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.
Louisiana Department of Education
Louisiana Doe: Louisiana Believes: Social Studies: Grade 4: The Transcontinental Railroad
This sample task contains a set of primary and authentic source documents about the Transcontinental Railroad and the migration of settlers to the West.
Success Link
Success Link: Transcontinental Railroad
A culminating lesson plan after the study of building the first transcontinental railroad. Uses as its text Stephen Krensky's book, "The Iron Dragon Never Sleeps."
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Impact of the Transcontinent Railroad
Provides extensive lesson plans that use photographs, documents, and posters to begin to understand the importance of the Transcontinental Railroad, as well as its influence and the changes it brought to the country.
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.
Other
Brown Quarterly: The Chinese and the Transcontinental Railroad [Pdf]
From The Brown Quaterly (1997) an article describing the role of the Chinese immigrant in building the railroad. Includes images of the Chinese railroad workers. (PDF - scroll down to page 7)
Read Works
Read Works: Building a Railroad to Cross the Country
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about the building of the transcontinental railroad. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
Curated OER
Bureau of Land Management: Steel Rails and Iron Horses
Read about the building of the first transcontinental railroad and other railroads that came after. Find out how the checkerboard land ownership system affected the railroads. Includes lots of detailed lesson activities as well as a poster.
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Hazardous Business: The Railroads Come to Texas: Railroad Regulation
Read about regulations that kept the early Texas railroad system safe, and check out an "Inspection report for the Houston & Great Northern, 1871." Also, learn how the Civil War affected the railroad and how it was rebuilt following...
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.
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Central Pacific Railroad History Museum: Transcontinental Railroad History
A brief discussion of the concept of a transcontinental railroad with hyperlinks to other articles on this large website.
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cprr Photographic History Museum: Builders of the Central Pacific Railroad
This chapter from "The First Transcontinental Railroad" by John Debo Galloway contains biographies of the important men who conceived of the railroad, found funds for the line, and engineered the construction.
University of Nebraska
U of Nebraska: Railroads and Making of Modern America: Railroad Work and Workers
Primary source materials related to employment by the railroads in the 1800s. Content includes letters, an employee database, blacklists that were shared between companies, payrolls, images, and more.
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum: Building of the Iron Road
From an article by B.P. Avery printed in the May, 1869, issue of "Overland Monthly" is this description of the building of the transcontinental railroad including information about the Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific...
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cprr: 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 Photographic History Museum: Utah's Role in the Pacific Railroad
A chapter from John J. Stewart's "The Iron Trail to the Golden Spike" about Utah and the transcontinental railroad.
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cprr Photographic History Museum: Locating the Central Pacific Railroad
From a book "The First Transcontinental Railroad" by John Debo Galloway, a civil engineer, comes this comprehensive description of the topography of the route of the Central Pacific Railroad.
Library of Congress
Loc: Rise of Industrial America: Railroads in the Late 19th Century
A compilation of primary source documents addressing building and running the railroad system in the late 19th century.
The Newberry Library
Newberry: Historical Geography: Map 11: The Transcontinental Rail Network, 1878
Lesson for K-12 using historical maps examine the geographic, political, and economic factors that influenced the growth of railroads.
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cprr Photographic History Museum: Constructing the Central Pacific Railroad
From a book written by a civil engineer, John Debo Galloway, this article discusses the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad including construction methods, problems, and the eventual meeting of the rails at Promontory Point.
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cprr History Museum: Pacific Railroad Explorations and Surveys of 1853 54
Provides information and documents of Jefferson Davis, George McClellan and the War Department's Pacific Railroad explorations and surveys of 1853 to 1854.
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cprr History Museum: Nelsons' Pictorial Guide Books: Central Pacific Railroad
Contains Nelson's pictorial guide-books, a fascinating look at the journey on the Central Pacific Railroad from Utah to California, including time schedules and descriptions of scenery.
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cprr Photographic History Museum: The Pacific Railroad Unopen
From the September, 1869, magazine, "Overland Monthly", is this article by Robert L. Harris who traveled the route of the Central Pacific Railroad before it was officially opened, and wrote a description of the scenery along the route.
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...