Curated OER
End of the Line: What Happened to the Blue Ridge Railroad?
Sixth graders study the westward expansion and the role of railroad construction to the expansion. In this railroad history lesson, 6th graders complete KWL activity for the topic. Students view a PowerPoint about the growth of railroads...
Curated OER
Worksheet #82 - Industrial Inventions
For this industrial inventions worksheet, students expand their knowledge through ten fill in the blank questions that relate to the aforementioned topic.
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Central Pacific Rr Photographic History Museum: Credit Mobilier
Read a chapter from a book by Edward Winslow Martin, published in 1873, which lays out what Credit Mobilier was and how being associated with the company and its stock became such a scandal to members of Congress in 1872.
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...
PBS
New Perspectives on the West: Promontory Point, Utah
A map and brief description of the events at Promontory Point, Utah where the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads joined to make the first transcontinental railroad.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Frontier House: The Northern Pacific Railroad and Those Who Built It
The goods and services brought to the frontier by the railroad improved the quality of life. Read about the construction and route of the Northern Pacific Railroad in this companion essay to the PBS series, Frontier House.
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.
Other
New Mexico History Museum: The Railroad Wars
Building railroads was never easy, but when confronted with hired gunslingers, the task was harder still. Read about how the Santa Fe Railroad secured the land it needed to build its railroad.