You might want to read the book titled “Nothing like it in the world” by Steven E. Ambrose. This book explains the how and why the Transcontinental railroad was built. I just started reading this book and it was thought by many people at the time that it just could not be done. There were money funding problems, you had the complications of the Civil War going on, problems with Indians and many other obstacles. The book states that “the U.S. government pitted two companies-the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific Railroads against each other in a race for funding” to get the railroad built. This was a huge undertaking with very high risks that many did not want to invest in because the chance of losing your investment was high.
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