As American citizens continued to spread westwardthe ideas of Manifest Destiny coming to fruitiontransportation was a key issue. Traveling by wagon was costly and often deadly. Engineers and businessmen began considering how they could get people, goods, and, in turn, profits to and from the western frontier. Thus, the need for the Transcontinental Railway was born.Numerous people contributed to the design and success of the project, which would forever change the geography, economy, and culture of the United States.What Was the Transcontinental Railroad?The laying of the last rail, completing the project in 1869. Source: Yale University Libraries / Wikimedia CommonsIn 1860, it took four to six months to travel from the Missouri River to California by wagon, a distance of about 2,000 miles. The trip was costly, requiring ample supplies, sometimes amounting to over a thousand dollars. When the Transcontinental Railroad was completed, the journey was cut to seven days and cost as little as $65.The Transcontinental Railroad was a joint effort between two companies, the Central Pacific Railroad, which laid 690 miles of track, and the Union Pacific, which laid 1,086 miles, joining at Promontory Point in Utah. The project was expensive, both in terms of finances and human life, with a worker death toll estimated in the thousands.The railroad had numerous and lasting effects on the United States. The economy benefited from faster shipping and new access. Settlement and travel were made easier than ever. Rich investors and business owners got richer, and Indigenous people suffered as the landscape was altered and opened in new ways. Giving birth to new technologies, opportunities, and threats, the Transcontinental Railroad was a project for the ages that would forever change the face of America.Theodore Judah Was Obsessed With the Idea of a Transcontinental RailroadTheodore Judah monument erected in 1930 in California. Source: Pedro Xing / Wikimedia CommonsTheodore Dehone Judah became so invested in the idea of a Transcontinental Railroad that he became known by the nickname Crazy Judah. When he was born in 1826, there were only about three miles of railroad track in the US, so Judah and the fledgling industry matured together. He was interested in it from a young age and, by the age of 18, was a railroad surveyor. By 1856, he and his crews had built the first railroad west of the Missouri River. In 1857, he published a pamphlet that discussed plans and potential pitfalls of building a coast-to-coast rail line. He was not the first one to discuss this idea, but financing and conquering landforms were among the major concerns preventing its fruition.Copy of the first and last pages of the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862. Source: US National Archives and Records Administration / Wikimedia CommonsJudah set out to solve these two major problems, and by late 1861, he was confident that he had done so. He had found a group of California financiers willing to support the project, and he was sure that the best way for the railroad to conquer the Sierra Nevadas was through Donner Pass. However, he soon had concerns about his financiers main motives and decided to head back east to look for new financing after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad Act in 1862. This Act provided federal subsidies and authorized two companies, including the Central Pacific, with which Judah was associated, to start construction on the Transcontinental Railroad. Unfortunately, Judah would never see his dream come to life. On the trip back east, which required sailing by ship and a land crossing through Panama, he contracted yellow fever. This affliction, which would have been prevented if his railroad had existed, killed him early in 1863.The Big Four Pulled the StringsA print depicting Representative Men of the Central Pacific Railroad including (top left to right and down) E.B. Crocker, C.P. Huntington, Leland Stanford, Charles Crocker, and Mark Hopkins. Source: San Francisco Public Library / Wikimedia CommonsWithout funding, Judah was unable to make his dream of seeing the Transcontinental Railroad come to life. In 1860, he approached four prominent Sacramento merchants, tapping them for support (and funds) to make the railroad a reality. Leland Stanford, Collis P. (C.P.) Huntington, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker saw the promise that the construction could offer, including the prospect of easy access to mining towns and potential federal aid. Together, the men, known as The Big Four, pooled their resources to form the Central Pacific Railroad Company of California. Their investment would pay off in spades, as their company secured the rights to build the western portion of the Transcontinental Railroad. They received subsidies from the federal government to complete the project, receiving exorbitant checks from the United States.In addition to their hold on the rail system, the Big Four purchased the majority of shipping lines that connected from East Bay to San Francisco. As a result, they held a virtual monopoly on all trade coming in and out of California, no matter its mode of transportation. Their holdings were known as The Octopus and became unpopular as the general public suffered from high prices while the Big Four lived in opulence. It wasnt until 1910 when a reform government was elected in San Francisco, that the stranglehold of the Central Pacific companies was broken.Chinese Railroad WorkersA Chinese iron rail workers tribute located in San Luis Obispo, California. Source: Loco Steve / Wikimedia CommonsRailroad work was not an easy task. It required heavy lifting, digging miles of trenches by hand, and painstaking removal of literal mountains. It was dangerous, subjecting workers to extreme climates, both hot and cold, and carrying a high risk of injury or death from accidents. The lodgings provided to workers by both the Central Pacific and Union Pacific left much to be desired. Workers lived in tent towns or train cars with little personal space or sanitation. Fear of conflict with Indigenous people, especially when news about events such as the Fetterman Fight reached camp, was at the forefront of everyones mind. At the onset, the majority of railroad workers were Irish, Italian, and German immigrants. Labor shortages were common, as men would abandon camp at the news of a gold strike near the route or leave in search of a job with fewer risks. In early 1865, the Central Pacific had enough work for 4,000 men but could only manage to keep about 800 working at any one time. The Union Pacific had similar problems, with the ongoing Civil War causing even more labor shortages as they tried to get going in early 1864.Living history volunteers representing Chinese railroad workers at the Golden Spike National Historical Park. Source: National Park Service / Wikimedia CommonsThe end of the Civil War proved fruitful for the Union Pacific as thousands of veterans were eager to work. Many freedmen headed west with their eyes on a new life and saw the railroad work as a way to get there. On the Central Pacific side, the idea of hiring Chinese immigrants was proposed. Since the discovery of gold in California in 1849, immigration from China surged. The Guangdong province saw extremely high numbers of emigrants leaving to avoid the civil war and poverty of the area. Anti-Chinese sentiment made some managers reluctant to hire immigrants, but foreman James Harvey Strobridge decided to give it a try in 1865. He hired 50 Chinese workers as a trial run, hoping to use them as a threat to his Irish laborers, who had been protesting their wages. In general, the Chinese proved to be hard, efficient workers who were punctual. They were paid 27-30 dollars a month compared to their Irish counterparts, who were paid 35 dollars plus room and board. By 1868, 12,000 Chinese men were employed by the Central Pacific, making up 80% of the workforce used to build the western side of the Transcontinental Railroad.Dr. Thomas DurantThomas C. Durant, featured in Harpers New Monthly Magazine, 1904. Source: Brigham Young University-Idaho / Wikimedia CommonsThomas C. Durant started out as a medical doctor but soon abandoned his profession for a more lucrative business, keeping the nickname Doc. He was a natural businessman and master manipulator with a strong desire for profit above all. Durant was the Union Pacifics answer to the Big Four. He milked the Union Pacific for profits by connecting it to his own existing M&M rail line, participated in insider trading, and created a front known as Credit Mobilier. Credit Mobilier was approved by the federal government as a railroad contractor, and Durant was given the ability to secretly divert Union Pacific funds for his own personal gain. He often worked independently of Union Pacific board members, making decisions on his own and attempting to cover his tracks later with more deceit.He was known for his capricious temper and wasnt well-liked. His business associates and Union Pacific board members made multiple attempts to remove him from power, but Durant always appeared to be one step ahead. After the joining of the lines, he resigned from his position and moved on to new opportunities for profit. Despite his maneuvering for personal gain, there is no denying Durants role in the final design and results of the Transcontinental railroad.