Union and Pacific Railway

Also called: Union Pacific Railroad · Topic: World Transport and Communication · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 7 "Transport and Communication"

Meaning

The Union and Pacific Railway was the first continuous railway across the United States. It was built between 1863 and 1869 and finished at Promontory Summit, Utah, on 10 May 1869 [3]. In NCERT it links New York on the Atlantic coast with San Francisco on the Pacific coast.

It matters because it joined the USA's east and west coasts into one country and one market. NCERT uses it as a standard example of a trans-continental railway, and UPSC often asks its route order.

Explanation

Why it was built (cause → process → result)

• Cause: economic and political needs
• Economic: the western interior had farms and mines, but it had no fast way to send goods to ports and markets in the east.

• Political: the far west coast (California) needed a strong link to the rest of the country.

• Process: a law, then two companies building towards each other

• The Pacific Railroad Act was passed on 1 July 1862 [3].
• The Central Pacific company built eastward from Sacramento, California [3].
• The Union Pacific company built westward from the east [3].

• Thousands of Chinese workers helped build it [3].

• Result: one line from coast to coast

• The two lines met at Promontory Summit, Utah.
• Through traffic began on 10 May 1869, after the gold "Last Spike" (Golden Spike) was driven [3].

Route and parts (east to west)

• New York → Cleveland → Chicago → Omaha → Evans → Ogden → Sacramento → San Francisco.
• Eastern part: New York to Chicago. This runs through the industrial north-east and the Great Lakes area.
• Central part: Omaha to Ogden. This crosses the flat Great Plains (wide grassland) and then the Rocky Mountains.
• Western part: Ogden to San Francisco. This crosses the Sierra Nevada mountains to reach the Pacific coast.

What it carries

• Main goods: ores, grain, paper, chemicals and machinery.
• Ores and grain come from the western mines and the farms of the interior.

• Machinery and chemicals come from the industrial east.

• Decline: like many trans-continental lines, it has lost traffic to air and road transport.

Where it occurs

• Country: the USA, in North America. It runs east to west, from the Atlantic (New York) to the Pacific (San Francisco).
• Key stations and where they are:
• New York: Atlantic port, starting point.
• Cleveland (Ohio): on Lake Erie.
• Chicago (Illinois): on Lake Michigan, a major rail hub.
• Omaha (Nebraska): on the Missouri River, at the edge of the Great Plains.
• Evans: on the plains near the Rocky Mountains.
• Ogden (Utah): near Promontory Summit, where the two lines met in 1869 [3].
• Sacramento (California): where the Central Pacific started building eastward [3].

• San Francisco: Pacific port, end point.

• Other trans-continental lines, for comparison:

• Trans-Canadian: Halifax → Vancouver.
• Trans-Siberian: St Petersburg → Vladivostok.

• Australian Trans-Continental: Perth → Sydney.

• India: there is no Indian part. India's link to this topic is the Trans-Asian Railway, which India is a party to [2].

Don't confuse with

• Trans-Canadian Railway: this also runs coast to coast in North America, but in Canada, from Halifax to Vancouver (7,050 km). Its last spike was driven at Craigellachie, British Columbia, on 7 November 1885 [4]. The US line was finished at Promontory Summit, Utah, in 1869 [3].
• Central Pacific vs Union Pacific (companies): the Central Pacific built eastward from Sacramento. The Union Pacific built westward from the east [3]. Do not swap the directions.
• Trans-Siberian Railway: this is the longest double-tracked and electrified trans-continental line (9,332 km). Double-tracked means there are two parallel tracks. It was completed in 1916 [5], so it is not the first trans-continental railway. The US line came first, in 1869.
• Suez Canal: this also opened in 1869, but it is a canal between seas. It is not a railway. Both cut world travel times in the same year.

Prelims Hooks

• First US trans-continental railway: completed at Promontory Summit, Utah, on 10 May 1869 with the gold "Last Spike" [3].
• Route order (east → west): New York – Cleveland – Chicago – Omaha – Evans – Ogden – Sacramento – San Francisco.
• Pacific Railroad Act: passed on 1 July 1862. Construction ran from 1863 to 1869 [3].
• Trap: the Central Pacific started from Sacramento and built east. The Union Pacific built west [3].
• Main goods: ores, grain, paper, chemicals and machinery.
• Same-year link: 1869 is also the year the Suez Canal opened.

Mains Points

• Nation-building (GS-I): the line joined the USA's east and west coasts after 1869 [3].
• It tied distant California to the rest of the country.

• It is a clear example of the political reason for building trans-continental railways. The Trans-Canadian line, built to bring British Columbia into the federation, is a similar case.

• Opening the interior (GS-I): it linked the mines and farms of the west with the industrial east.

• Ores and grain moved east to markets and ports.

• Machinery and chemicals moved west, so the regions came to depend on each other.

• Decline and lessons (GS-III): like other trans-continental lines, it has lost traffic to air and road. Its main role now is carrying bulk freight (heavy goods in large amounts). For India, the lesson is that a long rail corridor such as the Trans-Asian Railway [2] needs these things to succeed:

• enough freight demand;
• one common track width (gauge);
• political cooperation across borders.

Related concepts

• Trans-continental railway
• Trans-Siberian Railway
• Trans-Canadian Railway
• Australian Trans-Continental Railway
• Orient Express
• Trans-Asian Railway

Read more

• Trans-continental railways