Which 1869 railroad connected Sacramento with Omaha, completing the first transcontinental U.S. railroad?

The First Transcontinental Railroad was the 1869 railroad that connected Sacramento with Omaha, completing the first transcontinental U.S. railroad.

The Central Pacific Railroad built eastward from Sacramento, while the Union Pacific built westward from Omaha. The two lines met at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory, on May 10, 1869, where officials drove a ceremonial golden spike. The event linked existing eastern rail networks with the Pacific coast and sharply reduced travel time across the continent.

Chinese workers formed the majority of the Central Pacific workforce, while Irish immigrants were prominent among Union Pacific crews. The railroad was built through difficult terrain, including the Sierra Nevada, and its construction involved major federal land grants and loans. Although often called a single railroad, it was a meeting of two companies and did not initially provide a continuous track connection to every eastern city. The original golden spike is displayed at Stanford University.