Digital Public Library of America
Dpla: Building the First Transcontinental Railroad
This exhibition explores the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad and its impact on American westward expansion.
Other
California State Railroad Museum: The Transcontinental Railroad
A brief history of the first transcontinental railroad and the vision of Theodore Judah as well as the financing of the "Big Four."
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Early American Railroads
Read about the growth of railroads throughout the eastern part of the United States, which greatly reduced transportation costs. See why there was opposition to railroads from many groups. Be sure to look at the stereograph of the...
Curated OER
Bureau of Land Management: Steel Rails and Iron Horses
Read about the building of the first transcontinental railroad and other railroads that came after. Find out how the checkerboard land ownership system affected the railroads. Includes lots of detailed lesson activities as well as a poster.
Curated OER
Advertisement in the Pacific Railroad Gazetteer, 1870.
An article from the Utah Quarterly, Vol. 37, No. 1, by George Kraus, recounts the decision to use Chinese laborers in building the Central Pacific Railroad. Many original documents.
Other
Brown Quarterly: The Chinese and the Transcontinental Railroad [Pdf]
From The Brown Quaterly (1997) an article describing the role of the Chinese immigrant in building the railroad. Includes images of the Chinese railroad workers. (PDF - scroll down to page 7)
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cprr Photographic History Museum: Through to the Pacific
Contains a series of letters published in May and June, 1869, in the "New York Tribune" written by Albert D. Richardson, one of the first people to travel on the transcontinental railroad from coast to coast.
Other
Utah History to Go: Mining and Railroads
An informative article which links the importance of railroads to the mining industry in Utah. Find out about mining and the dangers of mining in the late 19th century.
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
Pbs: Leland Stanford (1824 1893)
Read a brief biography of the native of New York, Leland Stanford (1824-1893 CE), who helped to buid California's Central Pacific railroad.
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cprr Photographic History Museum: The Postal History of the Pacific Railroad
This site deals mostly with the history of mail sent across the country in the late 19th century.
Curated OER
Building the Pacific Railroad, Probably Uprr in Nebraska
Contains excerpts from Albert D. Richarson's "Beyond the Mississippi" about the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad and his trip on the train.
Curated OER
Atlantic and Pacific Railroad Bond
Provides biographical information on Lewis Metzler Clement, the chief engineer for the Central Pacific Railroad, who both designed much of the route and supervised construction of the railroad.
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cprr History Museum: Abstract From the 1862 Annual Report
Here is the explanation of how the land grants given to the railroads through the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 worked in the text from the General Land Office to the Department of the Interior.
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cprr History Museum: The First Rail Laid
This site from the Central Pacific Railroad contains an article from the Sacramento Daily Union on the first rail laid on the western end of the transcontinental railroad on October 27, 1863.
Library of Congress
Loc: Railroad Maps Collection: Transcontinental Railroad
Find out about plans for a transcontinental railroad and surveys which plotted out possible routes. Part of a larger site on the history of railroads and maps.
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cprr Photographic History Museum: Fusang: The Chinese Who Built America
Provides excerpts from "Fusang: The Chinese Who Built America: The Chinese Railroad Men" by Stan Steiner. Describes how the Chinese contributed to the construction of the transcontinental railroad.
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: The Iron Horse: After the Celebration
From a lengthy essay on the history of the railroad in the United States. This section describes the financial woes of Union Pacific after the railroad was completed, and what the government did to recoup some of its loans. Also...
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cprr Photographic History Museum: Driving the Last Spike at Promontory, 1869
In-depth look at the ceremony at Promontory Point upon the completion of the transcontinental railroad. The author discusses the preparation for the ceremony, the use of four ceremonial spikes, and what became of them. From an article in...
Curated OER
China Labour, Cprr Payroll, March, 1865
An article from the Utah Quarterly, Vol. 37, No. 1, by George Kraus, recounts the decision to use Chinese laborers in building the Central Pacific Railroad. Many original documents.
Curated OER
1852 California Census, Page 194
An article from the Utah Quarterly, Vol. 37, No. 1, by George Kraus, recounts the decision to use Chinese laborers in building the Central Pacific Railroad. Many original documents.
Curated OER
Centennial Chinese Rr Worker Commemorative Plaque
An article from the Utah Quarterly, Vol. 37, No. 1, by George Kraus, recounts the decision to use Chinese laborers in building the Central Pacific Railroad. Many original documents.
Curated OER
Ogden May 10th, 1919. Courtesy National Park Service.
An article from the Utah Quarterly, Vol. 37, No. 1, by George Kraus, recounts the decision to use Chinese laborers in building the Central Pacific Railroad. Many original documents.
Curated OER
Hart 349a
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.