Editing First transcontinental railroad (section)

==Aftermath==

===Railroad developments===
[[File:CPRR & UPRR Display Ads May 1869.jpg|left|thumb|Display ads for the CPRR and UPRR the week the rails were joined on May 10, 1869]] [[File:Great Overland Route Timetable Cover 1881.JPG|thumb|left|UPRR & CPRR "Great American Over-Land Route" Timetable cover 1881]]

When the golden spike was driven, the rail network was not yet connected to the Atlantic or Pacific but merely connected [[Omaha, Nebraska]] to [[Sacramento, California]]. To get from Sacramento to the Pacific, the Central Pacific purchased in 1867 the struggling [[Western Pacific Railroad (1862-1870)|Western Pacific Railroad]] (unrelated to the [[Western Pacific Railroad|railroad of the same name]] that would later parallel its route) and in February 1868 resumed construction on it, which had halted in October 1866 because of funding troubles. Upon completing the last link at the Mossdale crossing of the [[San Joaquin River]] on September 6, 1869,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Martin|first=Van Covert|date=1890|title=Railroad Bridges- San Joaquin County: First bridge across San Joaquin River. Central Pacific Railroad, built 1869. Replaced by Steel Bridge 1895. Mossdale Crossing|url=https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/hsp/8617|journal=Historic Stockton Photographs, Holt-Atherton Special Collections, University of the Pacific Libraries}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Davis |first1=Olive |title=From the Ohio to the San Joaquin: a biography of Captain William S. Moss 1796-1883 |date=1991 |publisher=Heritage West Books |location=Stockton, California |isbn=0962304808 |page=209 (photo of Mossdale bridge) |quote=The Central Pacific Railroad bridge crossing the San Joaquin River at Mossdale, completed on September 6, 1869, was the first railroad connection linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.}}</ref> the first transcontinental rail passengers arrived at the Pacific Railroad's original western terminus on the [[East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)|east side of San Francisco Bay]] at the [[Alameda Terminal]], where they transferred to the steamer ''Alameda'' for transport across the Bay to San Francisco. On November 8, 1869, the Central Pacific finally completed the rail connection to its western terminus at [[Oakland, California]], also on the [[East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)|East Bay]], where [[Port of San Francisco|freight]] and [[San Francisco Ferry Building|passengers]] completed their transcontinental link to San Francisco by [[Ferries of San Francisco Bay|ferry]].

The original route from the [[Central Valley (California)|Central Valley]] to the [[San Francisco Bay|Bay]] skirted the [[Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta|Delta]] by heading south out of Sacramento through [[Stockton, California|Stockton]] and crossing the [[San Joaquin River]] at [[Lathrop, California|Mossdale]], then climbed over the [[Altamont Pass]] and reached the east side of the San Francisco Bay through [[Niles Canyon]]. The Western Pacific was originally chartered to go to [[San Jose, California|San Jose]], but the Central Pacific decided to build along the East Bay instead, as going from San Jose up the [[San Francisco Peninsula|Peninsula]] to [[San Francisco]] itself would have brought it into conflict with [[San Francisco and San Jose Railroad|competing interests]]. The railroad entered [[Alameda Terminal|Alameda]] and [[Oakland Point, Oakland, California|Oakland]] from the south, roughly paralleling what would later become [[U.S. Route 50 in California|U.S. Route 50]] and later still Interstates [[Interstate 5 in California|5]], [[Interstate 205 (California)|205]], and [[Interstate 580 (California)|580]]. A [[Capitol Corridor|more direct route]] was obtained with the purchase of the [[California Pacific Railroad]], crossing the [[Sacramento River]] and proceeding southwest through [[Davis, California|Davis]] to [[Benicia, California|Benicia]], where it crossed the [[Carquinez Strait]] by means of the enormous [[Solano (ferry)|Solano train ferry]], then followed the shores of the [[San Pablo Bay|San Pablo]] and [[San Francisco Bay|San Francisco]] bays to [[Richmond, California|Richmond]] and the [[Port of Oakland]] (paralleling [[U.S. Route 40 in California|U.S. Route 40]] which ultimately became [[Interstate 80 (California)|Interstate 80]]). In 1930, a [[Benicia–Martinez Bridge|rail bridge]] across the Carquinez replaced the Benicia ferries.

Very early on, the Central Pacific learned that it would have trouble maintaining an open track in winter across the [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierras]]. At first they tried plowing the road with special snowplows mounted on their steam engines. When this was only partially successful, an extensive process of building [[snow shed]]s over some of the track was instituted to protect it from deep snows and avalanches. These eventually succeeded at keeping the tracks clear for all but a few days of the year.<ref>Central Pacific snow sheds [http://www.cprr.org/Museum/Summit_Tunnel_1999/index.html] accessed January 28, 2009.</ref>

Both railroads soon instituted extensive upgrade projects to build better bridges, viaducts and dugways as well as install heavier duty rails, stronger ties, better road beds etc. The original track had often been laid as fast as possible with only secondary attention to maintenance and durability. The primary incentive had been getting the subsidies, which meant that upgrades of all kinds were routinely required in the following years. The cost of making these upgrades was relatively small once the railroad was operating. Once the railroad was complete supplies could be moved from distant factories directly to the construction site by rail.

[[File:Crofutt's Trans-Continental Tourist's Guide Frontispiece 1870.jpg|thumb|right|Frontispiece of Crofutt's ''Great Trans-Continental Tourist's Guide'', 1870]]
The Union Pacific would not connect Omaha to Council Bluffs until completing the [[Union Pacific Missouri River Bridge]] in 1872.<ref>{{cite news|title=Omaha|url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026844/1872-03-26/ed-1/seq-1/ |access-date=5 January 2017|work=The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer|date=March 26, 1872|location=Wheeling, West Virginia|page=1}}</ref>

Several years after the end of the Civil War, the competing railroads coming from Missouri finally realized their initial strategic advantage and a building boom ensued. In July 1869, the [[Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad]] finished the [[Hannibal Bridge]] in Kansas City which was the first bridge to cross the Missouri River. This in turn connected to [[Kansas Pacific]] trains going from Kansas City to Denver, which in turn had built the [[Denver Pacific Railway]] connecting to the Union Pacific. In August 1870, the Kansas Pacific drove the last spike connecting to the Denver Pacific line at [[Strasburg, Colorado]], and the first true Atlantic to Pacific United States railroad was completed.

Kansas City's head start in connecting to a true transcontinental railroad contributed to it rather than Omaha becoming the dominant rail center west of Chicago.

The Kansas Pacific became part of the Union Pacific in 1880.

On June 4, 1876, an express train called the ''[[Transcontinental Express]]'' arrived in San Francisco via the first transcontinental railroad only 83 hours and 39 minutes after it had left [[New York City]]. Only ten years before, the same journey would have taken months over land or weeks on ship, possibly all the way around South America.

The Central Pacific got a direct route to San Francisco when it was merged with the [[Southern Pacific Railroad]] to create the Southern Pacific Company in 1885. The Union Pacific initially took over the Southern Pacific in 1901 but was forced by the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] to divest it because of monopoly concerns. The two railroads would once again unite in 1996 when the Southern Pacific was sold to the Union Pacific.

Having been bypassed with the completion of the [[Lucin Cutoff]] in 1904, the Promontory Summit rails were pulled up in 1942 to be recycled for the [[World War II|World War&nbsp;II]] effort. This process began with a ceremonial "undriving" at the Last Spike location.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/hh/40/hh40r.htm| title=Promontory After May 10, 1869| author=United States National Park Service| date=2002-09-28| access-date=2007-05-10| archive-date=June 10, 2007| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070610072243/http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/hh/40/hh40r.htm| url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Transcontinental Railroad's Impact on World War II {{!}} Trains Magazine |url=https://www.trains.com/trn/railroads/history/the-transcontinental-railroads-impact-on-world-war-ii/ |website=Trains |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210518014815/https://www.trains.com/trn/railroads/history/the-transcontinental-railroads-impact-on-world-war-ii/ |archive-date=May 18, 2021 |date=March 5, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Crédit Mobilier===
[[File:Oakes Ames - Brady-Handy.jpg|thumb|upright|Oakes Ames]]
{{Main|Crédit Mobilier scandal}}

Despite the transcontinental success and millions in government subsidies, the Union Pacific faced bankruptcy less than three years after the Last Spike as details surfaced about overcharges that Crédit Mobilier had billed Union Pacific for the formal building of the railroad. The scandal hit epic proportions in the [[1872 United States presidential election]], which saw the re-election of [[Ulysses S. Grant]] and became the biggest scandal of the [[Gilded Age]]. It would not be resolved until the death of the congressman who was supposed to have reined in its excesses but instead wound up profiting from it.

Durant had initially come up with the scheme to have Crédit Mobilier subcontract to do the actual track work. Durant gained control of the company after buying out employee Herbert Hoxie for $10,000. Under Durant's guidance, Crédit Mobilier was charging Union Pacific often twice or more the customary cost for track work. The process mired down Union Pacific work.

Lincoln asked Massachusetts Congressman [[Oakes Ames]], who was on the railroad committee, to clean things up and get the railroad moving. Ames got his brother [[Oliver Ames Jr.]] named president of the Union Pacific, while he became president of Crédit Mobilier.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/tcrr/peopleevents/p_ames.html|title=People & Events: Oakes Ames (1804–1873) – American Experience Transcontinental Railroad|website=[[PBS]]}}</ref>

Ames then in turn gave stock options to other politicians while at the same time continuing the lucrative overcharges. The scandal was to implicate Vice President [[Schuyler Colfax]] (who was cleared) and future President [[James Garfield]] among others.

The scandal broke in 1872 when the ''[[The New York Sun (historical)|New York Sun]]'' published correspondence detailing the scheme between Henry S. McComb and Ames. In the ensuing Congressional investigation, it was recommended that Ames be expelled from Congress, but this was reduced to a censure and Ames died within three months.

Durant later left the Union Pacific and a new rail baron, [[Jay Gould]], became the dominant stockholder. As a result of the [[Panic of 1873]], Gould was able to pick up bargains, among them the control of the Union Pacific Railroad and [[Western Union]].<ref>''Panic on Wall Street: A History of America's Financial Disasters'', p. 193, [[Robert Sobel]], Beard Books, 1999, {{ISBN|978-1893122468}}.</ref>

===Visible remains===
[[File:Transcontinentalrailroadartifacts.jpg|thumb|392x392px|Artifacts of the Transcontinental Railroad at the Union Pacific Railroad Museum in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Includes an original piece of rail, spike, and cedar tie.]]
Visible remains of the historic line are still easily located—hundreds of miles are still in service today, especially through the Sierra Nevada Mountains and canyons in Utah and Wyoming. While the original rail has long since been replaced because of age and wear, and the roadbed upgraded and repaired, the lines generally run on top of the original, handmade grade. Vista points on [[Interstate 80]] through California's Truckee Canyon provide a panoramic view of many miles of the original Central Pacific line and of the [[snow shed]]s which made winter train travel safe and practical.

In areas where the original line has been bypassed and abandoned, primarily because of the [[Lucin Cutoff]] re-route in Utah, the original road grade is still obvious, as are numerous cuts and fills, especially the [[Big Fill]] a few miles east of Promontory. The sweeping curve which connected to the east end of the Big Fill now passes a [[Thiokol]] rocket research and development facility.

In 1957, Congress authorized the Golden Spike National Historic Site, which was redesignated the [[Golden Spike National Historical Park]] in 2019.<ref>{{cite news |last=Williams |first=Carter |date=March 19, 2019 |title=Golden Spike becomes Utah's first national historic park. Here's what that means. |url=https://www.ksl.com/article/46512103/golden-spike-becomes-utahs-first-national-historic-park-heres-what-that-means |work=KSL TV |location=Salt Lake City |access-date=January 31, 2021}}</ref> Today the site features replica engines of [[Union Pacific No. 119]] and Central Pacific [[Jupiter (locomotive)|Jupiter]]. The engines are fired up periodically by the National Park Service for the public.<ref>Sources:
* Pentrex, 1997.
* {{cite web |author=Golden Spike |title=Everlasting Steam: The Story of Jupiter and No. 119 |url=https://www.nps.gov/gosp/learn/historyculture/upload/jupiter%202.pdf |website=nps.gov |publisher=National Park Service |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405161138/https://www.nps.gov/gosp/learn/historyculture/upload/jupiter%202.pdf |archive-date=April 5, 2015 |location=Brigham City, Utah }}
* {{cite web |title=Golden Spike Pictures |url=http://users.tns.net/~path/GS119.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930204844/http://users.tns.net/~path/GS119.html |archive-date=September 30, 2011}}
* {{cite book |last1=Best |first1=Gerald M |title=Promontory's Locomotives |date=1980 |publisher=Golden West Books |isbn=978-0870950827 |pages=12–43}}
* {{cite web |title=Central Pacific Jupiter and Union Pacific 119 at Promontory, Utah, June 8, 2009|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv54hDAvJwk |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/Yv54hDAvJwk| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|via=[[YouTube]] }}{{cbignore}}
* {{cite book|last=Dowty|first=Robert R.|title=Rebirth of the Jupiter and the 119: Building the Replica Locomotives at Golden Spike|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e66u9nqAu24C|year=1994|publisher=Western National Parks Association|isbn=978-1877856433|pages=5–46}}
* {{cite web |last1=Goran |first1=David |title=Steam locomotives Jupiter and Union Pacific No. 119: Striking symbols of one of the most important periods in American history |url=https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/09/27/steam-locomotives-jupiter-union-pacific-no-119-striking-symbols-one-important-periods-american-history/ |publisher=The Vintage News |date=September 27, 2016 |quote=They were painted and lettered by Disney employees and are incredibly accurate replicas of the originals. (numerous photographs of engines)}}</ref> On May 10, 2006, on the anniversary of the driving of the spike, Utah announced that its [[50 state quarters|state quarter]] design would be a representation of the driving of the Last Spike.

===Current passenger service===
[[Amtrak]]'s ''[[California Zephyr]]'', a daily passenger service from [[Emeryville, California]] (in the [[San Francisco Bay Area]]) to [[Chicago]], uses the first transcontinental railroad from Sacramento to central Nevada. Because this rail line currently operates in a [[directional running]] setup across most of Nevada, the ''California Zephyr'' will switch to the [[Central Corridor (Union Pacific Railroad)|Central Corridor]] at either [[Winnemucca, Nevada|Winnemucca]] or [[Wells, Nevada|Wells]].<ref name=yuccamountain>{{cite web|url=http://www.yuccamountain.org/impact_report/section3.htm|publisher=Eureka County – Yucca Mountain Project|title=Eureka County, Yucca Mountain Existing Transportation Corridor Study|year=2005|access-date=2010-05-08}}</ref>