Test Your Railroad Knowledge - The Transcontinental Railroad

Where was the locomotive invented?

	a. Canada
	b. England
	c. France
	d. The United States

Correct

Answer: b. England
Mining engineer Richard Trevithick invented the first steam power locomotive engine on rails in England in 1802.

How did Eli H. Janney contribute to the railroad?

	a. He patented a coupler
	b. He drove the final spike
	c. He wrote railroad songs
	d. He patented the wedged spike

Correct

Answer: a. He patented a coupler.
While working as a shop clerk, Eli Janney invented a coupler that would become the standard for U.S. railroad cars. Janney was an accomplished whittler and carved his first model out of wood.

What was the most track laid in one day during the construction of the transcontinental railroad?

	a. 3 miles
	b. 10 miles
	c. 23 miles
	d. 55 miles

Correct

Answer: b. 10 miles
In a race against time, Charles Crocker’s crews set a record for the most track laid in one day, working from sunrise to sunset on April 28, 1869. At the end of the 10 mile stretch, the rails were within 3 ½ miles of Promontory Summit.

Who inspired others to invest in a transcontinental railroad?

	a. Theodore Judah
	b. John Henry
	c. Grenville Dodge
	d. Abraham Lincoln

Correct

Answer: a. Theodore Judah
Nicknamed “Crazy Judah” for his passion for a transcontinental railroad, Theodore Judah not only surveyed the western route for the railroad, but encouraged investors and lobbied Congress. Sadly, Judah did not live to see his dream come true. He died from an illness incurred on the long ship voyage necessary to travel from the west coast to the east.

The Central Pacific Railroad began in:

	a. Omaha
	b. San Francisco
	c. Sacramento
	d. Promontory Point

Correct

Answer: c. Sacramento
Without fanfare, workers laid the first rails of the Central Pacific Railroad on October 26, 1863, in Sacramento.

“Hell on Wheels” was the name of:

	a. The fastest locomotive in the west
	b. Lawless towns that grew up along the railway
	c. An area of rocky terrain through the Sierra Nevadas
	d. A band of outlaw train robbers

Correct

Answer: b. Lawless towns that grew up along the railway
Hell on Wheels was the traveling assembly of business establishments along the Union Pacific during construction of the transcontinental railroad. The towns were famous for their rapid growth and infamous for their lawlessness. Businesses typically included purveyors of equipment and supplies, as well as gambling houses, saloons, dance halls, and brothels.

In 1860s the transcontinental railroad was called:

	a. The Union Pacific
	b. The Pacific Railway
	c. The Central Pacific
	d. The Cross-Country Railway

Correct

Answer: b. The Pacific Railway
When a transcontinental railroad was first proposed, it was seen as an overland route to the Pacific. The term was used in the Pacific Railway Act signed by Abraham Lincoln in 1862.

A transcontinental railroad first became a priority because:

	a. Families missed their loved ones
	b. Wagon makers went on strike
	c. The Civil War made it necessary
	d. Gold was discovered in California

Correct

Answer: d. Gold was discovered in California
In January 1848, John Sutter discovered gold in the creek by his sawmill. In December of the same year, President James Polk announced the discovery in his final State of the Union address setting off the Gold Rush of ’49.

The Big Four were:

	a. The men who invested in the Central Pacific Railroad
	b. The names of the four original transcontinental railways
	c. The four U.S. presidents in office from 1860 to 1870
	d. The four territories the transcontinental railroad travelled through

Correct

Answer: a. The men who invested in the Central Pacific Railroad
Leland Stanford, Collis P. Huntington, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker were brought together by Theodore Judah when he was seeking investors for the railroad. As the largest investors in the Central Pacific Railroad, these four men came to be called The Big Four.

The news of the driving of the last spike was first:

	a. Delivered by the Pony Express
	b. Relayed by telephone
	c. Read about in the newspaper
	d. Transmitted by telegraph

Correct

Answer: d. Transmitted by telegraph
Stanford swung a silver maul to strike the final, ceremonial gold spike that was connected to telegraph wires. Simultaneously an eager telegrapher relayed the message, “Done!”