USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -As Central Pacific laid tracks eastward, Union Pacific was working westward and the race to Promontory Summit, Utah, where they would eventually meet on May 10, 1869, was on. Judah did not live to see this momentous event.

Detailed explanation-2: -The story goes that on May 10, 1869, the Central Pacific Railroad’s tracks from the west were connected to the Union Pacific Railroad’s tracks from the east in Promontory Summit, Utah.

Detailed explanation-3: -From May-December 1869, Promontory was the terminus of the transcontinental railroad (the junction point for Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads).

Detailed explanation-4: -The Railroad Act of 1862 put government support behind the transcontinental railroad and helped create the Union Pacific Railroad, which subsequently joined with the Central Pacific at Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1869, and signaled the linking of the continent.

Detailed explanation-5: -The Transcontinental Railroad connected Omaha, Nebraska and Sacramento, California, thus establishing an efficient transportation route west of the Mississippi to the West Coast.