Other
Southern Nevada: The Boomtown Years: Mining
An explanation of the role speculation in both mining and railroads played in the financial panic of 1893. An interesting article from the University of Nevada.
Library of Congress
Loc: Today in History: May 10: Jefferson Davis & "Wedding of the Rails"
Library of Congress presents primary source documents, essays, photos and maps of historical events on May 10th including a ceremony at Promontory Point, Utah for the meeting of the Union Pacific and Central railways and the capture of...
![Digital History: The Industrial Revolution [Pdf] Website](https://static.lp.lexp.cloud/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "Digital History: The Industrial Revolution [Pdf] Website")
Digital History
Digital History: The Industrial Revolution [Pdf]
This site covers both the initial Industrial Revolution in the United States in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and the second revolution that highlighted new inventions and the businessmen who financed industry. Read brief...
PBS
Pbs: American Experience: Streamliners: James J. Hill, 1836 1916
As part of a larger site about American railroads is this informative biography of James J. Hill, who built a rail line across the Northwest without federal assistance.
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum: Linking the Oceans
A chapter, "Linking the Oceans" from "The Railroad Builders" by John Moody, published in 1919. Included is information about the building of the Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad as well as other transcontinental...
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cprr Photographic History Museum: The Origin of the Idea for a Pacific Railroad
As part of a book about the Central Pacific Railroad written in 1898, this article discusses the origin of the idea to construct a transcontinental railroad.
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.
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.
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cprr History Museum: Chinese Laborers and Construction of the Central Pacific
An article from the Utah Quarterly, Vol. 37, No. 1, by George Kraus, recounts the decision to use Chinese laborers in building the Central Pacific Railroad. Many primary source documents included as well as supplemental direct quotes in...
Other
The Story of the Canadian Pacific Railway (Pdf) [Pdf]
This site has an excellent 24-page children's booklet on the history of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
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.
Curated OER
National Park Service: Golden Spike National Historic Site
Homepage of the Golden Spike National Historic Site. Provides general information about the completion of the transcontinental railroad and contains links to other information.
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Magnificent Celebrations in Calfornia
Describes the completion of the transcontinental railroad and the subsequent celebrations.
Utah Education Network
Uen: Utah History Encyclopedia: Golden Spike National Historic Site
This resource provides information about the first transcontinental railroad, which was built by nearly 30,000 Irish, German, Italian, and Chinese laborers.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Ap Us History: 1865 1898: Chinese Immigrants and Mexican Americans
Discusses the conflict with Mexican American and Chinese groups as white settlers pushed westward in the nineteenth century. Explains what brought so many Chinese immigrants to America and the roadblocks and discrimination that they had...
A&E Television
History.com: 10 World Engineering Marvels
These remarkable feats of design and construction transformed the ways that people travel, communicate and live. For thousands of years, mankind has engineered remarkable structures such as the pyramids of Egypt and the Great Wall of...
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum: Beyond the Mississippi
Contains excerpts from Albert D. Richarson's "Beyond the Mississippi" about the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad and his trip on the train.
PBS
Pbs the West: The Grandest Enterprise Under God
The critically acclaimed PBS series, "The West," depicts the coming of the railroad throughout the west and the consequences of the settling of the west.
Other
Colorado Historical Society: Chin Lin Sou, Chinese Railroad Laborer [Pdf]
Find out about a Chinese immigrant who, after laboring on the Central Pacific Railroad, became a wealthy miner in Colorado. From the Colorado Historical Society.
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
An extraordinarily rich collection of photos, stereographs, engravings, maps, and documents. Many 19th century accounts of building and traveling on the railroad, plus travel guides and government documents.
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.
Stanford University
Stanford University Library: Hart Project
Explore the collection of 364 photographs which are plotted within this 3-D map experience recreating Alfred A. Hart's journey along the Central Pacific Railroad. The goal of his 1860s expedition was to solicit investment in the...
US National Archives
Our Documents: Pacific Railway Act (1862)
Contains images of the original document and a transcript of the complete text of the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 in an easy to read format. Also contains a brief overview on the background behind this act.