I. Transcontinental Railroad A. Intro to Railroad/ Building of the Railroad 1. Railroads were originally horse drawn, on wooden planks.

Steampowered locomotives finally arrived in the 1820s with metal tracks 2. The First U.S railroads were developed on the east coast , connecting cities such as Rochester, NY, Washington D.C, or New York City 3. In 1844, the first proposal of the Transcontinental Railroad was initiated by Asa Whitney. One major problem was that the U.S did not control land past the Rocky Mountains 4. The Transcontinental Railroad would run from Omaha, Nebraska all the way to Sacramento, California. A way to transport goods and people across the West did not exist in America. 5. The building of the Transcontinental Railroad started in 1863, and before the 20th century, fifteen railroad lines were laid down across the United States. It was finished in May 10th, 1869. A. Resources 1. People a. Many immigrants for Asia and Ireland work on the construction of the railroad. Many freed slaves also helped. b. Working included a long work day, poor working conditions, and tough labor. c. Contrary to this, carpenters were paid 4 dollars a day while many received 2 and a half to 3 dollars a day. d. Chinese workers became the best laborers, and more would be hired, over 14,000, to complete the construction through the Sierra Nevada Mountains. e. The Chinese were the ones who had built the most track in a certain amount of time, more than any other people. 2. Materials a. A mile of railroad track contained 100 tons of steel, 2,500 railroad ties, and around 2 to 3 tons of metal. Ten miles of rails were completed in a day, while 300 miles of road was finished in of the year. b. Black Powder was used an explosive to make tunnels. Prices jumped up from 2.50 to 15 dollars in a short time. c. Many investments needed to be made in order to sustain the amount of money needed to complete the railroad. Only when the railroad was completed that money was to be made B. Hardships and Challenges a. Working in railroad was definitely dangerous. Events such as derailments, faulty brakes, and track switching caused 3,500 deaths each year for 5 years in the early 1900s.

b. Almost no work was done during the beginning of construction because of the Civil War. Note that the Civil war finally ended in 1865. C. Union Pacific Railroad and Central Pacific Railroad a. At its basic level, the Union Pacific Railroad laid down rails on the West half between Sacramento and Omaha, hile the Central Pacific Railroad did the East half. b. The Federal government gave the railroad companies ten suare miles of land for each mile of railroad laid down. B. Affects of the Railroad 1. Development of the West a. The railroad allowed development of towns and cities that were not on the river. These towns also became centers for trade. b. 9000 miles were constructed by the half century. c. Popluations jumped in the West: Minneapolis: 13k-164k; Denver: 5k-107k; d. President Andrew Jackson mentioned that rural parts of the nation with the railroad may be important, so the rural parts are important to the nation 2. Innovation a. There was a unique attachment between America and the Transcontinental Railroad, as it revolutionized the country. b. To travel across the country, now after it was built, it cost $150 rather than $1000 dollars. c. The Industrial Revolution arguably couldnt have happened without the use of railroads. d. For personal transportation, Amtrak came about in 1970, transporting people across the country. e. Modern Railways, like in Japan, have now become more popular due to high speeds and low cost. D. Corruption a. In 1887, Congress passed the , which created the Interstate
Commerce Commission (ICC), the first federal regulatory agency. The sole purpose of the commission was to address railroad abuses. The commission declared that shipping rates had to be reasonable and just and that the rates had to be