People began to understand that with the acquisition of California the nation had obtained practically half a continent, of which the future possibilities were almost unlimited, so far as the development of natural resources and the genera production of wealth were concerned.

The railroad originally was as completely dissociated from steam propulsion as was the ship

In the decade before the Civil War various north and south lines of railway were projected and some of these were assisted by grants of land from the Federal Government

While no one railroad can completely duplicate another line, two or more may compete at particular points

The public conviction that a railroad linking the West and the East was an absolute necessity became so pronounced after the gold discoveries of '49 that Congress passed an act in 1853 providing for a survey of several lines from the Mississippi to the Pacific.

Many of the railroad evils were inherent in the situation; they were explained by the fact that both managers and public were dealing with a new agency whose laws they did not completely understand

In the United States three new methods of transportation made their appearance at almost the same time - the steamboat, the canal boat, and the rail car