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.

Detailed explanation-2: -The Transcontinental Railroad connected Omaha, Nebraska and Sacramento, California, thus establishing an efficient transportation route west of the Mississippi to the West Coast. The Union Pacific Railroad Company began laying tracks in Omaha, Nebraska in 1863.

Detailed explanation-3: -Railroad History The project took six years, millions of dollars, and 1, 800 miles of track to complete. On May 10, 1869, the two railroad companies met at Promontory Point, now the Golden Spike National Historic Park.

Detailed explanation-4: -From May-December 1869, Promontory was the terminus of the transcontinental railroad (the junction point for Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads).

Detailed explanation-5: -Over the next seven years, the two companies would race toward each other from Sacramento, California on the one side to Omaha, Nebraska on the other, struggling against great risks before they met at Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1869.