Transcontinental railways cross entire continents and end at sea or continental borders. The American transcontinental railroad was a landmark moment in US history, but proved a commercial failure. The Trans-Siberian railway connects Moscow to the Sea of Japan and is one of the best-known railway routes in the world. The Trans-Australian Railway faced design problems due to different rail gauges in each state, but was standardized in the 1970s.
A transcontinental railway is a railway system that crosses an entire continent and ends at sea or other continental borders. These rail systems were once the pinnacle of human technological innovation, and still today prove to be a useful and convenient mode of transportation for many. Transcontinental railways still exist all over the planet and are used regularly for both passenger and freight transport.
Many historians consider the construction of the first American transcontinental railroad a landmark moment in United States history. Built in the 1860s, the railway joined the cultivated havens of the East Coast with the open, prosperous wastelands of the West, eliminating grueling months of dangerous travel for thousands of travelers. This transcontinental railroad actually only crossed about half of the country directly; At the eastern end of Omaha, Nebraska was connected to an already existing network of Eastern Railroads. It was not until 1869 that the railroad made contact with the Pacific Ocean, as the original western terminus was more than 100 miles (161 km) from the Pacific in Sacramento, the capital of California.
While the American Transcontinental Railroad was hailed as a shining moment of American technological superiority, the railroad itself proved a commercial failure. The powerful railroad barons who owned the route soon learned that the cost of maintaining a track traversing dozens of altitude and climate zones was far more expensive than they had originally planned. Although it united a country, the railway soon fell into disrepair. Although parts of the railway remain in service into the 21st century, it is no longer used as a transcontinental route.
The Trans-Siberian railway, which connects Moscow to the Sea of Japan, faced much harsher climates than the American effort, but it proved much more durable over time. Started in 1891, this transcontinental railway has undergone more or less continuous construction and improvement, becoming one of the best-known railway routes in the world. In the 21st century, crossing times from the Pacific to Russia’s western border take around 12 transit days.
In Australia, the great Trans-Australian Railway faced interesting design problems as it made its way across the deadly Nullabor Plain in the early 20th century. Chief among the concerns was that each of the Australian states had specific rail gauges, none of which matched each other. The speed of the route suffered greatly due to this problem, forcing passengers and cargo to unload and reload on different locomotives each time the meter size changed. In the 1970s, standardization of this southernmost transcontinental railway was completed, allowing leisurely travel from Port Augusta in the southeast to Kalgoorlie in the west.
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