Central Pacific Railroad: Difference between revisions

[[Image:Trestle CPRR.jpg|thumb|right|400px|<center>Trestle on Central Pacific Railroad</center>]]In 1869 the Central Pacific Railroad out of Sacramento, [[California Genealogy|California]], and the [[Union Pacific Railroad|Union Pacific Railroad]] out of Omaha, [[Nebraska Genealogy|Nebraska]] linked tracks in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_spike Golden Spike] ceremony at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promontory_Summit Promontroy Summit], [[Utah Genealogy|Utah]] to form the first [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcontinental_railroad transcontinental railroad service] in the [[United States Genealogy|United States]].<ref>Wikipedia contributors, "Central Pacific Railroad," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Central_Pacific_Railroad Wikipedia contributors,</ref> <ref>"Union Pacific Railroad," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Union_Pacific_Railroad Wikipedia contributors,</ref> <ref>"Golden spike," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Golden_spike and Wikipedia contributors,</ref> <ref>"Promontory, Utah," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Promontory,_Utah</ref> Settlers were attracted to communities near railroads because they provided access to markets. Railroads encouraged settlement along their routes to help increase the need for their service. If an ancestor settled near a railroad, you may be able to trace their place of origin back to another place along the tracks.  

In order to bind the nation together from [[California Genealogy|California]] to the eastern states visionaries proposed a railroad between the west and east coasts of the [[United States Genealogy|United States]]. During the [[United States Civil War, 1861 to 1865|Civil War]] Congress authorized the building of this railroad. Congress offered [[Grants to Land Companies and Railroads#Railroads|land grants]] along the tracks in a [[Grants to Land Companies and Railroads#Railroads|checkerboard pattern]] as an incentive to the builders. The company that could build the most track would receive the most land.  

Starting in 1863 in Sacramento, [[California Genealogy|California]], the Central Pacific&nbsp;laid their first tracks.&nbsp;They&nbsp;slowly started&nbsp;their&nbsp;eastward race toward the oncoming [[Union Pacific Railroad|Union Pacific Railroad]] by building to Roseville, California in 1864. In 1865&nbsp;they reached Colfax, and in 1866 Cisco, California. They overcame terrific problems including, labor shortages,&nbsp;difficulty obtaining U.S. steel tracks, lack of blasting powder, and the expense of grading, tunneling and bridging in steep mountains. In 1868 they laid 306 miles of track across [[Nevada Genealogy|Nevada]], and set a world record&nbsp;building ten miles of track in twelve hours in 1869. On 10 May 1869 the Central Pacific&nbsp;joined track with the Union Pacific at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promontory,_Utah Promontory Summit], [[Utah Genealogy|Utah]] north of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Salt_Lake Great Salt Lake] to form the first [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcontinental_railroad transcontinental railroad] in the [[United States Genealogy|United States]].<ref>"Central Pacific Railroad" in ''American Western History Musuems'' at http://www.linecamp.com/museums/americanwest/western_clubs/central_pacific_railroad/central_pacific_railroad.html (accessed 10 July 2009).</ref> Later in 1904&nbsp;the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucin_Cutoff Lucin Cutoff] was completed across the Salt Lake to shorten the route to Ogden, Utah and avoid mountain grades and curves.<ref>Wikipedia contributors, "Lucin Cutoff" in ''Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia'' at http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lucin_Cutoff (accessed 10 July 2009).</ref>  

[[California Genealogy|California]]