In the 1800s, it took several weeks for people to travel by train from California to Washington D.C. This was due to the limited transportation infrastructure and the slow speed of trains at that time.
The first transcontinental railroad in the United States was completed in 1869, which made it possible to travel by train from California to the East Coast. However, the journey was still quite long and arduous, with several days of travel required. The trip also involved several transfers and layovers, as the railroad lines were not yet fully connected and there were gaps that had to be traversed by other means such as stagecoaches or steamboats.
Overall, it took several weeks for people to travel from California to Washington D.C. by train in the 1800s, and the journey was time-consuming and uncomfortable by modern standards.