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The American Railroad

The American Railroad. In 1850, steam-powered ships provided much of nation’s transportation Before Civil War, most railroad tracks were short lines in the East Limitations included: No standard track width Unreliable brakes Lack of standardized signals.

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The American Railroad

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  1. The American Railroad

  2. In 1850, steam-powered ships provided much of nation’s transportation • Before Civil War, most railroad tracks were short lines in the East • Limitations included: • No standard track width • Unreliable brakes • Lack of standardized signals

  3. Miles of Railroad Track in the United States • 1840 – 3,000 • 1850 – 9,000 • 1860 – 30,000 • 1916 – Over 250,000 (peak mileage) • Today – 170,000

  4. Transcontinental Railroad • Authorized by Pacific Railway Act of 1862 • Lines already reached west to the Mississippi River • New rails would be laid between Omaha, Nebraska and Sacramento, California • Government incentives were crucial to the tracks’ construction

  5. Why were incentives needed? • Private investors saw no likelihood of profit in building RR beyond line of civilization • Congress believed a coast to coast track would strengthen economic infrastructure • Awarded huge loans and grants to railroads (Pacific Railway Acts)

  6. Central Pacific began laying track eastward out of Sacramento • Union Pacific began laying track westward in Omaha • Most workers were immigrants • Irish workers on Union Pacific • Chinese on Central Pacific • Two sides met in Promontory, UT on May 10, 1869

  7. Land Runs • Beginning in 1889, several “land runs/rushes” occurred • “Unassigned” (surplus) lands in Oklahoma Territory • “Boomers” registered at local land offices, then rushed at a given time to stake their claim

  8. Oklahoma Land Run of 1889

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