![US Pacific Railroads 1887](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/US_Pacific_Railroads_1887.jpg)
A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous
railroad
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
trackage, that crosses a
continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the
tracks of either a single railroad or over those owned or controlled by multiple
railway companies
This is an incomplete list of the world's railway operating companies listed alphabetically by continent and country. This list includes companies operating both now and in the past.
In some countries, the railway operating bodies are not compani ...
along a continuous route. Although Europe is crisscrossed by railways, the railroads within Europe are usually not considered transcontinental, with the possible exception of the historic
Orient Express
The ''Orient Express'' was a long-distance passenger train service created in 1883 by the Belgian company ''Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits'' (CIWL) that operated until 2009. The train traveled the length of continental Europe and int ...
.
Transcontinental railroads helped open up unpopulated interior regions of continents to exploration and settlement that would not otherwise have been feasible. In many cases they also formed the backbones of cross-country passenger and freight transportation networks. Many of them continue to have an important role in freight transportation and some like the
Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR; , , ) connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway line in the world. It runs from the city of Moscow in the west to the city of Vladivostok in the ea ...
even have passenger trains going from one end to the other.
North America
United States
![East and West Shaking hands at the laying of last rail Union Pacific Railroad - Restoration](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/East_and_West_Shaking_hands_at_the_laying_of_last_rail_Union_Pacific_Railroad_-_Restoration.jpg)
A transcontinental railroad in the United States is any continuous rail line connecting a location on the U.S. Pacific coast with one or more of the railroads of the nation's eastern trunk line rail systems operating between the
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
or
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...
s and the U.S. Atlantic coast. The first concrete plan for a transcontinental railroad in the United States was presented to Congress by
Asa Whitney
Asa Whitney (1797–1872) was a highly successful dry-goods merchant and transcontinental railroad promoter.
He was one of the first backers of an American transcontinental railway. A trip to China in 1842–44 impressed upon Whitney the need ...
in 1845.
A series of transcontinental railroads built over the last third of the 19th century created a nationwide transportation network that united the country by rail. The first of these, the
"Pacific Railroad", was built by the
Central Pacific Railroad and
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
to link the San Francisco Bay at
Alameda, California
Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for " tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, located in the East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is primarily located on Alameda Island, but also spans Bay Farm Island and Coast Guard Island, as we ...
, with the nation's existing eastern railroad network at
Council Bluffs, Iowa/
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...
, thereby creating the world's first transcontinental railroad when it opened in 1869. Its construction was made possible by the US government under
Pacific Railroad Acts of 1862, 1864, and 1867. Its original course was very close to current
Interstate 80.
Transcontinental railroad
The U.S.'s
first transcontinental railroad was built between 1863 and 1869 to join the eastern and western halves of the United States. Begun just before the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
, its construction was considered to be one of the greatest American technological feats of the 19th century. Known as the "Pacific Railroad" when it opened, this served as a vital link for trade, commerce, and travel and opened up vast regions of the North American heartland for settlement. Shipping and commerce could thrive away from navigable watercourses for the first time since the beginning of the nation. Much of this route, especially on the Sierra grade west of Reno, Nevada, is currently used by Amtrak's ''
California Zephyr
The ''California Zephyr'' is a passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area (at Emeryville), via Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Reno. At , it is Amtrak's longest daily route, and second-longest overall ...
'', although many parts have been rerouted.
The transcontinental railroad provided fast, safe, and cheap travel. The fare for a one-week trip from Omaha to San Francisco on an emigrant sleeping car was about $65 for an adult. It replaced most of the far slower and more hazardous
stagecoach lines and
wagon train
''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings ...
s. The number of emigrants taking the
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
and
California Trails declined dramatically. The sale of the railroad land grant lands and the transport provided for timber and crops led to the rapid settling of the "Great American Desert".
The Union Pacific recruited laborers from Army veterans and
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
immigrants, while most of the engineers were ex-Army men who had learned their trade keeping the trains running during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
.
The Central Pacific Railroad faced a labor shortage in the more sparsely settled West. It recruited
Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...
laborers in China, who built the line over and through the
Sierra Nevada mountains and then across
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...
to their meeting in
northern Utah
The Wasatch Front is a metropolitan region in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Utah. It consists of a chain of contiguous cities and towns stretched along the Wasatch Range from approximately Provo in the south to Logan in the north, ...
. Chinese workers made up ninety percent of the workforce on the line.
The
Chinese Labor Strike of 1867 was peaceful, with no violence, organized across the entire Sierra Nevada route, and was carried out according to a peaceful Confucian model of protest. The strike began with the
Summer Solstice in June, 1867 and lasted for eight days.
Land Grants
The Transcontinental Railroad required land and a complex federal policy for purchasing, granting, conveying land.
Some of these land-related acts included:
* One motive for the
Gadsden Purchase of land from Mexico in 1853 was to obtain suitable terrain for a southern transcontinental railroad, as the southern portion of the
Mexican Cession was too mountainous. The
Southern Pacific Railroad was completed in 1881.
* The
Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 The Pacific Railroad Acts of 1862 were a series of acts of Congress that promoted the construction of a "transcontinental railroad" (the Pacific Railroad) in the United States through authorizing the issuance of government bonds and the grants of l ...
(based on an earlier bill in 1856) authorized land grants for new lines that would "aid in the construction of a railroad and
telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
line from the Missouri river to the Pacific ocean".
* The rails of the "
first transcontinental railroad" were joined on May 10, 1869, with the ceremonial driving of the "
Last Spike" at
Promontory Summit, Utah
Promontory is an area of high ground in Box Elder County, Utah, United States, 32 mi (51 km) west of Brigham City and 66 mi (106 km) northwest of Salt Lake City. Rising to an elevation of 4,902 feet (1,494 m) above se ...
, after track was laid over a gap between
Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
and
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...
/
Council Bluffs, Iowa in six years by the Union Pacific Railroad and Central Pacific Railroad.
Although through train service was in operation as of that date, the road was not deemed to have been officially "completed" until November 6, 1869. (A physical connection between Omaha, Nebraska, and the ''statutory'' Eastern terminus of the Pacific road at Council Bluffs, Iowa, located immediately across the
Missouri River was also not finally established until the opening of UPRR railroad bridge across the river on March 25, 1873, prior to which transfers were made by ferry operated by the
Council Bluffs & Nebraska Ferry Company.)
* The first permanent, continuous line of railroad track from coast to coast was completed 15 months later on August 15, 1870, by the
Kansas Pacific Railroad
The Kansas Pacific Railway (KP) was a historic railroad company that operated in the western United States in the late 19th century. It was a federally chartered railroad, backed with government land grants. At a time when the first transcontine ...
near its
crossing of Comanche Creek at
Strasburg, Colorado. This route connected to the eastern rail network via the
Hannibal Bridge
The First Hannibal Bridge was the first permanent rail crossing of the Missouri River and helped establish Kansas City, Missouri as a major city and rail center. The increased train traffic resulting from its construction also contributed to th ...
across the Missouri River at
Kansas City completed June 30, 1869, passed through
Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, and north to the Union Pacific Railroad at
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, Wyoming, Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne ...
, making it theoretically possible for the first time to board a train at
Jersey City, New Jersey, travel entirely by rail, and step down at the Alameda Wharf on
San Francisco Bay in Oakland. This singularity existed until March 25, 1873 when the Union Pacific constructed the Missouri River Bridge in Omaha.
Subsequent transcontinental routes
* Almost 12 years after
Promontory Summit
Promontory is an area of high ground in Box Elder County, Utah, United States, 32 mi (51 km) west of Brigham City and 66 mi (106 km) northwest of Salt Lake City. Rising to an elevation of 4,902 feet (1,494 m) above sea ...
, the
Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) constructed the second transcontinental railroad, building eastwards through the
Gadsden Purchase, which had been acquired from Mexico in 1854 largely with the intention of providing a route for a railroad connecting California with the Southern states. This line was completed with milestones and ceremonies in 1881 and 1883:
** March 8, 1881: the SP met the Rio Grande, Mexico and Pacific Railroad (a subsidiary of the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison, Kansas, Atchison and Top ...
) with a "silver spike" ceremony at
Deming, New Mexico, connecting
Atchison, Kansas
Atchison is a city and county seat of Atchison County, Kansas, United States, along the Missouri River. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 10,885. The city is named in honor of US Senator David Rice Atchison from Missouri ...
, to Los Angeles.
[Myrick, David, ''New Mexico's Railroads, A Historic Survey'', University of New Mexico Press 1990. ]
** December 15, 1881: the SP met the
Texas and Pacific Railway
The Texas and Pacific Railway Company (known as the T&P) was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California.
History
Under the influence of ...
(T&P) at
Sierra Blanca, Texas
Sierra Blanca is an unincorporated area in Hudspeth County, Texas, United States. It is also the county seat of the county and the namesake of a census-designated place (CDP) in which it is located. The town is part of the Trans-Pecos region of far ...
, connecting eastern Texas to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
.
** January 12, 1883: the SP completed its own southern section, meeting its subsidiary
Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway
The Buffalo Bayou, Brazos, and Colorado Railway (B.B.B.C. or B.B.B. & C.), also called the Harrisburg Road or Harrisburg Railroad, was the first operating railroad in Texas. It completed its first segment of track between Harrisburg, Texas (now a ...
at the Pecos River in Texas, and linking
to Los Angeles.
* In
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
, the
3-foot gauge Denver & Rio Grande
The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to ''Rio Grande'', D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow-gauge line running south from De ...
(D&RG) extended its route from
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
via
Pueblo
In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...
across the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...
to
Grand Junction in 1882. In central
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
, the D&RG acquired a number of independent
narrow gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
companies, which were incorporated into the first (1881-1889)
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railway (D&RGW). Tracks were extended north through
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...
, while simultaneously building south and eastward toward Grand Junction. The D&RG and the D&RGW were linked on March 30, 1883, the extension to
Ogden (where it met the Central Pacific) was completed on May 14, 1883, and through traffic between Denver and Ogden began a few days later. The
break of gauge
With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge (the distance between the rails, or between the wheels of trains designed to run on those rails) meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock generally cannot ...
made direct interchange of
rolling stock
The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can ...
with
standard gauge railroads at both ends of this
bridge line impossible for several years. The D&RG in 1887 began rebuilding its mainline in standard gauge, including a new route and tunnel at
Tennessee Pass. The first D&RGW was reincorporated as the
Rio Grande Western (RGW) in June 1889 and immediately began the conversion of track gauge. Standard gauge operations linking Ogden and Denver were completed on November 15, 1890.
[ Beebe, Lucius and Clegg, Charles, "Rio Grande, Mainline of the Rockies", Howell-North Books 1962.]
* The
Atlantic and Pacific Railroad
The Atlantic and Pacific Railroad was a U.S. railroad that owned or operated two disjointed segments, one connecting St. Louis, Missouri with Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the other connecting Albuquerque, New Mexico with Needles in Southern Californi ...
completed its route connecting the AT&SF at
Albuquerque, New Mexico, via
Flagstaff, Arizona, to the Southern Pacific at
Needles, California, on August 9, 1883. The SP line into
Barstow was leased by the A&P in 1884 (and purchased in 1911); this gave the AT&SF (the A&P's parent company) a direct route into Southern California.
This route now forms the western portion of
BNSF
BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...
's
Southern Transcon
The Southern Transcon is a main line of BNSF Railway comprising 11 subdivisions between Southern California and Chicago, Illinois. Completed in its current alignment in 1908 by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, when it opened the Belen C ...
.
* The
Northern Pacific Railway (NP) completed the fifth independent transcontinental railroad on August 22, 1883, linking
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
with
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
. The
Completion Ceremony was held on September 8, 1883, with former
U.S. President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
contributing to driving the Final Spike.
* The
California Southern Railroad
The California Southern Railroad was a subsidiary railroad of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (Santa Fe) in Southern California. It was organized July 10, 1880, and chartered on October 23, 1880, to build a rail connection between wh ...
(chartered January 10, 1882) was completed from
National City on
San Diego Bay via Temecula Cañon to Colton and
San Bernardino
San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cen ...
in September, 1883, and extended through the Cajon Pass to Barstow, a junction of the
Atlantic and Pacific Railroad
The Atlantic and Pacific Railroad was a U.S. railroad that owned or operated two disjointed segments, one connecting St. Louis, Missouri with Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the other connecting Albuquerque, New Mexico with Needles in Southern Californi ...
, in November, 1885. In September, 1885, the line of the Southern Pacific from Colton to Los Angeles, a distance of , had been leased by the California Central with equal rights and privileges thus allowing the Santa Fe's Transcontinental route to be completed by the connection with the California Southern and A&PRR. The SP grade was used until the completion of the California Central's own line between San Bernardino and Los Angeles in June, 1887, a distance of , which was part of the old Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad, which had been acquired by purchase. In August, 1888, the California Central completed its Coast Division south from Los Angeles to a junction with the California Southern Railroad near Oceanside, a distance of , and these two divisions comprised the main line of the California Central, forming, in connection with the California Southern, a direct line between Southern California and the East by way of the Atlantic and Pacific and Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroads.
* The
Great Northern Railway was built, without federal aid, by
James J. Hill
James Jerome Hill (September 16, 1838 – May 29, 1916) was a Canadian-American railroad director. He was the chief executive officer of a family of lines headed by the Great Northern Railway, which served a substantial area of the Upper Midwes ...
in 1893; it stretched from
St. Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
to
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
.
* The
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific
The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock.
At the end ...
reached
Santa Rosa, New Mexico
Santa Rosa is a city in and the county seat of Guadalupe County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 2,848 at the 2010 census. It lies between Albuquerque and Tucumcari, situated on the Pecos River at the intersection of Interstate 4 ...
, from the east in late 1901, shortly before the
El Paso & Northeastern arrived from the southwest. The two were connected on February 1, 1902, thus forming an additional link between the Midwest and southern California.
Through passenger service was provided by the ''
Golden State Limited
The ''Golden State'' was a named passenger train between Chicago and Los Angeles from 1902–1968 on the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (“Rock Island”) and the Southern Pacific Company (SP) and predecessors. It was named for Cal ...
'' (Chicago—Kansas City—Tucumcari—El Paso—Los Angeles) jointly operated by the Rock Island and the Southern Pacific (EP&NE's successor) from 1902 to 1968.
* The
San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad completed its line connecting Los Angeles through
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
to Salt Lake City on May 1, 1905. Through passenger service from Chicago to Los Angeles was provided by Union Pacific's ''
Los Angeles Limited'' from 1905 to 1954, and the ''
City of Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
'' from 1936 to 1971.
* The
Western Pacific Railway
The Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California. WP's Feather River Route dir ...
(WP), financed by the Denver & Rio Grande on behalf of the
Gould System, completed its new line (the
Feather River Route
The Feather River Route is a rail line that was built and operated by the Western Pacific Railroad. It was constructed between 1906 and 1909, and connects the cities of Oakland, California, and Salt Lake City, Utah. The line was built to compet ...
) from Oakland to Ogden in 1909, in direct competition with the Southern Pacific's existing route. Through passenger service (Oakland-Salt Lake City-Denver-Chicago) was provided by the ''
Exposition Flyer
The ''Exposition Flyer ''was a passenger train jointly operated by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (CB&Q), Denver & Rio Grande Western (D&RGW), and Western Pacific (WP) railroads between Chicago and Oakland, California, for a decade between 19 ...
'' 1939 to 1949 and its successor, the ''
California Zephyr
The ''California Zephyr'' is a passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area (at Emeryville), via Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Reno. At , it is Amtrak's longest daily route, and second-longest overall ...
'' 1949 to 1970, both jointly operated by the WP, the
D&RGW and the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illin ...
.
* In 1909, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul (or
Milwaukee Road) completed a privately built Pacific extension to Seattle. On completion, the line was renamed the
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific
The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until 1986.
The company experience ...
. Although the Pacific Extension was privately funded, predecessor roads did benefit from the
federal land grant act, so it cannot be said to have been built without federal aid.
*
John D. Spreckels completed his privately funded
San Diego and Arizona Railway
The San Diego and Arizona Railway was a short line U.S. railroad founded by entrepreneur John D. Spreckels, and dubbed "The Impossible Railroad" by engineers of its day due to the immense logistical challenges involved. It linked San Diego, ...
in 1919, thereby creating a direct link (via connection with the Southern Pacific lines) between
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...
and the
Eastern United States
The Eastern United States, commonly referred to as the American East, Eastern America, or simply the East, is the region of the United States to the east of the Mississippi River. In some cases the term may refer to a smaller area or the East C ...
. The railroad stretched from San Diego to
Calexico, California
Calexico () is a city in southern Imperial County, California. Situated on the Mexican border, it is linked economically with the much larger city of Mexicali, the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California. It is about east of San Diego ...
, of which were south of the border in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
.
* In 1993,
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...
's ''
Sunset Limited'' daily railroad train was extended eastward to
Miami, Florida
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
, later rerouted to Orlando, Florida, Orlando, making it the first regularly scheduled transcontinental passenger train route in the United States to be operated by a single company. Hurricane Katrina cut this rail route in Louisiana in 2005. The train now runs from Los Angeles to New Orleans.
The Gould System
George J. Gould attempted to assemble a truly transcontinental system in the 1900s. The line from San Francisco, California, to Toledo, Ohio, was completed in 1909, consisting of the
Western Pacific Railway
The Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California. WP's Feather River Route dir ...
, Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, Missouri Pacific Railroad, and Wabash Railroad. Beyond Toledo, the planned route would have used the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad (1899-1916), Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad (1900), Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal Railway, Little Kanawha Railroad, West Virginia Central and Pittsburgh Railway, Western Maryland Railroad, and Philadelphia and Western Railway, but the Panic of 1907 strangled the plans before the Little Kanawha section in West Virginia could be finished. The Alphabet Route was completed in 1931, providing the portion of this line east of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...
. With the merging of the railroads, only the Union Pacific Railroad and the BNSF Railway remain to carry the entire route.
Canada
The completion of Canada's first transcontinental railway with the driving of the Last Spike (Canadian Pacific Railway), Last Spike at Craigellachie, British Columbia, on November 7, 1885, was an important milestone in History of Canada, Canadian history. Between 1881 and 1885, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) completed a line that spanned from the port of Montreal to the Pacific coast, fulfilling a condition of British Columbia's 1871 entry into the Canadian Confederation. The City of Vancouver, incorporated in 1886, was designated the western terminus of the line. The CPR became the first transcontinental railway company in North America in 1889 after its International Railway of Maine opened, connecting CPR to the Atlantic coast.
The construction of a transcontinental railway strengthened the connection of British Columbia and the North-West Territories to the country they had recently joined, and acted as a bulwark against potential incursions by the United States.
Subsequently, two other transcontinental lines were built in Canada: the Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) opened another line to the Pacific in 1915, and the combined Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTPR)/National Transcontinental Railway (NTR) system opened in 1917 following the completion of the Quebec Bridge, although its line to the Pacific opened in 1914. The CNoR, GTPR, and NTR were nationalized to form the Canadian National Railway, which currently is now Canada's largest transcontinental railway, with lines running all the way from the Pacific Coast to the Atlantic Coast.
Central America (inter-oceanic lines)
Panama (South America)
![Panama Canal Railway](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Panama_Canal_Railway.svg)
The first railroad to directly connect two oceans (although not by crossing a broad "continental" land mass) was the Panama Railway, Panama Rail Road. Opened in 1855, this line was designated instead as an "inter-oceanic" railroad crossing Country at its narrowest point, the Isthmus of Panama, when that area was still part of Colombia. (Panama Separation of Panama from Colombia, split off from Colombia in 1903 and became the independent Republic of Panama). By spanning the isthmus, the line thus became the first railroad to completely cross any part of the Americas and physically connect ports on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Given the tropical rain forest environment, the terrain, and diseases such as malaria and cholera, its completion was a considerable engineering challenge. The construction took five years after ground was first broken for the line in May, 1850, cost eight million dollars, and required more than seven thousand workers drawn from "every quarter of the globe."
This railway was built to provide a shorter and more secure path between the United States' East Coast of the United States, East and West Coast of the United States, West Coasts. This need was mainly triggered by the California Gold Rush. Over the years the railway played a key role in the construction and the subsequent operation of the Panama Canal, due to its proximity to the canal. Currently, the railway operates under the private administration of the Panama Canal Railroad Company, and its upgraded capacity complements the cargo traffic through the Panama Canal.
Guatemala
![Guatemala railways](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Guatemala_railways.svg)
A second Central American inter-oceanic railroad began operation in 1908 as a connection between Puerto San José and Puerto Barrios in Guatemala, but ceased passenger service to Puerto San José in 1989.
Costa Rica
![Costarice railway](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Costarice_railway.svg)
A third Central American inter-oceanic railroad began operation in 1910 as a connection between Puntarenas and Limón in gauge. It currently (2019) sees no passenger service.
South America
There is activity to revive the connection between Valparaíso, Chile, Valparaíso and Santiago, Chile, Santiago in Chile and Mendoza, Argentina, through the ''Transandino'' project. Mendoza has an active connection to Buenos Aires. The old Transandino began in 1910 and ceased passenger service in 1978 and freight 4 years later. Technically a complete transcontinental link exists from Arica, Chile, to La Paz, Bolivia, to Buenos Aires, but this trans-Andean crossing is for freight only.
On December 6, 2017 the Brazilian President Michel Temer and his Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales signed an agreement for an Atlantic - Pacific railway. The construction will start in 2019 and will be finished in 2024. The new railway is planned to be 3750 km in length. There are two possible tracks in discussion: Both have an Atlantic end in Santos, Brazil but the Pacific ends are in Ilo, Peru and Matarani, Peru.
Another longer Transcontinental freight-only railroad linking Lima, Peru, to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is under development.
Eurasia
* The first transcontinental railroad in Europe, that connected the North Sea or the English Channel with the Mediterranean Sea, was a series of lines that included the Paris–Marseille railway, in service 1856. Multiple railways north of Paris were in operation at that time, such as Paris–Lille railway and Paris–Le Havre railway.
* The second connection between the seas of Northern Europe and the Mediterranean Sea, was a series of lines finalized in 1857 with the Austrian Southern Railway, Vienna–Trieste. There were before that railroad connections Hamburg–Berlin–Wroclaw–Vienna (including Berlin–Hamburg Railway, Berlin–Wrocław railway, Upper Silesian Railway and Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway). The Baltic Sea was also connected through the Lübeck–Lüneburg railway.
*The
Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR; , , ) connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway line in the world. It runs from the city of Moscow in the west to the city of Vladivostok in the ea ...
, completed in 1905, was the first network of railways connecting Europe and Asia. It connects European Russia, Western Russia to the Russian Far East, and is the longest railway line in the world, with a length of over . The railway starts from Russia's capital Moscow, which is the largest city in Europe, and ends at Vladivostok, situated on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Expansion of the railway system continues , with connecting rails going into Asia, namely Mongolia, China and North Korea.
There are also plans to connect Tokyo, the capital of Japan, to the railway.
* A second rail line connects Istanbul in Turkey with China via Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. This route imposes a
break of gauge
With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge (the distance between the rails, or between the wheels of trains designed to run on those rails) meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock generally cannot ...
at the Iranian border with Turkmenistan and at the Chinese border. En route there is a train ferry in eastern Turkey across Lake Van. The European and Asian parts of Istanbul was linked 2019 linked by the Marmaray Tunnel, Marmaray undersea tunnel, before that by train ferry. There is no through service of passenger trains on the entire line. A uniform gauge connection was proposed in 2006, commencing with new construction in Qazaqstan Temir Zholy, Kazakhstan. A decision to make the internal railways of Afghanistan gauge potentially opens up a new standard gauge route to China, since China abuts this country.
Asia
* The Trans-Asian Railway is a project to link Singapore to Istanbul and is to a large degree complete with missing pieces primarily in Myanmar. The project has also linking corridors to China, the central Asian states, and Russia. This transcontinental line unfortunately uses a number of different gauges, , , and , though this problem may be lessened with the use of variable gauge axle systems such as the SUW 2000.
* The TransKazakhstan Trunk Railways project by Kazakhstan Temir Zholy will connect China and Europe with standard gauge . Construction is set to start in 2006. Initially the line will go to western Kazakhstan, south through Turkmenistan to Iran, then to Turkey and Europe. A shorter to-be-constructed link from Kazakhstan is considered going through Russia and either Belarus or Ukraine.
* The Baghdad Railway connects Istanbul with Baghdad and finally Basra, a sea port at the Persian Gulf. When its construction started in the 1880s it was in those times a Transcontinental Railroad.
Australia
East-west
*Sydney-Perth rail corridor, Australia's east–west transcontinental rail corridor, consisting of lines built to three different track gauges, was completed in 1917, when the Trans-Australian Railway was opened between Port Augusta railway station, Port Augusta, South Australia and Kalgoorlie railway station, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. This line, built by the Government of Australia, federal government as a Federation of Australia, federation commitment, filled the last gap in the lines between the mainland state capitals of Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. Passengers and freight alike suffered from time-consuming break of gauge, breaks of gauge: a Perth–Brisbane journey at that time involved two standard gauge 1435 mm (4 ft 8 in) lines, a broad gauge 1600 mm (5 ft 3 in) line, and three of 1067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge.
*In the 1940s and 1960s, steps were taken to progressively reduce the huge inefficiencies caused by the numerous historically imposed breaks of gauge by linking the mainland capital cities with lines all of standard gauge.
*In 1970, the route across the continent was completed to standard gauge and a new, all-through passenger train, the ''Indian Pacific'' was inaugurated.
*An east–west transcontinental line across northern Australia from the Pilbara to the east coast – more than 1000 km (600 mi) north of the Sydney-Perth rail corridor – was proposed in 2006 by Project Iron Boomerang to connect iron ore mining in the Pilbara and coal mining in the Bowen Basin in Queensland, with steel manufacturing plants at both ends.
North–south
![Map of the five lines comprising the Adelaide–Darwin rail corridor](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Map_of_the_five_lines_comprising_the_Adelaide%E2%80%93Darwin_rail_corridor.png)
* Australia's Adelaide–Darwin rail corridor, north–south transcontinental rail corridor was built in stages during the 20th century, leaving a gap to be finished after the Tarcoola railway station, Tarcoola to Alice Springs railway station, Alice Springs section was completed in 1980. That final section, from Alice Springs to Darwin railway station, Darwin, was opened in 2004. The total length of the corridor, from Adelaide to Darwin, is . Completion of the corridor ended 126 years of freight and passengers alike having to be transferred between trains on Break of gauge#Origins of Australia's multi-gauge muddle, tracks of different gauges: the corridor is now entirely 1435 mm (4 ft 8 in) standard gauge. The corridor is an important route for freight. An upmarket experiential travel, experiential tourism passenger train, ''The Ghan'', operated by Journey Beyond, makes the journey once a week in each direction from Adelaide Parklands Terminal, Adelaide to Darwin, and the company's east–west ''Indian Pacific'' runs on the southernmost before heading west to Perth. There is no intermediate passenger traffic on the line.
* In 2018, the Australian Rail Track Corporation started building a standard gauge fast-freight railway from Melbourne to Brisbane, known as the Inland Railway. , completion was anticipated in 2027.
Africa
East-west
* There are several ways to cross Africa transcontinentally via connecting east–west railways. One is the Benguela railway, completed in 1929. It starts in Lobito, Angola, and connects through Katanga Province, Katanga to the Zambia railways system. From Zambia several ports are accessible on the Indian Ocean: Dar es Salaam in Tanzania through the TAZARA, and, through Zimbabwe, Beira, Mozambique, Beira and Maputo in Mozambique. The Angolan Civil War has made the Benguela line largely inoperative, but efforts are being taken to restore it. Another west–east corridor leads from the Atlantic harbours in Namibia, either Walvis Bay or Luderitz to the South African rail system that, in turn, links to ports on the Indian Ocean ( i.e. Durban, Maputo).
* A 1015 km gap in the east–west line between Kinshasa and Ilebo filled by riverboats could be plugged with a new railway.
* There are two proposals for a line from the Red Sea to the Gulf of Guinea, including TransAfricaRail.
* In 2010 a Dakar-Port Sudan Railway, proposal sought to link Dakar to Port Sudan. Thirteen countries would be on the main route; another six would be served by branches.
North-south
* A north-south transcontinental railway had been proposed by Cecil Rhodes, who termed it the Cape-Cairo railway. This system would act as a direct route from the northernmost British possession in Africa, History of Egypt under the British, Egypt, to the southernmost one, the Cape Colony. The project was never completed. During its development, a competing French colonial project for a competing line from Algiers or Dakar to Abidjan was abandoned after the Fashoda incident. This line would have had four gauge islands in three gauges.
* An extension of Namibian Railways is being built in 2006 with the possible connection to Angolan Railways.
* Transport in Libya#Railways, Libya has proposed a Trans-Saharan Railway connecting possibly to Transport in Nigeria#Railways, Nigeria which would connect with the proposed AfricaRail network.
African Union of Railways
* The African Union of Railways has plans to connect the various railways of Africa including the Dakar-Port Sudan Railway.
See also
* Cosmopolitan Railway
* Transmountain railroad
* Intercontinental and transoceanic fixed links
Footnotes
{{reflist
Further reading
* Glenn Williamson, ''Iron Muse: Photographing the Transcontinental Railroad.'' Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2013.
External links
The Old TransandinoTrans-Asian Railway ProjectUniting the States of America
Railways by type
Continents
Western (genre) staples and terminology, Railroad