The building of America's transcontinental train lines securely connected California to the rest of the nation, and the far-reaching transportation systems that came out of them over the next century aided the state's social, political, and commercial growth. The early Forty-Niners of the California Gold Rush who wished to come to California had few choices. Another alternative was to travel to the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal, then transport canoes and mules through the rainforest for a week before waiting for a ship sailing to San Francisco on the Pacific side. The Panama Railway, the first "inter-oceanic" railroad to impact California, was constructed across the Isthmus of Panama in 1855. The Panama Railway reduced the time needed to traverse the Isthmus from a week to a from a day of challenging and risky journey to a day of relative comfort.
California's figurative and physical link to the rest of the nation was forged on May 10, 1869, when the "last spike" was driven to connect the rails of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads, finishing the first transcontinental railroad. The Wild West rapidly evolved from a chaotic, agricultural territory to an urbanized, mechanized economic and political juggernaut. Perhaps more significant is the region's unbridled economic development, which has been fueled by the sheer variety of possibilities accessible. The completion of four new transcontinental lines in the United States and one in Canada would provide not only additional routes to the Pacific, but also additional routes to the Atlantic It is believed that by the end of WWII, train firms across the country had paid the government more than $1 billion, more than eight times the initial worth of the properties given. [12] People were the primary commodity transported across the railroads to California: by cutting cross-country journey time to as little as six days, men with westward aspirations were no longer compelled to leave their families behind. In time, the railways would provide equally essential links to transport residents throughout the state, interconnecting its blossoming towns. California's early train pioneers, shortly after the turn of the century. "Before you can expect to persuade people to reside anywhere...you must first demonstrate that they can get there swiftly, comfortably, and affordably."Ocean, but also to all of the commercially significant regions between the coastlines. For the first time, a national economy was made feasible by train access to virtually the entire country. While federal financial assistance (in the form of land grants and guaranteed low-interest loans, a long-standing government policy) was critical to railroad expansion across North America, it accounted for less than 8% of total rail length laid; private investment was responsible for the vast majority of railroad construction.and, above all, cheaply. Among Spreckels' many accomplishments was the formation of the San Diego Electric Railway in 1892, which radiated out from downtown to points north, south, and east and helped urbanize San Diego.