Editing Transcontinental railroad (section)

==North America==
===United States===
 [[File:East and West Shaking hands at the laying of last rail Union Pacific Railroad - Restoration.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The ceremony for the driving of the "[[golden spike|Last Spike]]," the joining of the tracks of the [[Central Pacific Railroad|CPRR]] and [[Union Pacific Railroad|UPRR]] grades at [[Promontory Summit, Utah]], on May 10, 1869, Andrew J. Russell's "East and West Shaking Hands at Laying of Last Rail." May 10, 1869.]]

A '''transcontinental railroad''' in the United States is any continuous rail line connecting a location on the U.S. Pacific coast with one or more of the railroads of the nation's eastern trunk line rail systems operating between the [[Missouri River|Missouri]] or [[Mississippi River]]s and the U.S. Atlantic coast. The first concrete plan for a transcontinental railroad in the United States was presented to Congress by [[Asa Whitney]] in 1845.<ref>{{cite book| title=Empire Express; Building the first Transcontinental Railroad| author=Bain, David Haward| year=1999| publisher=Viking Penguin| isbn=0-670-80889-X| url-access=registration| url=https://archive.org/details/empireexpressbui00bain}}</ref>

A series of transcontinental railroads built over the last third of the 19th century created a nationwide transportation network that united the country by rail. The first of these, the {{convert|1928|mi|km|adj=on|abbr=on|order=flip}} [[First transcontinental railroad|"Pacific Railroad"]], was built by the [[Central Pacific Railroad]] and [[Union Pacific Railroad]], as well as the [[Western Pacific Railroad (1862-1870)]], to link the San Francisco Bay at [[Alameda Terminal|Alameda, California]], with the nation's existing eastern railroad network at [[Omaha, Nebraska]]/[[Council Bluffs, Iowa]] — thereby creating the world's second transcontinental railroad when it was completed from Omaha to Alameda on September 6, 1869.  Its construction was made possible by the US government under [[Pacific Railroad Acts|Pacific Railroad Acts of 1862, 1864, and 1867]].  Its original course was very close to current [[Interstate 80]].

The first transcontinental railroad was the much shorter [[Panama Canal Railway|Panama Railroad]] of 1855, now part of the country of [[Panama]].

====Transcontinental railroad====
{{main|First transcontinental railroad}}

[[File:3c Transcontinental Railroad 75th Anniversary single, 1944.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The U.S. Post Office issued  a commemorative stamp in 1944, on the 75th anniversary of the first transcontinental railroad in America. The engraving depicts the driving of the "[[Golden Spike]]" at [[Promontory, Utah]] in 1869.]]
The United States' [[first transcontinental railroad]] was built between 1863 and 1869 that connected the existing eastern U.S. rail network at [[Council Bluffs, Iowa]], with the Pacific coast at the [[Oakland Long Wharf]] on [[San Francisco Bay]]. Its construction was considered to be one of the greatest American technological feats of the 19th century. Known as the "Pacific Railroad" when it opened, it served as a vital link for trade, commerce, and travel and opened up vast regions of the North American heartland for settlement. Much of the original route, especially on the Sierra grade west of Reno, Nevada, is currently used by Amtrak's ''[[California Zephyr]]'', although many parts have been rerouted.<ref>{{cite book| title=Riding the Transcontinental Rails: Overland Travel on the Pacific Railroad 1865–1881| author=Cooper, Bruce Clement| year=2005| publisher=Philadelphia: Polyglot Press, 445 pages| isbn=1411599934}} p. 1-15</ref>

The resulting coast-to-coast railroad connection revolutionized the settlement and economy of the [[American Old West|American West]].{{refn|"The charter of the last-named Company [Western Pacific Railroad] contemplated a line from Sacramento toward San Francisco, making the circuit of the Bay of that name [to San José]. Their franchise has recently [late 1867] been assigned to parties in the interest of the Central Pacific Railroad Company; and it is probable that this line will be formally incorporated with the Central Pacific Railroad, and the road extended from Sacramento to San Francisco by the ''"best, most direct and practicable route"'' so soon as the overland connection is completed. In the meantime the travel is abundantly accommodated by first-class steamers."  – Central Pacific Railroad Company of California ''"Railroad Across the Continent, with an account of the Central Pacific Railroad of California"'', pp. 9-10, New York: Brown & Hewitt, Printers. September 1868.|group=N}}{{refn|The legal "date of completion" of the WPRR grade was subsequently designated to be January 22, 1870.<ref>Letter from Charles F. Conant, Assistant Secretary, US Department of the Treasury, to US Rep. William Lawrence (R-OH8), March 9, 1876</ref> The formal consolidation of the Central Pacific Railroad of California with the Western Pacific Railroad Co., San Joaquin Valley Railroad Co., and San Francisco, Oakland & Alameda Railroad Co. under the name of the Central Pacific Railroad Company became effective on June 22, 1870, with the filing of Articles of Consolidation drawn under the laws of California with the California Secretary of State.<ref>Letter from Z.B. Sturgus, Chief, Lands and Railroad Division, Office of the Secretary, US Department of the Interior, to US Rep. William Lawrence (R-OH8), April 28, 1876</ref><ref>Speech by Rep. William A. Piper (D-CA1) in the US House of Representatives, April 8, 1876</ref>|group=N}}  It brought the western states and territories into alignment with the northern Union states and made transporting passengers and goods coast-to-coast considerably quicker, safer and less expensive. It replaced most of the far slower and more hazardous [[stagecoach]] lines and [[wagon train]]s. The number of emigrants taking the [[Oregon Trail|Oregon]] and [[California Trail]]s declined dramatically.  The sale of the railroad land grant lands and the transport provided for timber and crops led to the rapid settling of the "Great American Desert".<ref>Richard White, '' Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America'' (2012)</ref>

The Union Pacific recruited laborers from Army veterans and [[Irish people|Irish]] immigrants, while most of the engineers were ex-Army men who had learned their trade keeping the trains running during the [[American Civil War]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Collins|first=R.M.|title=Irish Gandy Dancer: A tale of building the Transcontinental Railroad|year=2010|publisher=Create Space|location=Seattle|isbn=978-1-4528-2631-8|pages=198}}</ref>

The Central Pacific Railroad faced a labor shortage in the more sparsely settled West. It recruited [[Cantonese people|Cantonese]] laborers in China, who built the line over and through the [[Sierra Nevada]] mountains and then across [[Nevada]] to their meeting in [[northern Utah]]. Chinese workers made up ninety percent of the workforce on the line.<ref name="Chang Fishkin 2019">{{cite book |last1=Chang |first1=Gordon H |last2=Fishkin |first2=Shelley Fisher |title=The Chinese and the iron road: Building the transcontinental railroad |date=2019 |publisher=Stanford University Press |location=Stanford, CA |isbn=9781503608290}}</ref> The [[Chinese Labor Strike of 1867]] was peaceful, with no violence, organized across the entire Sierra Nevada route, and was carried out according to a peaceful Confucian model of protest.<ref name=Ryan>{{Cite journal |last=Ryan |first=Patrick Spaulding |date=2022-05-11 |title=Saving Face Without Words: A Confucian Perspective on The Strike of 1867 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4067005 |access-date=2022-05-12 |website=International Journal of Humanities, Art and Social Studies (IJHAS) (forthcoming)|doi=10.2139/ssrn.4067005 |s2cid=248036295 |language=en-US}}</ref> The strike began with the [[Summer Solstice]] in June, 1867 and lasted for eight days.<ref name=Ryan />

====Land Grants====
The Transcontinental Railroad required land and a complex federal policy for purchasing, granting, conveying land. 
Some of these land-related acts included:

* One motive for the [[Gadsden Purchase]] of land from Mexico in 1853 was to obtain suitable terrain for a southern transcontinental railroad, as the southern portion of the [[Mexican Cession]] was too mountainous. The [[Southern Pacific Railroad]] was completed in 1881.
* The [[Pacific Railway Act|Pacific Railroad Act of 1862]] (based on an earlier bill in 1856) authorized land grants for new lines that would "aid in the construction of a railroad and [[telegraph]] line from the Missouri river to the Pacific ocean".<ref>[http://www.cprr.org/Museum/Pacific_Railroad_Acts.html "An Act to aid in the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri river to the Pacific ocean, and to secure to the government the use of the same for postal, military, and other purposes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160527113235/http://www.cprr.org/Museum/Pacific_Railroad_Acts.html |date=2016-05-27 }} 12 Stat. 489, July 1, 1862</ref>
* The rails of the "[[first transcontinental railroad]]" were joined on May 10, 1869, with the ceremonial driving of the "[[Golden spike|Last Spike]]" at [[Promontory Summit, Utah]], after track was laid over a {{convert|1,756|mi|km|adj=on|abbr=on|order=flip}} gap between [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]] and [[Omaha, Nebraska]]/[[Council Bluffs, Iowa]]<ref>[http://cprr.org/Museum/Lincoln_1864.html Executive Order of Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, Fixing the Point of Commencement of the Pacific Railroad at Council Bluffs, Iowa, March 7, 1864] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629021739/http://cprr.org/Museum/Lincoln_1864.html |date=June 29, 2011 }} 38th Congress, 1st Session SENATE Ex. Doc. No. 27</ref> in six years by the Union Pacific Railroad and Central Pacific Railroad.<ref name="WDL2">{{cite web |url = http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11371/ |title = Ceremony at "Wedding of the Rails," May 10, 1869 at Promontory Point, Utah |website = [[World Digital Library]] |date = 1869-05-10 |access-date = 2013-07-21 |archive-date = 2013-10-18 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131018052635/http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11371/ |url-status = live }}</ref> Although through train service between Omaha and Sacramento was in operation as of that date, the road was not completed to the Pacific Ocean until September 6, 1869, when the first through train reached San Francisco Bay at [[Alameda Terminal]], and on November 8, 1869, when it reached the terminus at [[Oakland Long Wharf]]. Later, November 6, 1869, was deemed to be the official completion date of the Pacific Railroad.<ref>[http://cprr.org/Museum/RR_Completed_US_Sup_Ct.html The Official "Date of Completion" of the Transcontinental Railroad under the Provisions of the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862, et seq., as Established by the Supreme Court of the United States to be November 6, 1869. (99 U.S. 402) 1879] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205063817/http://cprr.org/Museum/RR_Completed_US_Sup_Ct.html |date=February 5, 2007 }} as transcribed from "ACTS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS OF CONGRESS, AND DECISIONS OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES RELATING TO THE UNION PACIFIC, CENTRAL PACIFIC, AND WESTERN PACIFIC RAILROADS." WASHINGTON: Government Printing Office. 1897</ref> (A physical connection between Omaha, Nebraska, and the ''statutory'' Eastern terminus of the Pacific road at Council Bluffs, Iowa, located immediately across the [[Missouri River]] was also not finally established until the opening of UPRR railroad bridge across the river on March 25, 1873, prior to which transfers were made by ferry operated by the [[Council Bluffs & Nebraska Ferry Company]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.historicomaha.com/ofcchap5.htm |title=''Omaha's First Century'' Installment V. — The Proud Era: 1870–1885 |access-date=2008-08-18 |archive-date=2017-07-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702020601/http://www.historicomaha.com/ofcchap5.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>[http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/history/museum/index.shtml UPRR Museum, Council Bluffs, IA] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090917045156/http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/history/museum/index.shtml |date=2009-09-17 }}</ref>)
* The first permanent, continuous line of railroad track from coast to coast was completed 15 months later on August 15, 1870, by the [[Kansas Pacific Railway|Kansas Pacific Railroad]] near its [[Comanche Crossing of the Kansas Pacific Railroad|crossing of Comanche Creek]] at [[Strasburg, Colorado]]. This route connected to the eastern rail network via the [[Hannibal Bridge]] across the Missouri River at [[Kansas City metropolitan area|Kansas City]] completed June 30, 1869, passed through [[Denver]], Colorado, and north to the Union Pacific Railroad at [[Cheyenne, Wyoming]], making it theoretically possible for the first time to board a train at [[Jersey City, New Jersey]], travel entirely by rail, and step down at the Alameda Wharf on [[San Francisco Bay]] in Oakland. This singularity existed until March 25, 1873 when the Union Pacific constructed the Missouri River Bridge in Omaha.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://focus.nps.gov/GetAsset?assetID=7d8ef592-fe52-42a4-8dcc-9bd597046531|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Registration Form: Comanche Crossing of the Kansas Pacific Railroad|last=Fink|first=Robert|date=July 27, 1970|website=NP Gallery|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=September 9, 2016|archive-date=April 8, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408082149/http://focus.nps.gov/GetAsset?assetID=7d8ef592-fe52-42a4-8dcc-9bd597046531|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R0oeAwAAQBAJ|title=Iron Horses: America's Race to Bring the Railroads West|last=Borneman|first=Walter R.|date=2014-11-18|publisher=Little, Brown|isbn=9780316371797|language=en}}</ref>

====Subsequent transcontinental routes====

* Almost 12 years after [[Promontory Summit]], the [[Southern Pacific Railroad]] (SP) constructed the second transcontinental railroad, building eastwards through the [[Gadsden Purchase]], which had been acquired from Mexico in 1854 largely with the intention of providing a route for a railroad connecting California with the Southern states. This line was completed with milestones and ceremonies in 1881 and 1883:
** March 8, 1881: the SP met the Rio Grande, Mexico and Pacific Railroad (a subsidiary of the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]]) with a "silver spike" ceremony at [[Deming, New Mexico]], connecting [[Atchison, Kansas]], to Los Angeles.<ref name="Myrick_1990">Myrick, David, ''New Mexico's Railroads, A Historic Survey'', University of New Mexico Press 1990. {{ISBN|0-8263-1185-7}}</ref>
** December 15, 1881: the SP met the [[Texas and Pacific Railway]] (T&P) at [[Sierra Blanca, Texas]], connecting eastern Texas to [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]].
** January 12, 1883: the SP completed its own southern section, meeting its subsidiary [[Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway]] at the Pecos River in Texas, and linking [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]] to Los Angeles.
* In [[Colorado]], the [[3 ft gauge railways|3-foot gauge]] [[Denver & Rio Grande]] (D&RG) extended its route from [[Denver]] via [[Pueblo, Colorado|Pueblo]] across the [[Rocky Mountains]] to [[Grand Junction, Colorado|Grand Junction]] in 1882. In central [[Utah]], the D&RG acquired a number of independent [[narrow gauge]] companies, which were incorporated into the first (1881-1889) [[Utah Division (D&RGW)|Denver and Rio Grande Western Railway]] (D&RGW). Tracks were extended north through [[Salt Lake City, Utah|Salt Lake City]], while simultaneously building south and eastward toward Grand Junction. The D&RG and the D&RGW were linked on March 30, 1883, the extension to [[Ogden, Utah|Ogden]] (where it met the Central Pacific) was completed on May 14, 1883, and through traffic between Denver and Ogden began a few days later. The [[break of gauge]] made direct interchange of [[rolling stock]] with [[standard gauge]] railroads at both ends of this [[bridge line]] impossible for several years. The D&RG in 1887 began rebuilding its mainline in standard gauge, including a new route and tunnel at [[Tennessee Pass (Colorado)|Tennessee Pass]]. The first D&RGW was reincorporated as the [[Utah Division (D&RGW)|Rio Grande Western]] (RGW) in June 1889 and immediately began the conversion of track gauge. Standard gauge operations linking Ogden and Denver were completed on November 15, 1890.<ref name="Beebe_1963">[[Lucius Beebe|Beebe, Lucius]] and [[Charles Clegg|Clegg, Charles]], "Rio Grande, Mainline of the Rockies", Howell-North Books 1962.</ref>
* The [[Atlantic and Pacific Railroad]] completed its route connecting the AT&SF at [[Albuquerque, New Mexico]], via [[Flagstaff, Arizona]], to the Southern Pacific at [[Needles, California]], on August 9, 1883. The SP line into [[Barstow, California|Barstow]] was leased by the A&P in 1884 (and purchased in 1911); this gave the AT&SF (the A&P's parent company) a direct route into Southern California.<ref name="Myrick_1990" /> This route now forms the western portion of [[BNSF]]'s [[Southern Transcon]].
* The [[Northern Pacific Railway]] (NP) completed the fifth independent transcontinental railroad on August 22, 1883, linking [[Chicago]] with [[Seattle, Washington|Seattle]]. The [[Northern Pacific Railroad Completion Site, 1883|Completion Ceremony]] was held on September 8, 1883, with former [[U.S. President]] [[Ulysses S. Grant]] contributing to driving the Final Spike.
* The [[California Southern Railroad]] (chartered January 10, 1882) was completed from [[National City, California|National City]] on [[San Diego Bay]] via Temecula Cañon to Colton and [[San Bernardino, California|San Bernardino]] in September, 1883, and extended through the Cajon Pass to Barstow, a junction of the [[Atlantic and Pacific Railroad]], in November, 1885. In September, 1885, the line of the Southern Pacific from Colton to Los Angeles, a distance of {{convert|58|mi|km|adj=on|abbr=on|order=flip}}, had been leased by the California Central with equal rights and privileges thus allowing the Santa Fe's Transcontinental route to be completed by the connection with the California Southern and A&PRR. The SP grade was used until the completion of the California Central's own line between San Bernardino and Los Angeles in June, 1887, a distance of {{convert|62.84|mi|km|adj=on|abbr=on|order=flip}}, which was part of the old Los Angeles and San Gabriel Valley Railroad, which had been acquired by purchase. In August, 1888, the California Central completed its Coast Division south from Los Angeles to a junction with the California Southern Railroad near Oceanside, a distance of {{convert|80.90|mi|km|adj=on|abbr=on|order=flip}}, and these two divisions comprised the main line of the California Central, forming, in connection with the California Southern, a direct line between Southern California and the East by way of the Atlantic and Pacific and Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroads.<ref>"Eleventh Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners of the State of California for the year ending December 31, 1890" Sacramento: California State Office, J.D. Young, Superintendent of State Printing, 1890. p. 21</ref>
* The [[Great Northern Railway (U.S.)|Great Northern Railway]] was built, without federal aid, by [[James J. Hill]] in 1893; it stretched from [[Saint Paul, Minnesota|St. Paul]] to [[Seattle, Washington|Seattle]].
* The [[Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific]] reached [[Santa Rosa, New Mexico]], from the east in late 1901, shortly before the [[El Paso and Northeastern Railway|El Paso & Northeastern]] arrived from the southwest. The two were connected on February 1, 1902, thus forming an additional link between the Midwest and southern California.<ref name="Myrick_1990" /> Through passenger service was provided by the ''[[Golden State Limited]]'' (Chicago—Kansas City—Tucumcari—El Paso—Los Angeles) jointly operated by the Rock Island and the Southern Pacific (EP&NE's successor) from 1902 to 1968.
* The [[San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad]] completed its line connecting Los Angeles through [[Las Vegas]] to Salt Lake City on May 1, 1905. Through passenger service from Chicago to Los Angeles was provided by Union Pacific's ''[[Los Angeles Limited]]'' from 1905 to 1954, and the ''[[City of Los Angeles (train)|City of Los Angeles]]'' from 1936 to 1971.
* The [[Western Pacific Railway]] (WP), financed by the Denver & Rio Grande on behalf of the [[Gould transcontinental system|Gould System]], completed its new line (the [[Feather River Route]]) from Oakland to Ogden in 1909, in direct competition with the Southern Pacific's existing route. Through passenger service (Oakland-Salt Lake City-Denver-Chicago) was provided by the ''[[Exposition Flyer]]'' 1939 to 1949 and its successor, the ''[[California Zephyr]]'' 1949 to 1970, both jointly operated by the WP, the [[D&RGW]] and the [[Chicago, Burlington & Quincy]].
* In 1909, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul (or [[Milwaukee Road]]) completed a privately built Pacific extension to Seattle. On completion, the line was renamed the [[Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific]]. Although the Pacific Extension was privately funded, predecessor roads did benefit from the [[Pacific Railway Acts|federal land grant]] act, so it cannot be said to have been built without federal aid.
* [[John D. Spreckels]] completed his privately funded [[San Diego and Arizona Railway]] in 1919, thereby creating a direct link (via connection with the Southern Pacific lines) between [[San Diego, California]] and the [[Eastern United States]]. The railroad stretched {{convert|148|mi|km|abbr=on|order=flip}} from San Diego to [[Calexico, California]], of which {{convert|44|mi|km|abbr=on|order=flip}} were south of the border in [[Mexico]].
* In 1993, [[Amtrak]]'s ''[[Sunset Limited]]'' daily railroad train was extended eastward to [[Miami, Florida]], later rerouted to [[Orlando, Florida|Orlando]], making it the first regularly scheduled transcontinental [[passenger train]] route in the United States to be operated by a single company. [[Hurricane Katrina]] cut this rail route in [[Louisiana]] in 2005. The train now runs from Los Angeles to New Orleans.
* For a time in 1997 and 1998, Amtrak effectively operated the Washington-Chicago ''[[Capitol Limited (Amtrak train)|Capitol Limited]]'' and Chicago-Los Angeles ''[[Southwest Chief]]'' as a single train.

====The Gould System====
{{main|Gould transcontinental system}}

[[George J. Gould]] attempted to assemble a truly transcontinental system in the 1900s. The line from [[San Francisco, California]], to [[Toledo, Ohio]], was completed in 1909, consisting of the [[Western Pacific Railway]], [[Denver and Rio Grande Railroad]], [[Missouri Pacific Railroad]], and [[Wabash Railroad]]. Beyond Toledo, the planned route would have used the [[Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad (1899-1916)|Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad (1900)]], [[Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal Railway]], [[Little Kanawha Railroad]], [[West Virginia Central and Pittsburgh Railway]], [[Western Maryland Railroad]], and [[Philadelphia and Western Railway]],{{Citation needed|date=July 2008}} but the [[Panic of 1907]] strangled the plans before the Little Kanawha section in [[West Virginia]] could be finished. The [[Alphabet Route]] was completed in 1931, providing the portion of this line east of the [[Mississippi River]]. With the merging of the railroads, only the Union Pacific Railroad and the [[BNSF Railway]] remain to carry the entire route.

===Canada===
<!-- This section is linked from [[Culture of Saskatchewan]] -->
[[Image:LastSpike Craigellachie BC Canada.jpg|thumb|[[Donald Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal|Donald Smith]] driving the [[Last Spike (Canadian Pacific Railway)|Last Spike]] of [[Canada]]'s first transcontinental railway, the [[Canadian Pacific Railway]], in 1885]]

The completion of Canada's first transcontinental railway with the driving of the [[Last Spike (Canadian Pacific Railway)|Last Spike]] at [[Craigellachie, British Columbia]], on November 7, 1885, was an important milestone in [[History of Canada|Canadian history]]. Between 1881 and 1885, the [[Canadian Pacific Railway]] (CPR) completed a line that spanned from the port of Montreal to the Pacific coast, fulfilling a condition of [[British Columbia]]'s 1871 entry into the [[Canadian Confederation]]. The City of [[Vancouver]], incorporated in 1886, was designated the western terminus of the line. The CPR became the first transcontinental railway company in North America in 1889 after its [[International Railway of Maine]] opened, connecting CPR to the Atlantic coast.

The construction of a transcontinental railway strengthened the connection of British Columbia and the [[North-West Territories]] to the country they had recently joined, and acted as a bulwark against potential incursions by the United States.

Subsequently, two other transcontinental lines were built in Canada: the [[Canadian Northern Railway]] (CNoR) opened another line to the Pacific in 1915, and the combined [[Grand Trunk Pacific Railway]] (GTPR)/[[National Transcontinental Railway]] (NTR) system opened in 1917 following the completion of the [[Quebec Bridge]], although its line to the Pacific opened in 1914. The CNoR, GTPR, and NTR were [[nationalized]] to form the [[Canadian National Railway]], which currently is now Canada's largest transcontinental railway, with lines running all the way from the Pacific Coast to the Atlantic Coast.