During the time of the civil war , the idea of creating a faster form of transportation arose. The amount of time, manufacturing, and hard work that went into the making of the railroad was extraordinary. The railroad invention did, however, have a big effect on the world today. The Transcontinental Railroad was an important invention and impacted the civil war. The Transcontinental railroad was an idea supported by many people. One of the first people to present the idea was Asa Whitney. Asa Whitney was a New York entrepreneur who presented the idea in 1845 of a railroad that would extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific. He got the idea after a trip to China that made him realize the need and benefits of the railroad. He spent a great amount of money to try and convince congress to go through with his idea (Revolvy.com). The idea failed due to growing sectionalism in congress, but it wasn't betrayed. Theodore Judah, a young engineer, brought the idea back up in 1860. He presented the infamous Donner Pass in northern California as an ideal location for a railroad to be built through the Sierra Nevada mountains (History.com). Within the year, Judah gathered a group of investors in Sacramento and they created the Central Pacific Railroad Company. He traveled to Washington where he convinced congressional leaders into …show more content…
However, the Sierra Nevada mountains and winter storms slowed down process. The mountain was in need of tunneling, which was a slow and dangerous task. Holes about 2 cm diameter were pounded 5 feet into the rocks using a hammer and chisel. It took about 2 men and a day of work just to do one hole. The holes were then filled with black powder explosive. A technique the workers developed was to place explosives on the side of cliffs. Workers in baskets would light the fuses and rapidly get pulled out. The central pacific built fifteen railroads over the course of construction