Americans had been using railroads as a means of travel well before the Civil War; however, rail travel was dangerous and uncomfortable. The travelers were often seated in the same room as the wood burner and were at risk of sparks burning their clothing; sometimes engines even exploded. The braking system had also not been updated and could not be trusted. Because several companies owned the train systems, the passengers had to change trains often as the tracks did not fit all railcars.

Many of these problems were addressed and solved in the post-Civil War era. To solve the braking issue, George Westinghouse invented the air brake, which stopped trains more reliably. Railroad companies also got together to agree on a common size for the tracks so people didn’t have to transfer trains so often. Sleeper and dining cars were invented by the Pullman Car Company to make travel more comfortable. With the new changes to the railways in the 1830’s, Americans wanted to link the East to the West by rail. Many believed a transcontinental railroad would open settlements in the West, open new opportunities for manufacturers, and relieve overcrowding in the Eastern cities.

Even the national government wanted to hasten the settlement of the Western territories. They wanted to increase the size of the United States as Arizona, Oklahoma, and New Mexico were not yet states. The national government granted the contract to link the coasts to two companies, the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific. The Union Pacific used mostly immigrants from Ireland and China to build the railroad. They began in Omaha, Nebraska, and moved west. The Central Pacific began in the West—Sacramento, California, and moved east. They used the labor of thousands of Chinese immigrants. Building the railroad was difficult and many lives were lost in order to move through mountains and over rivers. The workers also faced disease, heat, and freezing temperatures, not to mention raids from the Native Americans and violence in the pioneer towns.

The two railroad companies were to meet at Promontory Summit near Ogden, Utah. On May 10, 1869, Leland Stanford of the Central Pacific Railroad was honored to hammer in a golden spike marking the completion of the transcontinental railroad. People across America celebrated. Soon many were traveling across country via railroad which was faster and less expensive then travel by the old covered wagon. The cost of building the railroad, although a great achievement, was very costly. The government had to pay for tens of thousands of workers to be paid, sheltered, and fed. Tons of steel and wood were used as well. But the economic benefit outweighed the costs. The government offered land as a reward to build railroads. For each mile of track laid by the Central and Union Pacific Railroads, they received 640 acres of public land.

The directors of the railroads made their fortunes. Altogether the railroads were given almost 200 million acres of land from the government. Men such as Cornelius Vanderbilt, James J. Hill, and Jay Gould became railroad tycoons. Corruption soon took hold. Greedy public officials were bought and sold and the railroad companies set their own shipping rates. The rates also varied. They could charge one farmer more than another to ship their goods across country. To keep competition low, the prominent railroad companies made agreements with each other to keep their rates above a certain level. To respond to public outcry in 1887, Congress created the Interstate Commerce Commission to keep tabs on the industry. This was the nation’s first regulatory agency; however, it was largely ignored until the 20th century. The railroad also provided benefits. Businessmen from the East could get goods out to California. Improved transportation offered for all Americans to have access to more and cheaper goods. Those who wanted a new life could easily move West. The nation was now connected, and America could move forward.