![]() ![]() ![]() An estimated 11,000 to 15,000 Chinese laborers helped build the transcontinental railroad. They proved so diligent and effective that more Chinese workers were recruited. The Central Pacific Railroad recruited Chinese laborers who had previously helped to build railroads in California. (On a single day near the end of the effort, 10 miles of track were laid.)Ĭhinese immigrants shouldered the bulk of the work on the western lines. Without any power equipment, they excavated and tunneled through solid mountains, hauled rock by hand, graded the roadbed, and set tracks with high-speed, coordinated efforts. Thousands of workers labored at backbreaking work year-round, under hot sun and in bitter winter. The transcontinental railroad was one of the 19 th century’s greatest accomplishments. It reduced coast-to-coast travel from an arduous, expensive, and sometimes perilous journey of months to a relatively affordable and comfortable trip lasting for several days. This transcontinental railroad connected the nation’s coasts and the vast interior. A final spike was ceremonially tapped into place on May 10 at Promontory Summit, Utah, at what is now the Golden Spike National Historic Site. The two sets of tracks met in northern Utah in 1869. The Central Pacific Railroad headed east from Sacramento, California, through the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The Union Pacific Railroad laid track westward from Omaha, Nebraska, through southern Wyoming and the Rocky Mountains. Two companies raced for the funds and land rights that were promised for each mile of track they laid. ii In 1862, Congress passed legislation to fund the building of a transcontinental rail line. i Nearly 50,000 miles of track had been laid, but most of it was in the northern states. Perhaps the most famous of these rough roads, the Oregon Trail, saw over 80,000 travelers.īy the Civil War, travel by rail had become safer, faster, and more comfortable in the United States. Gradually, thousands of pioneers trampled overland trails into place. But no easy transportation routes existed west of the Mississippi River. Would-be settlers were anxious to reach them, especially after the discovery of gold in California in 1848 and the passage of homestead laws that offered inexpensive land for sale. Throughout the early and mid-1800s, the United States acquired millions of acres of western lands. The Transcontinental Railroad and the Golden Spike As you celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Golden Spike ceremony that made the transcontinental railroad a reality, you can also explore the stories of your Chinese immigrant ancestors. Thousands of Chinese railroad workers helped build the First Transcontinental Railroad. ![]()
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