Each company faced unprecedented construction problems—mountains, severe weather, and the hostility of Native Americans. On May 10, 1869, in a ceremony at Promontory, Utah, the last rails were laid and the last spike driven.
What problems did the transcontinental railroad create?
Chinese immigrant workers and Indigenous tribes paid a particularly high price. Construction on the Transcontinental Railroad began on January 8, 1863 in Sacramento, when workers for the Central Pacific Railroad first broke ground for the track.
What was one effect of the building of the transcontinental railroad?
Just as it opened the markets of the west coast and Asia to the east, it brought products of eastern industry to the growing populace beyond the Mississippi. The railroad ensured a production boom, as industry mined the vast resources of the middle and western continent for use in production.
What was the biggest obstacle in building the transcontinental railroad?
Which area of the US do you think was most difficult to build track across and why?
The Central Pacific Railroad had to lay track in the mountainous region of the Sierra Nevadas, one of the most difficult endeavors of the entire enterprise This will obviously take much more time than laying tracks on the flat plains.
What was the geographic obstacle of the Transcontinental Railroad?
The Sierra Nevada Mountains were the single greatest geographic obstacle confronting the Central Pacific Railroad's chief engineer Theodore Judah. The first one hundred miles of track from Sacramento would have to ascend about 7,000 feet in elevation.
What were the huge impacts of this railroad?
The railroad opened the way for the settlement of the West, provided new economic opportunities, stimulated the development of town and communities, and generally tied the country together.