One of the greatest chapters in the history of United States westward expansion is the Transcontinental Railroad. The train allowed passengers and cargo to cross the country in a fraction of the time of wagons and stagecoaches. It also gave rise to the railroad tycoons and robber barons who had a virtual monopoly on transportation. In 1903, the Western Pacific Railroad was created to compete with the Southern Pacific Railroad, which held the original transcontinental route over Donner Pass in the Sierras. George Jay Gould, himself the son of a…
