Central Pacific to build the California line and the Union Pacific Railroad Company to build west from the Missouri River. Representatives of both railroads take turns driving the final golden spike into the ground during a ceremony at Promontory Summit in the Utah Territory. Central Pacific Railroad: The Western End of the Transcontinental Railroad The Central Pacific Railroad was chartered by Congress, through the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862, to construct a portion of the first transcontinental line, starting in Sacramento and proceeding eastward. However construction soon slowed, first by the Sierra Nevada mountains and then by winter snowstorms. In six years, more than 20,000 workers' Chinese (absent from this picture), Irish, and others had laid down some 1,700 miles of track in the largest American civi… Chief financial backers of the Central Pacific Railroad-Leland Stanford (ex-gov of Cali, used political connections), Collis Huntington (lobbyist)-walked away with 10s of millions, but were never directly involved with bribing congressmen Although the Central Pacific had a two-year head start over the Union Pacific, the rough terrain of the Sierra Nevadas limited their construction to only 100 miles by the end … The six men organize themselves as the first Board of Directors of the Central Pacific Railroad Company. By year's end, similar locomotive routes exist in New York and South Carolina. ... What state did the railroad start for the Central Pacific? Forming The Modern Southern Pacific. 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