The Transcontinental Railroads :: essays research papers

The Transcontinental Railroads The Transcontinental Railroad consisted of ten major railroads that together would span the distance between the East and West Coasts of the United States. The completion of these railroads brought change, both for good and bad, and had an enormous impact on the United States and other countries of the world. Without a doubt, each railroad played an important role in shaping America into the country it is today. The Great Northern Railroad was an 8,316-mile long railroad created in September 1889 by predecessor railroads in Minnesota. It went from Lake Superior to Washington, traveling through North Dakota, Montana, and Idaho. The line was the dream of James Jerome Hill who was known as the â€Å"Empire Builder† since he had the ability to bring prosperity to areas that were barren before his influence. This railroad provided service and helped build up the grain, potato, and sugar beet regions in North Dakota, Montana, and Eastern Washington. It also played a pivotal role in the prosperity of the cattle counties of Montana as well as the oil, copper, and lumber industries (http://www.gnrhs.org). The Northern Pacific Railroad originally started in 1864 by Josiah Perham; unfortunately, due to financing problems the project was stalled until 1869. The route stretched from Lake Superior to the Puget Sound in Washington. This railroad was unique since it received no government loans to assists in its financing. The Northern Pacific lines were vital in bringing immigrants to various cities along the routes through advertising at home and abroad. Their effort to attract settlers into these regions was directly responsible for Montana, Washington, North Dakota and South Dakota becoming states in 1889. This stimulated the economies in these regions (http://www.linecamp.com). The Union Pacific Railroad was created in 1862 by government grants. Construction began in late 1863 in Omaha, Nebraska. Over a period of six years it was run through Wyoming and on to Promontory Point, Utah. The Union Pacific routes later expanded to reach north to Washington and south to Texas, with numerous subsidiary lines in Colorado. In 1936, the railroad opened Sun Valley, Idaho Ski Resort, which became a model for other ski resorts to follow (http://www.linecamp.com). The Kansas Pacific was the southern branch of the Union Pacific. The building of the route began in 1863 with the intent to transport passengers (immigrants) westward through the Great Plains. The route ran from Kansas City to Denver. Towns sprung up along the different junctions providing economic booms in those areas.