Building The Line
Cobblestone American History Magazine for Kids|February 2017

Grenville M. Dodge, the Union Pacific’s chief engineer, had the following to say about building the first transcontinental railroad: “To supply one mile of track with material and supplies required about forty cars, as on the plains everything—rails, ties, bridging, fastenings, all railway supplies, fuel for locomotives and trains, and supplies for men and animals on the entire work—had to be transported . . .” to the railhead.

Karen Bush Gibson
Building The Line

Material for both companies originated on the East Coast. Supplies had to be sent over land and up the Missouri River to reach the Union Pacific’s end of the line. Material for the Central Pacific was shipped to the West Coast—often traveling 18,000 miles around South America—before continuing to a point inland.

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