Ever since the 1830's the dream of a transcontinental railroad existed. In 1853 congress expended $150,000 in hunting a feasible route. Surveys were made periodically. In 1860 President Lincoln inaugurates construction of the transcontinental railroad. President Abraham Lincoln signs the Pacific Railway Act, which authorizes the construction of the first transcontinental railroad. Theodore Judah had the vision to build a railroad across the Sierra Nevada mountains in California, and then to continue the railroad across the United States. …showed first 75 words of 610 total…

…showed last 75 words of 610 total…afternoon of May 7, 1868 was sultry and the sky heavy with rain clouds, which annoyed the photographers trying to capture the climactic scenes of construction. On May 10, 1869 at Promontory, in the Utah Territory, the "Golden Spike" joins the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads, marking completion of the first transcontinental railroad. The telegraph clicked three dots over the wires at exactly 12:47 p.m., triggering celebrations at every major city in the country. Dot. Dot. Dot. Done.