Where did the first transcontinental railroad originate and end? How long was the railroad?
The 1,776 mile long first transcontinental railroad, originally called the “Pacific Railroad” and later the “Overland Route,” (690 miles built by the Central Pacific Railroad and 1,086 miles built by the Union Pacific Railroad) that started construction in 1863 and was completed with the joining of the rails at Promontory Summit, Utah on May 10, 1869 went from Omaha, Nebraska (UPRR) to Sacramento, California (CPRR), thereby connecting with other railroads from the east (for example, from Boston and New York via Chicago, Illinois or St. Louis, Missouri) to span the continent by rail from the east coast to the west coast for the first time. (Also see more about rail travel routes from NY to Chicago, and from Chicago to Omaha.) After the junction of the UPRR with the CPRR was changed to Ogden, Utah, 52 1/2 miles east of Promontory Summit, the CPRR was 742 miles long, extending from Sacramento to Ogden, and the UPRR was 1,032 miles long, extending from Ogden to Omaha. Soon thereafter, the
