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The First Transcontinental Railroad Trivia Questions

How much do you really know about The First Transcontinental Railroad? Below are 8 true or false statements. Click each one to reveal the answer and explanation.

1.

The railroad was completed in just four years, from start to finish.

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Easy
✗ FALSE

Construction began in 1863 and the railroad was finished in 1869—six years. The pace was incredibly fast, but not quite four years.

2.

Native American tribes were paid fair compensation for land used by the railroad.

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Easy
✗ FALSE

Tribes were largely forced off their land through treaties broken by the government and violent conflict. Compensation was minimal or nonexistent.

3.

Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad Act during the Civil War.

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Medium
✓ TRUE

Lincoln signed the act into law in 1862, while the Civil War was raging. He saw the railroad as vital to uniting the country and securing the West.

4.

The Transcontinental Railroad was built entirely by Irish immigrant labor.

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Medium
✗ FALSE

Chinese immigrants made up the vast majority of the Central Pacific workforce, with over 12,000 laborers. Irish workers were prominent on the Union Pacific, but it was a joint effort.

5.

The first transcontinental train trip took just over four days from coast to coast.

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Hard
✓ TRUE

In 1870, a special train carrying dignitaries made the trip from Boston to San Francisco in about 83 hours—roughly three and a half days. This amazed a public used to months of travel.

6.

The golden spike wasn't actually the final spike driven; it was removed right after the ceremony.

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Hard
✓ TRUE

The famous golden spike was tapped into a pre-drilled hole and then immediately removed for safekeeping. A regular iron spike was driven later to complete the line.

7.

The Central Pacific used massive amounts of nitroglycerin to blast tunnels through the Sierra Nevada.

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Hard
✓ TRUE

Nitroglycerin was far more powerful than black powder and was used extensively to carve through granite. It was extremely dangerous, causing many accidental deaths.

8.

The two railroad companies raced from opposite ends and met exactly at Promontory Summit as planned.

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Hard
✗ FALSE

The meeting point was not predetermined. The companies raced past each other, laying parallel track for miles, until the government forced a compromise at Promontory.

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