Curated OER
Newspaper Clipping Completion of the Pacific Railroad
Newspaper clipping of the notice of "COMPLETION OF THE PACIFIC RAILROAD".
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Central Pacific Rr Photographic History Museum: Credit Mobilier
Read a chapter from a book by Edward Winslow Martin, published in 1873, which lays out what Credit Mobilier was and how being associated with the company and its stock became such a scandal to members of Congress in 1872.
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cprr Photographic History Museum: High Cost and Challenge of Building the Cprr
Contains the text of a Lewis M. Clement's 1887 statement to the U.S. Pacific Railway Commission, which gives a clear and succinct accounting of the costs incurred and the problems encountered in building the Central Pacific Railroad.
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cpr Photographic History Museum: Nitroglycerine
Discusses the use of nitroglycerine in the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad.
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cprr History Museum: Eastward to Promontory
This site from the Central Pacific Railroad provides an extensive and comprehensive article about surveying the route for the railroad, the problems with construction, and the men behind the idea of the railroad. Hyperlinks to additional...
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cpr Photographic History Museum Alfred Hart and the Illustrated Traveler's Map
This article written by Peter E. Palmquist describes the photographs taken by Albert A. Hart as he documented the building of the Central Pacific Railroad and then helped publicize it.
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cprr History Museum: A History of the Chinese in California: A Syllabus
From a 1969 publication by the Chinese Historical Society of America comes this extensive look at the Chinese role in the building of the Central Pacific Railroad from California east to Utah.
Library of Congress
Loc: Railroad Maps Collection: Transcontinental Railroad
Find out about plans for a transcontinental railroad and surveys which plotted out possible routes. Part of a larger site on the history of railroads and maps.
Siteseen
Siteseen: American Historama: Transcontinental Railroad
Details about the world's First Transcontinental Railroad that was built between 1863 and 1869 to join the Atlantic coast with the Pacific coast.
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Hazardous Business: The Railroads Come to Texas
What made transportation in early Texas so difficult? What were the road conditions like? This article talks about land and water transportation in Texas in the years leading up to and after the Civil War. Also, check out photos and...
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Hazardous Business: Line and Lands of the Texas & Pacific Railway, 1873
Here's a map showing the Texas & Pacific Railway. Click on link to get larger version which shows the route across Texas as well as an inset which shows how the railway connected to other railroads in the U.S.
Ducksters
Ducksters: History: First Transcontinental Railroad for Kids
Kids learn about the First Transcontinental Railroad. Fun facts about the route, the Union Pacific, and the Pacific Railroad Act are on this site.
Curated OER
Mountain Scene on the Pacific Railroad
From Chapter 105 of R. M. Devens' 1878 book, "Our First Century" is this description of the building of the transcontinental railroad and the ceremony of driving the final spike.
Curated OER
Completion of the Pacific Railroad
From Chapter 105 of R. M. Devens' 1878 book, "Our First Century" is this description of the building of the transcontinental railroad and the ceremony of driving the final spike.
Curated OER
Wikipedia: National Historic Landmarks in Wyoming: Union Pacific Railroad Depot
Railroad depot and related buildings.
Stanford University
Stanford University: Spatial History: Distribution of Union Pacific Stockholders
This map reveals the way ownership of the Union Pacific concentrated in New England and New York. It also shows how the West got a federally financed railroad, and the east got the insider networks which controlled it.
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cprr Photographic History Museum: Fusang: The Chinese Who Built America
Provides excerpts from "Fusang: The Chinese Who Built America: The Chinese Railroad Men" by Stan Steiner. Describes how the Chinese contributed to the construction of the transcontinental railroad.
Cengage Learning
Cenage: Credit Mobilier Scandal
A very interesting excerpt from a book published in 1873, recounting the formation of the Credit Moblier Company, explaining who created it, and why the company was at the heart of a huge scandal in the building of the transcontinental...
Other
Psmre: The Northern Pacific Railway
This site from the Puget Sound Model Railroad Engineers provides information about the history of the Northern Pacific Railway. The route follows the path Lewis and Clark took in 1804. Mentions cost, manpower, and other railroad companies.
University of Alberta
University of Alberta: The Calgary and Edmonton Railway
This history of The Calgary and Edmonton Railway is an account of the necessity to build branch lines in order for the Canadian Pacific Railway to develop its vast land holdings on the prairies. Included are maps, photographs and primary...
University of Alberta
University of Alberta: The Canadian Northern Western
This brief history describes the evolution of the Canadian Northern Western Railway. German entrepreneur, Martin Nordegg was unable to convince The Canadian Pacific or Grand Trunk Pacific to build a line so he turned to the Canadian...
University of Alberta
University of Alberta: The Coal Branch
The early railways depended on coal to fire their locomotives. Vast deposits of coal were located along the eastern slopes of the Canadian Rockies. One of the richest mining areas on the main line of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway,...
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cprr History Museum: The First Rail Laid
This site from the Central Pacific Railroad contains an article from the Sacramento Daily Union on the first rail laid on the western end of the transcontinental railroad on October 27, 1863.
PBS
New Perspectives on the West: Promontory Point, Utah
A map and brief description of the events at Promontory Point, Utah where the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads joined to make the first transcontinental railroad.