Why was the Transcontinental Railroad one of the most important achievements of the century?

The completion of the transcontinental railroad changed the nation. Western agricultural products, coal, and minerals could move freely to the east coast. Just as the Civil War united North and South, the transcontinental railroad united East and West.



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It made commerce possible on a vast scale. In addition to transporting western food crops and raw materials to East Coast markets and manufactured goods from East Coast cities to the West Coast, the railroad also facilitated international trade.

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Railroads had a significant impact when they were introduced to the American West in the 1870s. Rail access spurred white migration and land occupation, altered the cattle industry, and affected the soil ecosystem.

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Instead of having to trek through the untamed wilderness or sail around South America, Americans could now ride on a train and get from Council Bluffs, Iowa to Sacramento, California in a matter of weeks. The Transcontinental Railroad also allowed for western goods to be more easily and quickly transported.

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The Transcontinental Railroad made it so that it was easier to for mail and goods to travel faster and cheaper.

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Answer and Explanation: However, two industries benefited the most from the Transcontinental Railroad. Those were cotton and cattle. Railroads made it possible for cotton farmers in the east to ship their products to the western frontier quickly.

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Uniting the Nation While the railroad was built in a divisive era, its completion helped unite the nation after the Civil War. Arguably its greatest contribution was that it allowed for people and goods to travel from coast to coast at unprecedented speeds.

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The railroad is credited, for instance, with helping to open the West to migration and with expanding the American economy. It is blamed for the near eradication of the Native Americans of the Great Plains, the decimation of the buffalo and the exploitation of Chinese railroad workers.

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Railroads became a major industry, stimulating other heavy industries such as iron and steel production. These advances in travel and transport helped drive settlement in the western regions of North America and were integral to the nation's industrialization.

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Answer and Explanation: One main result of the completion of the first transcontinental railroad was that the United States became unified. The western territories became connected with the eastern states, pulling the people of the country closer together.

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The completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 had a huge impact on the West. It encouraged further settlement in the West as it made travelling their cheaper and easier. It also encouraged the development of towns along the railroad, as the railroad made the west less isolated.

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The Railroad Act of 1862 put government support behind the transcontinental railroad and helped create the Union Pacific Railroad, which subsequently joined with the Central Pacific at Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1869, and signaled the linking of the continent.

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Transcontinental Railroad Facts
  • It was built to connect the United States' East and West Coasts. ...
  • Approximately 1,800 miles of track. ...
  • The transcontinental railroad cost roughly $100 million. ...
  • Workers came from a wide range of backgrounds and ethnicity. ...
  • President Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act.


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The Transcontinental Railroad reduced travel time from New York to California from as long as six months to as little as a week and the cost for the trip from $1,000 to $150. The reduced travel time and cost created new business and settlement opportunities and enabled quicker and cheaper shipping of goods.

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The railroad opened the way for the settlement of the West, provided new economic opportunities, stimulated the development of town and communities, and generally tied the country together.

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The railroads powered the industrial economy. They consumed the majority of iron and steel produced in the United States before 1890. As late as 1882, steel rails accounted for 90 percent of the steel production in the United States. They were the nation's largest consumer of lumber and a major consumer of coal.

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