USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Trains began running from Sacramento to Newcastle on June 10, 1864, and Auburn on May 16, 1865. Colfax, 55 miles away, was reached on September 10, 1865. The first CPRR locomotive crossed the California-Nevada border on December 13, 1867.

Detailed explanation-2: -What is this? The earliest predecessor of the modern American Locomotive Company was established in Schenectady, New York in 1848 (Schenectady Locomotive Works) while Matthias W. Baldwin, a former jewelry maker, built his first steam locomotive in 1831.

Detailed explanation-3: -For almost the first two decades of statehood, immigrants had to spend months onboard ships or traveling overland to reach California. The railroad that was built across what is today the states of California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming and Nebraska made travel across the continent possible in a matter of days.

Detailed explanation-4: -Several days earlier, January 24, 1848, gold had been discovered on the American River near Sacramento, and the ensuing gold rush hastened California’s admittance to the Union. With the Gold Rush came a huge increase in population and a pressing need for civil government.