How much land did the railroad companies get for each mile of track?
Each railroad received its right-of-way along with a land grant of ten alternating sections on both sides of every mile of track (about 12,800 acres per mile); the government retained the sections in between.
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In the United States, federal, state, and local governments as well as individuals gave railroad companies gifts of land to build their lines through the Plains. Railroads received an estimated 185 million acres of land from these sources.
Two companies competed to lay as much track as possible. The Central Pacific built east from Sacramento, Calif., while the Union Pacific built west from Omaha, Neb. The government gave the companies rights of way of 200 feet on each side of the track and financial aid of $16,000 to $48,000 for each mile of track laid.
The two lines of track would meet in the middle (the bill did not designate an exact location) and each company would receive 6,400 acres of land (later doubled to 12,800) and $48,000 in government bonds for every mile of track built.
Railroad tracks, and usually the land extending up to 50 feet on either side, are private property of railroad corporations. Railroad police have interstate jurisdiction and can investigate and enforce all state law crimes against the railroad whether or not the officers are on railroad property.
Between 1850 and 1872 extensive cessions of public lands were made to states and to railroad companies to promote railroad construction. [18] Usually the companies received from the federal government, in twenty- or fifty-mile strips, alternate sections of public land for each mile of track that was built.
According to the statistics portal Statista, Union Pacific of the USA is worth a massive $75.4 billion, making it comfortably the biggest rail company in the world.
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The industrialized Union possessed an enormous advantage over the Confederacy — they had 20,000 miles of railroad track, more than double the Confederacy's 9,000 miles.
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