Spencer Trask & Co., Trans-Continental Map: Showing the Main Lines and Proposed Extensions of the Various Trans-Continental Railroad Systems of the United States and Canada (1906)

In 1850, there were approximately 9,021 miles of railroad in the United States. By 1870, there were 52,922 miles. A mere thirty years later, in 1900, there were 192,556 miles of railroad stretching across the western plains and mountains and linking the West Coast with the East. The Transcontinental Railroad transformed the American West. Constructed by the Central Pacific in the West and the Union Pacific in the East, the two railroads were linked in Utah in 1869 to great national fanfare during the "Golden Spike" Ceremony, from which, notably, the many Chinese workers who built the railroads were excluded. Building the Transcontinental Railroad had not been easy and, despite its necessity, the project had been a matter of debate since before the Civil War. The Pacific Railway Act of 1862 put the government's support behind the project, offering government incentives to assist “men of talent, men of character, men who are willing to invest” in developing the railway. The legislation authorized the Central Pacific and Union Pacific to construct the lines, and provided government bonds and land grants for the work. This map from 1906, highlights the routes for 29 railroad companies, demonstrating the complexity of the transcontinental railroad system, and how it connected major cities across the country.