Amateur The Central Pacific broke ground on January 8, 1863. Due to the lack
Amateur of transportation alternatives from the manufacturing centers on the east coast
, virtually all of their tools and machinery including rails, railroad
switches, railroad turntables, freight and passenger cars, and steam
locomotives were transported first by train to east coast ports. They were
then loaded on ships which either sailed around South America’s Cape
Horn, or offloaded the cargo at the Isthmus of Panama, where it was sent
across via paddle steamer and the Panama Railroad. The Panama Rai
lroad gauge was 5 feet (1,524 mm), which was incompatible with the 4-foot-
8 1⁄2-inch (1,435 mm) gauge used by the CPRR equipment. The latter route
was about twice as expensive per pound.[citation needed] Once the machi
nery and tools reached the San Francisco Bay area, they were put aboard
river paddle steamers which transported them up the final 130 miles
(210 km) of the Sacramento River to the new state capital in Sacramento.
Many of these steam engines, railroad cars, and other machinery were
shipped dismantled and had to be reassembled.[citation needed] Wooden
timbers for railroad ties, trestles, bridges, firewood, and telegr
aph poles were harvested in California and transported to the project site.
The Union Pacific Railroad did not start construction for another 18 months
until July 1865. They were delayed by difficulties obtaining financial
backing and the unavailability of workers and materials due to the Civil
War. Their start point in the new city of Omaha, Nebraska was not yet
connected via railroad to Council Bluffs, Iowa. Equipment needed to begin
work was initially delivered to Omaha and Council Bluffs by paddle
steamers on the Missouri River. The Union Pacific was so slow in beginning
construction during 1865 that they sold two of the four steam locomotives
they had purchased.[citation needed]
