The transcontinental railroad increased greatly during the westward expansion into the United States during the 19th century. The history of the United States has been hindered by England in many ways. In the 1800s the railroad developed in England had a huge impact and effect on western expansion into the United States. "Railroads arose in England, a country with a dense population, short distances between cities and large financial resources. In America, there were different circumstances, a population spread across a huge country, large stretches between cities and only small quantities of money." (“Railway” 85) Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The first advances of the American railroad began in 1830 from the Atlantic ports of Boston, which then led to New York, Philadelphia, Wilmington, Charleston, and Savannah. In the twenty years of railroad expansion, four rail lines had crossed the Alleghenies to reach their destination. The goal was to reach the "western waters" of the Great Lakes or the branches of the Mississippi. Meanwhile, most rail lines had begun west of the Appalachian Mountains. By the mid-1850s Chicago, St. Louis, and Memphis were then connected to the East. However, other rail lines extended westward, beyond the Mississippi River. An intercontinental route connected New England and Montreal. Then an additional intercontinental line crossed southern Ontario between Niagara, New York and the Detroit River. During the 1850s, north and south routes were developed both east and west of the Alleghenies. It was not until after the Civil War that a lasting railroad bridge was built over the Ohio River. After the Civil War, the pace of railroad construction increased. The Pacific Railroad, the Union Pacific Building in Omaha, Nebraska, and the Central Pacific Building in Sacramento, California, had begun building a coast-to-coast railroad during the war to help promote national unity . They joined together at Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1869, finishing the first rail connection across the continent. Before the transcontinental railroad, the eastern railroads had lines that reached all the way to Nebraska. Western railroads had some lines running north to south in California, far west of the face of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Between these two networks was a huge gap of approximately seventeen hundred miles of plains and mountain ranges. Closing this gap was a dream shared by many Americans. Entrepreneurs thought about all the money they could make by having an entire continent full of customers and using the railroads to meet their needs. Idealists dreamed of the discoveries of wild Indians, explorers and hunters, and, of course, gold. Gold had been the desired discovery during the exploration of America. The California Gold Rush of 1849 again created much enthusiasm for gold panning. The Pacific Railroad was created when the Civil War was underway. Until the end of the war, the transcontinental railroad was a gigantic undertaking stalled by much bickering between a reluctant Congress and the Army, which had clamored for it (Cooke 254). If it had been left to the government, it would have taken another twenty years to complete the transcontinental railroad. However, it was a commercial venture, fortunately fueled by the adrenaline of competition. There were two railroad companies building the transcontinental railroad, the Union Pacific from the east and the Central Pacific from the west.