Terms

Transcontinental Railroad

A 1,912-mile (3,077 km) continuous railroad line constructed between 1863-1869. It connected the existing U.S. rail network at Omaha, Nebraska, and Iowa with the Pacific coast at the San Francisco Bay. The rail line was built by three private companies over public lands provided by extensive US land grants. Construction was financed by both state and US government subsidy bonds as well as by company issued mortgage bonds.