transcontinental railroad

Cultural  

1. A train route across the United States, finished in 1869. It was the project of two railroad companies: the Union Pacific built from the east, and the Central Pacific built from the west. The two lines met in Utah. The Central Pacific laborers were predominantly Chinese, and the Union Pacific laborers predominantly Irish. Both groups often worked under harsh conditions.

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Example Sentences

In a major update for U.S. transportation, two of these companies filed an application with federal regulators last month seeking approval to create America’s first transcontinental railroad.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 5, 2026

The blockbuster railroad combination, the largest deal so far this year, would create the nation’s first transcontinental railroad operator.

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 20, 2025

She was raised in Flushing, Queens, by a single mother and grew up hearing tales about her maternal great-grandfather, Wong Yuan Son, who worked on the nation’s first transcontinental railroad in the West.

From Washington Post • Apr. 27, 2023

Through the 1960s, Seattle was served by the Great Northern, Northern Pacific and Union Pacific, as well as the Milwaukee Road’s Pacific Extension, the last transcontinental railroad built.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 2, 2022

Doubleday had had a chain of eating houses on the line, as Belle termed the transcontinental railroad.

From Laramie Holds the Range by Spearman, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton)