In July 1865, the Union Pacific began construction on what John Galloway calls, “the greatest engineering feat of the nineteenth century”: The Transcontinental Railroad. Central Pacific Railroad began operating freight and passenger trains over the first 31 miles of track to Newcastle in June 1864. Leland Stanford, a wealthy former California governor who ran under an anti-Chinese immigrant platform, was also president of the Central Pacific. Their job was to work on building the tracks at night while the other workers slept. At this stage, we welcome information related to the contributions, experiences, and lives of the Irish who worked on America's first transcontinental railroad (both the Union Pacific Railroad and the Central Pacific Railroad). Accounts differ as to the number of men that worked on the Central Pacific. In this manner the Central Pacific comprised 742 miles of line from Sacramento to Ogden, and the Union Pacific 1,032 miles of line from Omaha to the same place, a total length from Sacramento to Omaha of 1,774 miles. It was announced that two companies were to build the first transcontinental railroad, The Central Pacific Company and the Union Pacific Railroad the two chosen companies responsible for constructing this massive railroad. The Central Pacific Railroad Company, building from California, hired Chinese migrants. It was directed to "construct a railroad and telegraph line from the Pacific coast, at or near San Francisco, or the navigable waters of the Sacramento River, to the eastern boundary of California. C. Actually, 10,000 to 20,000 immigrant Chinese laborers had helped forge the Central Pacific’s path over the Sierra Nevada to its historic 1869 meeting with the Union Pacific. The workers on the Central Pacific originally were supposed to be mostly Irish immigrant like the Union Pacific, but due to the inability of contractor Charles Crocker to hold onto only 800 men at any given time, the Central Pacific needed to find a new labor force. Unbeknownst to them, the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific companies “were about to become the biggest businesses in America” (Ambrose). When they were going through mountains they needed to bring all the logs needed to create a bridge across vast distances. Rose Wong / for NBC News April 22, 2019, 3:26 PM UTC The Pacific Railway A Brief History of Building the Transcontinental Railroad. They built rows of wooden structures along 25th Street, from the Broom Hotel to the railroad station, and a Chinatown quickly sprang up. On July 1, 1862, Congress passes and Abraham Lincoln signs the Pacific Railroad Bill. In 1861, President Lincoln and Congress agreed to finance a transcontinental railroad via government bonds despite the recently commenced Civil War. 80%. In the fall of the same year, Young contracted with Central Pacific officials to build the railroad from Humboldt Wells, Nevada, to Ogden, Utah, a distance of … Dig into the history of the thousands of Chinese immigrants who labored blasting, digging and laying track for the great Transcontinental Railroad, through photographs, excerpts from news and railroad reports, first-hand accounts, and other resources. Collis P. Huntington, American railroad magnate who promoted the Central Pacific Railroad’s extension across the West, making possible the first transcontinental railroad in 1869. When work on the Transcontinental Railroad began, neither Union Pacific nor Central Pacific wanted to hire these immigrants. Railroads provided employment for immigrant workers, opportunities for investors, and a means for farmers to seize new lands. In May 1868, Young signed a $2,125,000 million contract with the Union Pacific to build the railroad line from Echo to the shores of the Great Salt Lake, a distance of 150 miles. by selling prices of land granted to them to build railroads. The Transcontinental Railroad (1869) is the name given to the first railway built between Omaha, Nebraska and Sacramento, California, making coast-to-coast train travel across the US possible. The Irish Railroad Workers History Project is led by faculty and students and New York University. It is the intention of the company to employ at once as many men as can be advantageously worked on the distance between these points —— 23 miles. harsh weather conditions. The line began in Sacramento, the railroad's western terminus. ... How did the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroad companies profit from constructing the railroad? The experiment was an enormous success, and by 1865 several thousand Chinese worked on Central Pacific. Construction of the Central Pacific Railroad was his cross and his crown.” From the Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum. At first, the Union Pacific, which had flat terrain, raced ahead. The Irish worked the lines of the Union Pacific, among others, traveling farther and farther west into towns such as Cheyenne and Medicine Bow, Wyoming, Denver, Colorado and to the Pacific coast. The Central Pacific began its work in … In early 1865 the Central Pacific had work enough for 4,000 men. Yet contractor Charles Crocker barely managed to hold onto 800 laborers at any given time. Because of prospecting and other endeavors that failed, he went back to the construction industry and served as a foreman on the Placer County canal and on the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad. Why … With their monetary backing the group officially incorporated the Central Pacific Railroad of California on June 28, 1861. It was mainly the Irish and the Chinese that worked on the Transcontinental Railroad. They ended up with the Chinese. In California, the immigrants established support networks, based on family ties and place of origin, and found work in agriculture, mines, domestic service, and increasingly in railroad construction. Which obstacle was faced by both Central Pacific and Union Pacific workers? Less well known are two mass graves of fifty Irish people who worked on the Illinois Central Railroad in Funks Grove, IL, a … Some locations of the railroad included going through mountainous terrain. “The Chinaman, socially ostracized by the nickname of ‘coolie,’ became the Pacific Coast’s substitute for the Indian and Negro slave. The Southern Pacific Company was organized in 1884 as a holding company for the Central Pacific-Southern Pacific system. Ogden soon became Utah Territory’s rail- road hub and attracted many of the Chinese who had worked so long and so hard on the Central Pacific. The Central Pacific's Chinese immigrant workers received just $26-$35 a month for a 12-hour day, 6-day work week and … As the work started in 1865, the Central Pacific … They worked hard, but the railroad company paid them well and kept them safe. At peak employment, as many as 10,000 Chinese worked for the Central Pacific Railway. The First Transcontinental Railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the "Overland Route") was a railroad line built in the United States between 1863 and 1869 by the Central Pacific Railroad of California and the Union Pacific Railroad that connected its statutory Eastern terminus at Council … The Chinese worked with the Union Pacific, & the Irish with the Central Pacific. The government gave the companies rights of way of 200 feet on each side of the track and financial aid of $16,000 to $48,000 for each mile of track laid. Over 10,000 Chinese immigrants did the hard work of preparing rail beds, laying tracking, digging tunnels, and … The Central Pacific Railroad turned to Chinese immigrants, who had flocked to the U.S. as part of the gold rush. Crooked companies making crooked lines: The US government had wanted a transcontinental railroad … The Central Pacific built east from Sacramento, Calif., while the Union Pacific built west from Omaha, Neb. A. Some worked in the silver mines, while others worked as cooks and domestic servants in such cities as San Francisco. The Central Pacific Railroad Company advertises for 5,000 laborers to work upon the road between Newcastle and Illinoistown [Colfax]. He then joined the Gold Rush in 1849, sailing to the West. Which answer best describes the experience of Chinese immigrants working on the Central Pacific railroad? The Central Pacific Railroad started in California and worked east. He worked on the Vermont Central Railway when he was a young and was promoted to foreman. What used to take four to six months now took just six days. In 1862, the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific Railroad Companies began building a transcontinental railroad that would link the United States from east to west. The Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroad companies received contracts to build the rail systems in 1862. Stanford was president of the Southern Pacific Company from 1885 until 1890 when he was forced out of that post (as well as the presidency of the Southern Pacific Railroad) by Collis Huntington, the … _____ immigrants help build the Central Pacific Railroad in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. This was due to the general prejudices of the time. B. The Central Pacific Railroad, the company that built the western portion of the railroad, employed more than 10,000 Chinese laborers. In the center, Mormon laborers worked for both lines. Born into a poor family, Huntington worked as an itinerant peddler and became a prosperous merchant in Oneonta, N.Y., Before the advent of the transcontinental railroad, a journey across the continent to the western states meant a dangerous six month trek over rivers, deserts, and mountains.Alternatively, a traveler could hazard a six week sea voyage around Cape Horn, or sail to Central … On May 10, 1869, Chinese employed by the Central Pacific Railroad laid the final rails of the first transcontinental railroad line. Although they were discriminated against, the Chinese workers on the Central Pacific Railroad worked harder and faster than anyone expected. Along with bad working conditions and terrible location work on the railroad was very dangerous. Railroad line immigrants working on the Vermont Central Railway when he was a young was... The experiment was an enormous success, and a means for farmers seize. 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