Curated OER
Chinese Railroad Worker at Tunnel No. 8
Quotations from contemporary figures and recent politicians depicting the value of the Chinese workers in building the Central Pacific Railroad. Included are many pictures and graphs as well as links to additional information.
California Digital Library
Loc: The Chinese in California 1850 1925
Excellent overview of the Chinese experience in California complete with historical photos and primary documents. Site provides information on San Francisco's Chinatown, the anti-Chinese Movement, and Chinese laborers.
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: The Iron Horse: The Meeting at Promontory Point
From a lengthy essay on the history of the railroad in the United States. This section describes the events that occurred as the Union Pacific and Central Pacific both reached the endpoint of the railroad at Promontory Point, California....
PBS
Pbs: American Experience: The Iron Road
A good summary of the history of the building of first transcontinental railroad and images of the transcontinental railroad. From the introduction to the PBS video, The Iron Road.
Curated OER
National Park Service: Golden Spike National Historic Site
Homepage of the Golden Spike National Historic Site. Provides general information about the completion of the transcontinental railroad and contains links to other information.
Country Studies US
Countyr Studies: United States History: The Last Frontier
This site describes the settlement of the West happened quickly with the passage of the Homestead Act of 1862 and the push for the Transcontinental Railroad. With the explosion of the mining and ranching industries, the West was all but...
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Magnificent Celebrations in Calfornia
Describes the completion of the transcontinental railroad and the subsequent celebrations.
Museum of the City of San Francisco
Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco: Driving the Last Spike
Provides a short description of the development of the transcontinental railroad and the "Big Four" behind the construction. From the San Francisco News Letter of September 1925.
Curated OER
Summit Tunnel Map
This site offers an abstract from Van Nostrand's Eclectic Engineering Magazine from 1870 from a paper by John R. Gilliss. A comprehensive look at the tunnels built along the route of the Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific...
Curated OER
Tunnel No. 4 (#38 Visible)
This site offers an abstract from Van Nostrand's Eclectic Engineering Magazine from 1870 from a paper by John R. Gilliss. A comprehensive look at the tunnels built along the route of the Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific...
Utah Education Network
Uen: Utah History Encyclopedia: Golden Spike National Historic Site
This resource provides information about the first transcontinental railroad, which was built by nearly 30,000 Irish, German, Italian, and Chinese laborers.
Curated OER
Theodore Judah + San Francisco Railroad Bond, Colorized Composite Image
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.
Curated OER
U.s. Pacific Railway Commission Volumes
Contains the text of a Lewis M. Clement's 1887 statement to the U.S. Pacific Railway Commission, which gives a clear and succinct accounting of the costs incurred and the problems encountered in building the Central Pacific Railroad.
Curated OER
U.s. Pacific Railway Commission Map
Contains the text of a Lewis M. Clement's 1887 statement to the U.S. Pacific Railway Commission, which gives a clear and succinct accounting of the costs incurred and the problems encountered in building the Central Pacific Railroad.
Curated OER
Chinese Laborers Build Central Pacific Railroad Trestle in the Sierra
Published in 1924, the book, "The Story of California from the Earliest Days to the Present," by Henry K. Norton, relates the lives of the Chinese who immigrated to California to participate in the gold rush. He also recounts the...
Curated OER
Chinese Rr Workers, Monterey, Ca
From a 1969 publication by the Chinese Historical Society of America comes this extensive look at the Chinese role in the building of the Central Pacific Railroad from California east to Utah.
Curated OER
Chinamen on a Handcar in California
From a 1969 publication by the Chinese Historical Society of America comes this extensive look at the Chinese role in the building of the Central Pacific Railroad from California east to Utah.
Curated OER
Anthony 7148
Quotations from contemporary figures and recent politicians depicting the value of the Chinese workers in building the Central Pacific Railroad. Included are many pictures and graphs as well as links to additional information.
Curated OER
Ten Miles of Track Laid in One Day, April 28, 1869.
Quotations from contemporary figures and recent politicians depicting the value of the Chinese workers in building the Central Pacific Railroad. Included are many pictures and graphs as well as links to additional information.
Curated OER
China Labour, Cprr Payroll, March, 1865
Quotations from contemporary figures and recent politicians depicting the value of the Chinese workers in building the Central Pacific Railroad. Included are many pictures and graphs as well as links to additional information.
Curated OER
Cprr Hospital
An extraordinarily rich collection of photos, stereographs, engravings, maps, and documents. Many 19th century accounts of building and traveling on the railroad, plus travel guides and government documents.
Curated OER
First Train
A brief discussion of the concept of a transcontinental railroad with hyperlinks to other articles on this large website.
Curated OER
The Locomotive Governor Stanford
Provides a short description of the development of the transcontinental railroad and the "Big Four" behind the construction. From the San Francisco News Letter of September 1925.
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum
Cprr: Car Builder's Dictionary: Pullman Palace Sleeping Car
Shows detailed floor plans of Pullman Palace Sleeping Car and Drawing Room/Parlor car.