A brief history of the first transcontinental railroad and the vision of Theodore Judah as well as the financing of the "Big Four."

From The Brown Quaterly (1997) an article describing the role of the Chinese immigrant in building the railroad. Includes images of the Chinese railroad workers. (PDF - scroll down to page 7)

A chapter from John J. Stewart's "The Iron Trail to the Golden Spike" about Utah and the transcontinental railroad.

From an article by B.P. Avery printed in the May, 1869, issue of "Overland Monthly" is this description of the building of the transcontinental railroad including information about the Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific...

Provides excerpts from "Fusang: The Chinese Who Built America: The Chinese Railroad Men" by Stan Steiner. Describes how the Chinese contributed to the construction of the transcontinental railroad.

This site offers an abstract from Van Nostrand's Eclectic Engineering Magazine from 1870 from a paper by John R. Gilliss. A comprehensive look at the tunnels built along the route of the Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific...

This chapter from "The First Transcontinental Railroad" by John Debo Galloway contains biographies of the important men who conceived of the railroad, found funds for the line, and engineered the construction.

From a book "The First Transcontinental Railroad" by John Debo Galloway, a civil engineer, comes this comprehensive description of the topography of the route of the Central Pacific Railroad.

From a book written by a civil engineer, John Debo Galloway, this article discusses the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad including construction methods, problems, and the eventual meeting of the rails at Promontory Point.

This site describes the settlement of the West happened quickly with the passage of the Homestead Act of 1862 and the push for the Transcontinental Railroad. With the explosion of the mining and ranching industries, the West was all but...

The prophet of the transcontinental railroad did not live to see it built. Yet his scouting, surveying, lobbying, and fundraising efforts defined the route and prepared the way for the technology that would unite a nation.

Provides a short description of the development of the transcontinental railroad and the "Big Four" behind the construction. From the San Francisco News Letter of September 1925.

Library of Congress presents primary source documents, essays, photos and maps of historical events on May 10th including a ceremony at Promontory Point, Utah for the meeting of the Union Pacific and Central railways and the capture of...

As part of a larger site about American railroads is this informative biography of James J. Hill, who built a rail line across the Northwest without federal assistance.

As part of a book about the Central Pacific Railroad written in 1898, this article discusses the origin of the idea to construct a transcontinental railroad.

An article from the Utah Quarterly, Vol. 37, No. 1, by George Kraus, recounts the decision to use Chinese laborers in building the Central Pacific Railroad. Many primary source documents included as well as supplemental direct quotes in...

This site from the Puget Sound Model Railroad Engineers provides information about the history of the Northern Pacific Railway. The route follows the path Lewis and Clark took in 1804. Mentions cost, manpower, and other railroad companies.

This resource provides information about the first transcontinental railroad, which was built by nearly 30,000 Irish, German, Italian, and Chinese laborers.

Discusses the conflict with Mexican American and Chinese groups as white settlers pushed westward in the nineteenth century. Explains what brought so many Chinese immigrants to America and the roadblocks and discrimination that they had...

Find out about a Chinese immigrant who, after laboring on the Central Pacific Railroad, became a wealthy miner in Colorado. From the Colorado Historical Society.

From a 1969 publication by the Chinese Historical Society of America comes this extensive look at the Chinese role in the building of the Central Pacific Railroad from California east to Utah.

The Canadian National Railway is the largest and longest railway in Canada. An in-depth profile of the company and its history are included on this website, as well as the CNR today. Also looks at the different kinds of trains, cars, and...

This site offers an overview of Lawrence Yep's "Dragon's Gate." Includes resource links but only a few work in the archived version of the site.